Louise O'Reilly

It will only operate in certain confined hours and only by a referral from your GP.

So it's not a walk-in service.

It's not community-based.

And the people in my constituency are still going to have to go to Beaumont, where there's queues, or up to Drogheda, where there's also queues.

We're kind of saying something very simple.

Community-based care is really important and it also takes the pressure off the hospital.

So, you know, that's what Sláinte Care was about.

But

You have to see where the government are putting the money.

They put a lot of money into agency staff, a lot of money into outsourcing.

Ultimately, that doesn't benefit the public health system.

Well, I think, you know, obviously this is an initiative of Vanguardia Siocana, so it's separate to defence.

But I think the issue around defence, when I think about it, I think about the people that I know and the men and women in my own area who are members of the defence forces.

They find themselves in a situation where the numbers are decreasing.

because it's not an attractive place to work.

So I think there's a whole range of things that, you know, from this, you know, security intervention right through to the terms and conditions of the people who are literally on the front line.

So I think there's a whole conversation that needs to be had in relation to investment, investment in people, investment in infrastructure, investment in the technology, because clearly when we have, you know, when we face those kinds of

technological threats, then we need to be equal and adequate to the task of understanding them and defending against them.

But when I hear things like An Garda Síochána are going to establish a digital fortress, that sounds good.

However, the people that I'm representing, they just want to see a guard in their local area.