I cannot support the amendment as I do not believe that it is necessary. The Bill provides that before an identification programme begins a director will hold a public information campaign to raise awareness about the programme, and outline how eligible family members and spouses or civil partners of a deceased person can register an interest in participating, objecting to another person's participation or their interest in receiving remains. It has always been the intention of the Minister, Deputy O'Gorman, that t…

I thank the Senator. I do not propose to support this amendment as I feel it is unnecessary. The definition of relevant information and documents in the Bill is open-ended and it facilitates the consideration of various types of documents that may support the identification of a deceased person, including records relating to a person who resided in the institution concerned. No record relating to such a person is excluded from the current definition. In response to amendments proposed in the Dáil, the list of examp…

A similar amendment was proposed in the Dáil. In response, the Minister agreed to examine it in order that it would be possible to amend the legislation to ensure that a director would be in a position to attend Oireachtas committee meetings following publication of the final report. On Report Stage in the Dáil, the Minister brought forward amendments that require a director to submit a final report to the relevant Minister at least 12 weeks before dissolution date. The relevant Minister will then be required to la…

I thank Deputy Pringle for raising this issue. Earlier today I had a meeting with the HSE to get an update on that validation report. I have sought further information which the HSE will revert with in the next ten days and I will keep the House updated.

I thank the Deputy for raising this important matter and for giving me the opportunity to speak on it. She is right that I take this issue very seriously. A script has been circulated but I am not going to stick to it. I would like to tell the Deputy the case she has raised is unique. I would like to say that parent is the only parent in the country who is experiencing this. I would hate that parent to think I have sat on my hands for the past 12 months. I have repeatedly asked the HSE to improve its communication.…

As I have repeatedly stated, it is my job to seek funding for the HSE through the good offices of the Ministers, Deputies Donohoe and Michael McGrath, and then to operationalise that funding. For the past two years, I have been successful in the funding I have acquired. While I am grateful for that, it is disheartening to secure enough funding for 475 posts but for it not to be operationalised on the ground. I was disturbed to discover recently that the HSE did not have a pay grade for behavioural therapists. Secti…

I thank the Deputy for raising this question and it is not the first time she has raised it here. I have also heard the Deputy talk about it locally. As the Deputy has said, St. Monica's ward in University Hospital Galway was temporarily closed on 23 March this year, but I am pleased to report the ward reopened on 13 June. I reassure the Deputy that during this time all gynaecology patients were cared for in St. Angela's ward and we are aware of that. Experienced staff from St. Monica's ward provided care to the wo…

No, they have not.

I thank the Deputy. She is right that it is unacceptable that a ward would be closed and that we would not be communicated with on it so that we would know how many beds were closed. I do not know today how many beds have reopened other than I have been told the ward is open. I will find out for the Deputy. When we talk about spin and everything else, I know the Minister, Deputy Donnelly, takes this role seriously, so much so that he paid a surprise visit to the accident and emergency department in University Hospi…

I move: "That the Bill be now read a Second Time." I think my speech is coming. I welcome the opportunity to introduce the Assisted Decision-Making (Capacity) (Amendment) Bill 2022 to the House. I look forward to this afternoon's debate and hearing the contributions of Deputies on this important legislation. I thank all those who have engaged with the preparation of the Bill, especially my colleagues on the Oireachtas Joint committee who gave their time to pre-legislative scrutiny for the general scheme. The commit…

I am open to that and I will do it.

I thank the Deputy for raising this issue. He is right when he says the 2020 programme for Government includes a commitment to establish a national medicines agency which will seek to reduce the cost of medicines for the State and for patients. As the Deputy is aware, the existing pricing and reimbursement process for medicines involves the work of a number of individual bodies and agencies. The collective contributions of these agencies are crucial to the HSE executive management team's decision-making with respec…

I am happy to share some of my time to have allowed the Deputy to get in his last few words. He is correct in what he said. We must move away from the practice of saying why we are not doing a particular aspect of work. There is no denying that action on this issue is included in the programme for Government. As Minister of State, it is something I would like to see commencing, for all the reasons the Deputy outlined. First and foremost, orphan drugs make a significant difference to the lives of individuals. Second…

As the Ceann Comhairle knows, I spend a lot of time in here on a Thursday evening.

I thank the Ceann Comhairle for his indulgence. I welcome Bill O'Brien and Ming Chang O'Brien, who are accompanying my sister, to the Visitors Gallery. They are visiting from the US and have called in this evening to have a chat.

I am taking this Commencement matter on behalf of the Minister of State, Deputy Butler, who sends her apologies for not being here this morning. I would like to thank the Senator for raising this issue, which is a key priority for the Minister of State, Deputy Butler, and for the Government. It will allow more people to engage in services that will allow them to remain independent and to live in their own homes with dignity and independence for as long as possible. Where this is not feasible, the health service sup…

I thank the Senator again. It is important to say the Government is committed to trying to establish schemes which are focused on prevention and early intervention in respect of appropriate care settings. The point that the Senator has just made is fair. The cost of this scheme is one eighth of the cost of going into a nursing home. It is also keeping people in their community. What the Senator described to me is a family network. However, at the end of the day, costs are rising. I will discuss it further with the …

Okay.

I thank the Senator for raising this important issue. There is no pressure attached. It is important to state that the HSE has no statutory responsibility for providing transport to day services and that transport to day services is not usually provided for service users. At the same time I would preface that by saying that the HSE, under disability, spends in excess of €40 million every year on transport, while it provides no transport. I am trying to work that out myself and that is why I have taken ownership of …

It is important to say that the reason that charge is in place is to ensure that there is a service. That was the decision that was taken at an executive level and within the HSE at a local level a number of years ago. The Senator clearly outlined the challenge this is putting before families that have more than one family member who needs to attend a day service. It is on my agenda, I chair that committee and I work closely with Edel Quinn, with whom I have had those conversations. I compliment the local HSE as it…