I welcome the Minister of State, Deputy Grealish, to the House. He is most welcome.

To refresh memories, Duchenne muscular dystrophy, DMD, is a progressive neuromuscular disease that causes the weakening of muscles over time. It almost exclusively affects boys, with symptoms typically appearing between the ages of one and three. In Ireland today, around 110 people are known to be living with DMD and most of them are under 18. A child living with DMD struggles to walk, run or jump like their peers. They have difficulty standing up and need help to climb stairs. These children can also suffer with delayed speech and sometimes face behavioural or learning challenges. As the disease progresses, most of these children will need a wheelchair by the time they are 12. Some will develop scoliosis, and by their mid-teens they may experience heart complications such as dilated cardiomyopathy. Breathing problems often emerge by their late teens or early 20s, making the condition life-threatening.

There is hope, though. A life-changing drug called Givinostat can slow the progression of the disease and keep boys on their feet for longer. Even if a boy is wheelchair-bound, Givinostat can slow the progression of the disease to the organs, providing a better quality of life. This drug is a symbol of hope for these families affected by DMD. I acknowledge the work of the Minister for Health so far on this matter. She has met with families to discuss a pathway to access Givinostat, along Deputy Pádraig O'Sullivan and me. The Minister has also engaged with the HSE and everybody involved to get this medicine to patients in Ireland as quickly as possible.

I held a briefing in Leinster House in June to educate TDs and Senators alike about this illness. At the same time, hundreds of people gathered outside the gates here to raise awareness and show support. Anyone there that day saw the impact this disease has not only on the children living with it but also on their families. That was 105 days ago. While that might not seem that long to me and you, to the families affected by DMD, time is muscle. Their children's abilities and strength are failing every day. Since then, a rapid review was completed on 15 August. It was completed in eight days. This timeline shows there is an ability to move through the reimbursement process at an accelerated rate. The manufacturer tells me it has a scoping meeting with the National Centre for Pharmacoeconomics, NCPE, on 30 September and it will submit a health technology assessment, HTA, in October. The company has not confirmed an exact date, but I was under the impression the NCPE was ready to receive this submission now.

Can I get clarity on this issue so the parents waiting will have a clear picture of what is going on? There is still a long way to go before Givinostat will be available in Ireland, which is why I am seeking early access. Our EU counterpart, Belgium, is providing early access to Givinostat through its compassionate use programme, CUP. This allows eligible boys to receive the drug before a national reimbursement. The CUP is overseen by Belgium's Federal Agency for Medicines and Health Products, FAMHP, ensuring safety while bridging the gap between clinical trials and full market access. There is also talk of approval of an early access programme being signed off on up North. There have been suggestions of getting the drug into Ireland that way. Can the Minister of State clarify if this is a realistic option? We have parents with children who are so sick. They are failing and I do not want unrealistic options being put forward. We cannot follow regular timelines because DMD is not abiding by these timelines. This disease chips away at these boys every day as their families watch while feeling helpless. I cannot express how important it is that we develop a bespoke pathway to early access to Givinostat.

I thank the Senator for raising this issue. I am answering on behalf of the Minister for Health.

Duchenne muscular dystrophy is a rare disease affecting approximately 200 people in Ireland. Its symptoms can severely impact the lives of those living with the disease and their families. The State acknowledges the importance of access to medicines and is aware of the circumstances of patients with DMD. As the Senator will be aware, the Minister met with the families of children with DMD and their representative body, Muscular Dystrophy Ireland, in July to discuss their plight and provide support. The State has made considerable investments in new medicines in recent years. In 2023, nearly €1 in every €8 of public funding being spent on health was spent on medicines. This level of investment is unprecedented in supporting patients through the availability of new and innovative medicines. Budgets 2021 to 2024 have included dedicated funding for new medicines of €128 million. Budget 2025 allocated €30 million of the funding available for new drugs to be generated by efficiencies to be identified by the HSE. From 2021 up to June 2025, this has enabled the HSE to approve reimbursement for 219 new medicines or new uses for existing medicines, including 91 for the treatment of cancer and 55 for the treatment of rare diseases.

Under the Health (Pricing and Supply of Medical Goods) Act 2013, the HSE has statutory responsibility for decisions on pricing and reimbursement of medicines.

The Act provides a rigorous process for the assessment of new medicines for reimbursement. This ensures the right medicines are available and approval is at a sustainable price.

Givinostat, sold under the brand name Duvyzat, is a medication used to treat Duchenne muscular dystrophy, DMD, in ambulant patients aged six years and older. Conditional marketing authorisation was granted for givinostat on 6 June 2025 by the European Commission.

The Minister for Health met with her Italian counterpart at the EPSCO Council meeting in June in Luxembourg to ask him to encourage the company to submit a pricing and reimbursement application to Ireland. The HSE has also proactively engaged with the company to strongly encourage it to submit a pricing and reimbursement application.

On 6 August 2025 a pricing and reimbursement application from the marketing authorisation holder for givinostat was made to the HSE with an indication for the treatment of DMD in ambulant patients aged six years and older. Following the conclusion of a rapid review by the NCPE on 14 August 2025, a full health technology assessment, HTA, was commissioned by the HSE on 26 August 2025. The pricing and reimbursement assessment is ongoing. A HTA is a detailed evaluation of medical technologies, including medicines, to determine their effectiveness, safety, cost-efficiency and broader impact on the health budget and service. A HTA takes time to evaluate as it involves gathering and analysing complex clinical and economic data, consulting stakeholders and aligning with regulatory standards to ensure decisions are evidence-based and transparent.

To support this process, there has been significant investment to enhance the HSE's pricing and reimbursement process for medicines. Thirty-four new staff were hired across the pricing and reimbursement system in 2024 which will support faster access to new and innovative medicines for patients. In addition, to support transparency in this process, an application tracker has also been developed and launched.

I thank the Minister of State for his answer. With regard to the questions that I asked, is the pathway through the North a realistic option? It has been flown, so to speak, as a bespoke pathway. At present, there is a delay somewhere because the NCPE is waiting for a HTA to be submitted while the manufacturer is telling me it has a meeting next week. These are children whose parents sat in the room with the Minister. Those children will not qualify for this drug if this takes the timelines it normally takes. Even with the best will in the world of it moving fast, we are sitting on our laurels for a month here. That is one month gone. That is children failing.

Where is the delay coming from? Why has this HTA not been submitted and why is work not going on? I am reading about extra staff being allocated. I would understand if it takes overtime to get this moved as quickly as possible. To be honest, we do not have until Christmas. There are little children whom I have met and seen and I will not be able to look their parents in the eye if I have been working on this and those children do not qualify for that medication. It needs to be done quickly.

I thank Senator Costello for raising the issue. I will bring to the attention of the Minister what the Senator has raised. I am not aware of what the hold-up is regarding going through Northern Ireland and what the delay is.

Going on what the Senator is saying, she is very passionate about this and is anxious to get this over the line. Genuinely, I do not have the answers for her; I have the script here from the Department. What I will do is bring it back to the Minister and ask that she respond directly to the Senator as to why we cannot go through Northern Ireland or what the hold-up is and the delay on getting this through. I hear what the Senator says. It is much needed, badly needed and seriously needed for young people for their improvement in life. I will bring that to the attention of the Minister. I thank the Senator.

I welcome the Minister of State and thank him for coming in.

Across County Limerick and the wider region, we have seen a steady erosion of jobs, from Andersen Ireland a decade ago to Irish Dresden in 2021, Rettig in 2023 and, of course, Wyeth Nutritionals, which is closing next March. On top of that, last week we heard the announcement that Kostal in Abbeyfeale will be shutting down one of its sections, which could see up to 50%, that is, 200, of its jobs, being lost. It was confirmed that the company is moving that section of its plant to China. Also last week, Lidl had planning permission in for Abbeyfeale, which was refused, which would have created more employment for the area.

It seems to be a downward spiral constantly when it comes to jobs for west Limerick. Across the border, obviously, it is affecting County Kerry, because there are between 400 and 500 workers in Kostal in Abbeyfeale coming from the two regions, both Limerick and Kerry. This development is devastating for the local area, not only for these positions within the plant but also for the local shops. That is 200 fewer people driving into the town to get their diesel and to go to the shop at lunch. When you see a downward spiral in jobs at this level, it makes you worried as to what is coming.

I would like to know what the Department will do. Are the officials going to step in and discuss this with management? SIPTU is meeting with management on 9 October to see if there is any way of saving some of these jobs. There has been mention that some of these jobs could be moved to the company's Mallow branch. That is great for some, but it depends on where these workers are travelling from in the first place whether they can go to Mallow. I ask the Minister of State if he could take it to the Minister and see what he might be able to do to try to save some of these jobs.

I thank the Minister of State for taking this. The Commencement matter is on the future of the Kostal plant, as Senator Collins has alluded to. I stand with a very real sense of concern but also of hope that, through meaningful engagement and strategic investment, we can safeguard a future and jobs in the communities of west Limerick and north Kerry.

The situation at Kostal Ireland's Abbeyfeale plant is deeply troubling. For over four decades, this facility has provided stable employment and economic support to the region. Many of its workers have given the best years of their lives to this company. I, for one, can vouch for that. My spouse recently finished up with over 32 years' employment in this company. That is what it means to the north Kerry region. While many of its workers have given the best years of their lives to it, they now face a very uncertain future. We must ensure that their dedication is met with fairness and respect. That is why I am urging the Minister for Enterprise, Tourism and Employment to engage directly with union representatives - it is not too late - and Kostal management to allow for constructive dialogue to begin, which is essential not only to exploring solutions but also acknowledging the human impact of these decisions. These workers are not just numbers on a payroll; they are the backbone of their community.

This moment also invites us to look at the broader picture and ask why this is happening. The challenges facing Abbeyfeale, Newcastle West and the south west are not isolated incidents. They reflect a wider issue - the need for improved infrastructure and investment in our region. I am also calling today on the Minister for Transport and the Minister for public expenditure to expedite and prioritise the delivery of the bypasses for the towns of Abbeyfeale and Newcastle West, which have remained for many years a bottleneck on the N21 corridor. Road users continue to suffer from congestion and limited connectivity. There are five capital projects being planned for at present. One is at construction - the Adare bypass - and there are four at design stage. I call on the Minister for Transport to expedite these so that we can get this rolling, but today, our main issue is the workers within Kostal. I applaud Councillor Liam Galvin in Abbeyfeale who is constantly fighting for the road infrastructure investment to come into west Limerick. Without infrastructure and proper investment, we will not get new employers into the region.

I thank Senator Kennelly and Senator Collins for raising this important issue, which I am taking on behalf of the Minister, Deputy Burke.

I congratulate Senator Shane Curley. I think it is his first time in the Chair. It may be the first of many. In the next Seanad he could be the Cathaoirleach.

I thank the Senators for raising this matter. Kostal Group is an independent family-owned company headquartered in Germany serving the automotive market. The group's main activities include the development and manufacture of technologically advanced electronic and electromechanical products. Its primary mandate is the manufacture of on-board chargers, OBCs, for the electric vehicle, EV, industry.

On 9 September 2025, staff at Kostal’s Abbeyfeale operation were informed of the transfer of Abbeyfeale’s OBC production to China, which will have a direct impact on employee numbers at the plant. Notwithstanding the loss of the OBC business to China, Kostal has outlined to IDA Ireland its intention to continue operations in Abbeyfeale for the foreseeable future. This includes plans for future investment in the Abbeyfeale facility.

My foremost concern, and that of the Government, is for the potentially impacted employees and their families during this difficult and uncertain time. Ireland has a robust suite of employment rights legislation in place to protect and support workers where collective redundancies are proposed by an employer. In collective redundancy situations, the Protection of Employment Act 1977 imposes certain legal obligations on employers. This includes a 30-day information and consultation process with employees’ representatives, and to notify the Minister for Enterprise, Tourism and Employment at least 30 days before the first redundancy takes effect.

I confirm that the Department of Enterprise, Tourism and Employment has not received a collective redundancy notification from Kostal as of 4 p.m. yesterday. Furthermore, the Government provides a range of supports to any employees facing job losses and the Intreo service of the Department of Social Protection can assist with income supports and relevant employment and training opportunities where needed. Our enterprise agencies will also assist where possible in helping those impacted to find alternative employment. IDA Ireland is actively engaged with the company, including regular meetings with the Irish-based leadership team, and is keeping my Department informed.

I thank the Minister of State. This is great that it has not yet been announced to the Department but I have seen the internal emails to the staff. It is very important that the families of those who may be made redundant are looked after. However, if it does come to pass and 200 jobs are lost, I plead that the businesses in the area also be taken into account because of the loss of traffic that will be coming through and how the loss of those jobs will impact the wider community.

As the Minister of State said, I can confirm the Department of Enterprise, Tourism and Employment has not received a collective redundancy notification. This is warming to hear this morning. Through the Departments, can we as a Government intervene before we get this dreaded letter from Kostal informing us that this is happening? With contract law and all that, is it possible to intervene beforehand? I do not know. However, rather than waiting for it, let us knock on the door of Kostal to see what the Government can do to maybe save these jobs and protect these people's futures with further employment. Will the Government look at that?

I thank both Senators. They are concerned about the local shops and business that supply Kostal. It is a major concern always. When there is a multinational in an area, it is not just about the employment they provide; it is also about the subcontractors. I am sure the engagement with the IDA will be ongoing and every support from the Department will be made available to support the company in any way. If any decision is made, there is support available for the workers who might unfortunately lose their job. It is hoped that it might not come to that but the mechanisms of the State are there. I am sure they will be willing to work with the company and hopefully, some good news might come out of it. As I have stated, no notice of redundancies has come into the Department as of yet, so maybe that is some good news. I again thank both Senators for raising his important issue.

Sula bogaimid ar aghaidh go dtí an Seanadóir Cosgrove, ba mhaith liom fáilte a chur roimh na ndaltaí sa Gallery ó Ballyhaunis Comunity School, County Mayo. They are very welcome here. It is great to see students and their teachers coming in to the Chamber and witnessing politics in action. Go raibh míle maith agaibh as teacht isteach inniu.

I raise the ongoing issue of the absence of a community worker for MS services in counties Sligo and Leitrim. The north west has the highest instance of MS in the country, but alarmingly there is no dedicated MS community worker in Sligo or Leitrim. They are the only counties that do not have a dedicated community worker. MS Ireland put together a business proposal and submitted it to the Department of Health. It is looking to be treated like everywhere else in the country. There are 19 community workers employed throughout the country. They play a vital role for anyone who has MS. It is a condition that affects people differently.

The community worker is there to offer case management, support to families and to act as an advocate to look at finance and training. They are a voice for people who have been diagnosed with MS. There were a lot of Government TDs and local representatives from across parties and none at the business proposal meeting. They listened to stories from Sligo and Leitrim people with MS who do not have access to the services that we should have access to. MS Ireland put forward a business case and it is looking for just short of €73,000 to employ a community worker, which in the grand scheme of things is a drop in the ocean.

Some 300 people have been diagnosed with MS in Sligo and Leitrim. There should two community workers. I worked as a community worker with the Irish Wheelchair Association. Trying to manage a caseload of 300 people would be astronomical. I would put forward the case that there should be two. I ask the Minister to look favourably on this. We have continued on in the north west. There is a wonderful MS therapy centre. They have to raise €100,000 a year to keep it operating and it has been such a support for people living with MS and their families. The idea of having a community worker has been overlooked because the centre has been such a success in the north west.

I am going to quote Mary who was at the meeting I mentioned:

When I was diagnosed with MS in 2006, there was no dedicated community worker in Sligo. Almost two decades later the situation remains unchanged. Upon diagnosis I was provided with medication options by her urologist and left to navigate the rest on my own. The MS nurse gave her advice on how to take the medication but beyond that there was no structured support. I had no access to information on how to connect with other people living with MS, no guidance on what her future could look like if I had to stop working and no knowledge of the financial supports available. There was direction on how to access homecare should I require it nor any mention of MS Ireland or the resources they offer.

Sláintecare contains a dedicated commitment to an integrated approach to healthcare. If a community worker was employed, €73,000 is a drop in the ocean in the context of the Department of Health's spending budget. It would support social workers' case management and the management team in the support services sector around MS. I would like the Minister of State to reply that the people living with MS in the north west are not going to be treated like second-class citizens anymore.

This Commencement matter was submitted to the Department of Health and then forwarded over to the Minister, Deputy Foley who I answer it on behalf of.

I thank the Senator for raising this important issue and for offering me the opportunity to respond. HSE disability services has allocated funding on an annual basis to provide a range of services throughout the country. Funding is spent in line with nationally agreed policy for disability services, while at the same time endeavouring to maximise value. Services include residential and respite services, day services, PA and home support services, and therapeutic supports. Disability services are provided based on the presenting needs of an individual rather than by the diagnosis of the individual or the actual type of disability or service required. Services are provided following individual assessment according to the persons individual requirements and care needs.

The HSE works in partnership with organisations including section 38, section 39, out-of-State and for-profit organisations to ensure the best level of service possible is provided to people with a disability, and their families within the available resources.

The majority of specialised disability provision, which is 80%, is delivered through non-statutory sector service providers. The Multiple Sclerosis Society of Ireland, MS Ireland, provides a range of services and resources to the whole MS community: those with MS, family members, employers and health professionals.

Of the circa 850,000 people living with a neurological condition in Ireland, it is estimated that approximately 9,000 people are living with MS. Through its regional community workers, MS Ireland organises a range of living with MS programmes, workshops and activities throughout the country that are targeted at various groups such as those newly diagnosed, carers, children of parents with MS and health professionals. Programmes include physical therapies, symptom management, and information and education seminars. MS Ireland provides services at a local and national level. Locally, its team of regional workers provide one-to-one and group support and its 39 voluntary branches provide opportunities to socialise, share experiences and avail of services.

MS Ireland also operates a confidential helpline that provides immediate information and support to those affected by MS. MS Ireland receives funding from the HSE under section 39 of the Health Act 2004. In 2023, MS Ireland received more than €3 million from the HSE to support its services. The funding is governed by a number of service arrangements in seven of the nine former CHO areas, which identify service delivery provided by the agency in return for the money being provided to it.

There was no indication there that there is going to be any commitment to delivering MS services in the north west. I thank the Minister of State for outlining the amazing work MS Ireland and section 39 workers provide and I know that. Could the Minister of State bring it back to the Minister, and it would be really appreciated by the people in the north west, that this has been going on for decades, particularly when there is the highest instance in the north west of people with MS and we do not have the basic services that other counties do?

The Minister of State spoke about the role of disability reviews and that in 2018, the HSE disability capacity review stated that community workers were listed as the most used in multidisciplinary teams within disabilities. While these roles are available, people with disabilities can be enabled to access mainstream activities and services, slowing down or reducing the uptake on more traditional disability services. It is a cost-saving measure to introduce community workers and it avoids a duplication of work. Community workers do their job and people living with MS thereby get the supports they are entitled to because they are being signposted in the right direction. It cuts down and is a cost-saving measure in the long run.

I once again thank the Senator. The HSE recognises the value of MS Ireland and MS care centre support and services to people with multiple sclerosis. Each year the HSE participates in the Estimates process with the Department of Health and the Department of Children, Disability and Equality and makes a submission for additional moneys to meet the health and social care needs of the population it serves. The disability services make submissions for additional funding for day, residential, respite and home support, with PA hours, multidisciplinary posts and neurorehab moneys as a key element of its submission. Any new funding secured is allocated to the integrated healthcare areas to provide service to those with the greatest need on a priority basis.

The HSE confirms it has received submissions from MS Ireland. These are being considered as part of the 2026 Estimates process. I will bring the particular issue the Senator raised here today back to the Minister and ask her to report back directly to the Senator.

Today, I find this Commencement matter a little difficult to think about. Before I came into the Chamber, I got word that one of the families I reference in this have not heard from their three children in Gaza since I met them last week. That mother is Bushra. I met her and her son Mohammed this day last week. There are currently ten families still awaiting reunification with their children and siblings. I met this young boy last week who had lost his leg in an Israeli airstrike and lost his father in that same airstrike. His mother came here with him to seek medical care through the medical evacuations but he was split from his three siblings who are orphaned in the Gaza Strip and who are receiving some basic care from their 81-year-old grandmother who is not in a position to care for them. They have been displaced three times since Bushra arrived here with her son.

Mohammed spoke about missing playing with his siblings. I have done nothing but think about play since then, which is probably an unusual thing to think about but we heal grief through play. When we think of our sibling relationships, it is a moment where we feel freedom. When you think of the hypervigilance Mohammed and his family must have felt in Gaza and the trauma they experienced, we truly feel our sovereign selves when we engage and sit into play because, for those moments, we can at least be free from the trauma that has completely enveloped their lives.

Mohammed currently does not have his three siblings with him and that is an absolute travesty. There is a fine line between not being dead and being alive. When we provide physical care to somebody to keep them alive, we must understand that, as a whole person, as a whole family, we cannot keep them alive but then kill them spiritually and psychologically. We need to ensure that, in saving Mohammed, we also save his future and he is not left to carry the burden of wondering where his three siblings are today and not being able to connect with them and know they are still alive. They are also only children. We cannot orphan children in Gaza when they could be here with Bushra and with Mohammed.

Last week when I met this young, amazing, resilient boy, beyond any resilience I think any of us could comprehend, we went over to the canteen to buy a bar of chocolate and he chose a Kit Kat. He then communicated through his mother that he chose that because he could break the fingers into one finger of chocolate for each of his siblings. If we can see the level of bounds of that young boy's heart, we have to be able to keep his heart healing and keep it growing because his progression, his rehabilitation and his life depends on his family being here with him, just like those nine other families. Like I said, we cannot just focus on the physical living of an individual, we must focus on the whole. We must focus on their spiritual and psychological well-being and we must focus on being able to keep families together so they can begin to process the grief and trauma they have endured and they can do that together.

What we need to know today is what actions are being taken to reunify those families. The ten families are waiting and I paid particular attention to Bushra and her situation today, purposely because their father is also gone so they are on their own. There currently has been no communication for seven days with those young children.

I thank the Senator for bringing this matter regarding the process for family reunification in respect of the families under the Gaza medical initiative. I am taking it on behalf of the Minister, Deputy O’Callaghan, who unfortunately could not be here this morning.

First, on my behalf and on behalf of the Minister, Deputy O’Callaghan, I express our sympathies to all the Palestinian people for the difficult circumstances they are encountering. There is no justification for the devastating loss of life and the attacks on civilians and healthcare services in Gaza. I am advised by the Minister that his Department is acutely aware of the grave humanitarian crisis in Gaza, and his officials are working closely with their colleagues in the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade to ensure a co-ordinated national response to this volatile and evolving situation. This includes their work to evacuate Irish citizens and their families who may require visa assistance.

Ireland has a strong tradition of providing humanitarian assistance. The Department of Justice, Home Affairs and Migration has been supporting the Minister for Health and the HSE in facilitating the evacuation of paediatric patients in line with the Government decision to accept up to 30 paediatric patients from Gaza and their carers, in response to the World Health Organization's request to react to the humanitarian crisis in Gaza. The Department of Health and the HSE continue to lead on future medical evacuation operations and will bring all actors together again in the response.

Medical evacuation operations are extraordinarily difficult. Ireland has carried out two successful medical evacuations of 12 paediatric patients out of the commitment of up to 30 patients, with 12 carers and a further 21 family members accompanying the patients.

All the family members have been medically assessed and are being treated for a range of conditions as necessary.

On 15 July 2025, the Government amended the scope of the Gaza medical evacuation initiative to allow family members of paediatric patients who are parents, minor siblings or adult dependent siblings of the patient, on grant of visas, to enter the State. This decision not only applies to future medical evacuation operations but also to the families already here who have qualifying family members still in Gaza. The Minister, Deputy Jim O’Callaghan, assures me that he appreciates that those who have been medically evacuated are eager for their family members to join them in Ireland. It remains the Department’s policy that the families brought to Ireland under the Gaza medical evacuation initiative should not be separated. I am advised by the Minister that his Department will swiftly consider all applications from Gaza on a case-by-case basis. The Irish Red Cross has offered to assist families in Ireland to apply for entry visas for their family members still in Gaza. We are committed to supporting the evacuation of the remaining children with their families. The officials of the Minister, Deputy O’Callaghan, officials are working closely with the Department of Health regarding future arrivals who are expected later in the year. While the Department can grant visas for eligible family members to travel to Ireland, it is not in a position to provide practical assistance to family members who are seeking evacuation directly from Gaza.

We must be very clear on the exact steps. An article published in The Irish Times yesterday insinuated that no one would be medically evacuated if they did not have a surviving parent to care for them. This is inaccurate. Bushra's three children did not have a surviving parent to evacuate with them. On aiding them on the other side, I do not know how to even begin to imagine a scenario where we try to co-ordinate the evacuation of three children on the other side, which means we need to identify an advocate or another family member to come with them. The problem is that all we know is that the Minister, Deputy Carroll MacNeill, brought a memorandum to the Government this week recognising that Ireland should also evacuate patients' siblings for humanitarian reasons, but there has been no more clarity about when those family members will be reunited. We understand that the intention is reunification, but there is still no detail on how we will evacuate children to join their siblings, to ensure we offer full refuge and care to families. That is currently not happening and, unfortunately, the response still has not provided that clarity from the Department.

I assure the Senator that the Minister, Deputy O’Callaghan, remains extremely concerned about the situation in Gaza and the Government is committed to supporting international efforts to bring an end to this dreadful conflict. The Department of Justice, Home Affairs and Migration will continue to support its colleagues in the Departments of Foreign Affairs and Trade and Health in further medical evacuation operations.

On timelines surrounding the arrival of these people, visa applications from Palestine are received by the Embassy of Ireland in Tel Aviv, which processes certain visa applications under delegated sanction on behalf of the Department. The Minister, Deputy O'Callaghan's, officials in the visa division are in regular contact with the embassy regarding visa applications from residents of Gaza, the West Bank and Lebanon. Both Departments work together to ensure visa applications for Palestinian nationals who meet the criteria to be granted a visa are processed as swiftly as possible. The embassy is actively engaging with applicants to gather the required documents to ensure the visa division of the Department has everything it needs to progress these applications.

The Minister assures the Palestinian community and their loved ones that officials in the Department of Justice, Home Affairs and Migration will process their applications as swiftly as possible. While the Department cannot help directly with the evacuation of people from Gaza, colleagues in the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade have, since the beginning of the crisis, supported and facilitated the travel of more than 200 people from Gaza to Ireland. They will continue to help as much as they can and the Department of justice will do all it can to assist them in their efforts.

I again express my sympathies to the people of Palestine on what is a very difficult situation.

Before I thank the Minister of State and Senators for their contributions, I welcome to the Gallery Deputy Cleere and his three special guests, Erin Hoare, Oisín Hennebry and Caroline Morrisey. I reassure the guests that at times I see steam coming out of the ears of Deputy Cleere in the corridors of Leinster House. He has been working extremely hard since he was elected.

I will pick up on one small point from Senator Ruane. It is the play therapy concept, which could be explored. As a former secondary school teacher, I have seen it in action. A lot of what she said hit home. I acknowledge that.

The Minister of State covered everything from enterprise to health, tourism, employment, justice and home affairs. He covered a wide range of briefs today. I thank him for his responses and, in the instances where he did not have the full answers, I thank him for his commitment to liaise with the relevant Ministers and revert to the Seanad. It is much appreciated.

Bhí sé mar onóir ollmhór orm a bheith i mo Chathaoirleach Gníomhach don chéad uair inniu sa Seanad. Is onóir ollmhór é a bheith in ann suí anseo mar Chathaoirleach Gníomhach. Gabhaim buíochas leis na Seanadóirí as ucht na hoibre ar fad atá á déanamh acu agus leis an Aire Stáit, an Teachta Grealish.