Cian O'Callaghan

A previous stamp duty cut took place at the end of the Celtic Tiger era, at which point the country was promised it would not happen again without proper protections being put in place.

This should include a €400 energy credit for households earning €70,000 or less, a €15 increase to the State pension, a €300 per month cut to childcare fees, a €1bn investment in disability services, a second tier of child benefit…

Next week's budget needs to address what he described as the "repeated failure" of recent governments to help wider society and those most in need.

There is a dual need to act on the concerns and to "protect jobs and investment" by seeking out "alternative markets" for the Aughinish site

These delays are not abstract. They involve people waiting for cancer diagnosis.

This extra work is overwhelming the system to such a point that samples are being outsourced to the private sector.

A quarter of all work carried out at the Galway University Hospital lab comes from the private hospital Bon Secours.

It takes place at weekends because of the way CUMH and the Rotunda operates their rosters.

The hospital has a deal in place to do lab work for a private hospital.

This includes public patients with cancer. An early cancer diagnosis can save a life. Delayed diagnosis can be fatal.