I wish to express my concern that Dublin Port Tunnel was closed again yesterday for several hours owing to problems which arose, causing major traffic congestion in the city centre. This is not the first time it has happened. There have been a number of incidents in the past couple of months which have caused the closure of the tunnel. Yesterday the tire of a heavy goods vehicle travelling through the tunnel went on fire. This caused the tunnel to be closed for several hours. The procedures undertaken seem to have taken far longer than should have been required. Dublin has only one tunnel, while other capital cities have many, yet we seem to have ongoing problems with the management of emergencies that arise. The Minister for Transport might address this issue when he next visits the House and reassure Members that these kinds of problems will not arise in the future. There are serious knock-on effects and gridlock which affects that part of the city and traffic coming from the airport. 

The attendance of the Minister for Health and Children in this House has been requested by other Senators. Perhaps we could have clarification on cancer screening services. The chief executive responsible for cancer screening services. The chief executive responsible for cancer screening services stated yesterday at the Joint Committee on Health and Children that the service does not come under the employment and financial caps that have been placed on the HSE and that the cervical screening programme will be rolled out over the coming months. This summer is the target date. Many Senators are very concerned that we have had a number of false dawns in relation to the delivery of the cancer screening services. The Minister might clarify if it is the case that cancer screening services come under the budget of the HSE and whether there are limits placed on that budget. I also seek confirmation that we will see the roll-out of screening services this summer.

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Seanad Speeches by Deirdre