Mattie McGrath: Calls out hospital failings and church rules

Remarque good, and Minister, if you don't get time to answer my questions in my five minutes, you might please write to me with them please, and Congress listened to you to talk to Butler on your elevation to the Cahill Exposition, wish you well in it, hope we won't have any spats, Minister, there are 35 on trolleys in Limerick today, but we're facing that, and Limerick is the highest and self-temporary in the country most times, said President Callaghan, how many more times must we plead to you, to at least reopen the hospice bed, they were provided mainly by the people of Carrick and Chua, West Waterford and South Kilkenny, for fundraise for them, St Michael's mental health in Clonmel, we could never use it, it's closed, yet now it's open, done up for Covid, no patients had it, can you now use it for mental health patients, because we don't have one single long stay bed for mental health in Tipperary, Minister of the South East Cahillic here, as my deputy colleague from Waterford had mentioned, it's just not good enough, all lives matter to us in the South East as well, Minister, the whole situation of Cahillic, breast check, cervical tests, and many, many more screening services that are so badly needed, I had a woman run to me this evening about breast checks, two young children, she's 34, clearly concerned on her husband waiting for that, and that they, I mean, you might quote figures that were procedures have been done, they're only a symptom of what's waiting, what will be waiting, and I'm sure all the deputies that are here are getting people down to them every day of the week, the whole scandal of the private hospital, and the city west, and ongoing, and you're maintaining to keep it going, Minister, I mean, that's why people are just so annoyed, the whole scandal, Minister, of the 170,000, I think, the figures exactly that applied to Ireland's call, and a minuscule, I think 74 were applied, and to hear the T-shirt on about spin, the biggest spinner, the one of the biggest fertiliser spreaders in the world wouldn't be as good as him, to spin, he spins spins, they call Sinn Féin spin Féin, but listen, there'll be plenty of time, because when you're spinning around on a spinning top, you fall off, then you get hurt, Minister, he is the man that, I mean, that's the situation regarding leaving those people waiting, the angst, the anxiety, the worry, and the trauma about all that, as I said, Minister, we need a new wing to South Dipper Regional Hospital, where's that in the planning, the care is pushed back, pushed back, now to start in second quarter of 21, it's just not good enough, Minister, and I'm just saying to you, all the people that went in to 30 and 40 nurses, in care assistance, they all answer the call, and now to hear people, and they're on to all of us, came home from Australia, Canada, whatever, can't get a job, and he says, Libri said to David McCullough, oh, if there are posts available, we'll make sure to get them, that's the key, posts available, a lot of deputies pointed out earlier, now, Minister, all lives matter to me, from the womb to the tomb, I've written to you, Minister, and asked you, Minister, about when are you going to publish the list of unborn babies that have been aborted in 2019, you're due to do it before the end of June this year, what's the delay, and I've written to you, and I please want an urgent answer to the destruction of human life, it's just shocking, and why don't you publish the figures, as you're obliged to in the legislation, the draconian legislation that you've passed, and I want answers to that immediately, Minister. Now, I want to also say, Minister, that there's huge angst over the churches, the churches, are we going to be driven back to the mass rocks, like we were in the penal days, that people of faith, and all faiths, have been more than compliant, and the efforts, I visited the church, St. Peter and Paul, but there are many, in Clarmell, Father Toomey, and Canon Crowley, during the week, and to see the efforts that they've gone to there, in all the stages, as Deputy Fian mentioned tonight, and they're horrified, that you would pit people against people, the caretaker in the church, or the sacristan, or whoever's going to stop the people going after 50, sorry, we can't take any more, just not doable, just, you take control here, from Nefford, and you, at the Minister, for the time being, anyway, maybe you'll be here next week, as well, and I don't wish that, you will, to be honest, because your record in health, as I can say, nothing personal has been abysmal, and so I hope you won't be in the same position as Minister, not to wish you any ill health, wish you well, and your wife and child is well, but Minister, we have to have our faith allowed to be nourished, and the spiritual nourishment of people is vital, and the bishops are an eye over it, and rightly so, they have fought the good fight, they have been the good servants to you and the country, and I did call this a scamdemic, some time ago, I'm not going back here, because the longer it goes on, and to carry on with this with the churches, it's more like a scam than anything else, you can have a pub packed, and you can have a church with high seasons, higher than this money, St Peter and Paul's can hold 680 people, telling me you're only now 15, it's time the people who are allowed to go back, or they will be forced to go to the Mass Rock, and we have a very good Mass Rock anniversary Mass every year, out in Newcastle, and they knock mail downs, and we have to go out there again, and we will, and I urge the people to go to Mass in large numbers, if they want to, and to help with the dictat now from NPHET, because I'm not a law breaker, but there's no law now, because the pandemic, if it ever was there, is gone, and they're not breaking any law, and Deputy Mayor, I pointed that out to you here two weeks ago, if it's a pandemic, yes, you have the emergency legislation, but when it's not a pandemic, you don't have the legislation, so you're in very thin eyes, for Michael. Whatever role I'm in next week, or none, I hope we'll find another forum, in which we can continue to, exchange our views anyway, because we've had lots of ding-dongs, during the time, but I respect the job, that you have to do a seaside and break, you're right, let me shock you, by agreeing with you on something, I think you're entirely right, when it comes to the issue of the churches, I take religious freedom very seriously, I also take the health and safety, of people very seriously, the pandemic is real, took 2,000 lives, more than 2,000 lives, in this island so far, it's very, very, no, no, hang on, let's try and have a note of harmony, it is very real, but people's faith is very important, and we have to find a way, that common sense prevails, some churches are large, cathedrals etc, and I expect guidance from Neffet, on how we can safely do that tomorrow, and I hope to be, I hope to be in a position, I'll get the public health advice, and then the government will make a decision tomorrow, I fulfil my statutory duties, she's in line with any law, in terms of any report I have to publish, St Bridges I'll come back to you, screening service, I just would say, if any woman has a concern, any person has a concern, please don't wait for a screening service, go to your GP today, screening service dates for resumption, thankfully were given today, and I know that is important to people.