I wish to thank Seanad Éireann and acknowledge its co-operation in specifically giving us the opportunity to address this Bill. I am here today to address the House on the Health (Amendment) (No. 3) Bill 2021. The purpose of this Bill is to strengthen Ireland's ability to respond to the ongoing and emerging threats to public health from Covid-19. As we have always done, we need to act as and when required to ensure we do what we can to protect our health. Amending the Health Act 1947 will allow for the reintroducti…

I thank the Senator.

I welcome this opportunity and I thank all the Senators who participated so eloquently in the debate on this legislation. Senator Clifford-Lee set a clear tone at the start when she said that nobody wanted to be in here today, but we find ourselves in this unfortunate position. By and large, the tone of the contributions all the way through is that we are here to protect people. This legislation is a safety measure, as opposed to a measure needed immediately. It is a precautionary measure to enable the Government t…

I thank the Deputies who tabled these amendments. There was a comprehensive discussion on this matter last night in the Dáil and Sinn Féin's spokesperson on health was to the fore of the conversation. The debate did not result in a vote and my understanding was that the Minister agreed that many publications have been compiled in the Department of Health on how mandatory quarantine has operated. The Minister has various publications he is prepared to share and that would help with some of the communications issues.…

I thank the Senators for tabling this amendment, and for giving us the time and opportunity to discuss it and to tease out where there were perhaps challenges in previous hotel quarantine legislation. I hope that is what the Minister did last night in the Dáil. I will read out exactly what he delivered. The Minster said clearly last night that terminations are to be regarded as "unavoidable, imperative and time-sensitive", the wording used for exemption. He also undertook to make sure the implementation of the exem…

I totally understand the reason Senator Moynihan is pressing this amendment is to ensure that there is a clear understanding of this matter in the regulations and that is set out within them. Wording is everything and we talked about communications earlier. In this respect, this needs to be set out and clearly identified as part of the exemptions. The Minister gave a clear commitment on the floor of the Dáil last night that this would be clearly articulated within the regulations.

I thank Sinn Féin again for giving us the opportunity to have this conversation. Yesterday evening in the Dáil, when the Minister, Deputy Stephen Donnelly, was present, there was a really good, comprehensive conversation on this. The Sinn Féin health spokesperson accepted the Minister's commitment and assurances to provide a report of the kind requested, in time. In the interest of ensuring the Bill passes as quickly as possible, however, and bearing in mind the urgency of having all the tools possible at our dispo…

I thank the Minister of State for giving me a little of her time. I also thank the Ceann Comhairle for giving his time yesterday evening to mark International Day of Persons with Disabilities, and I thank the House for turning Leinster House purple. I thank Deputy Pádraig O'Sullivan for introducing this Bill. This matter is something about which I am passionate. On the Opposition benches, I saw the great work we did with Orkambi and Kalydeco in respect of cystic fibrosis and the difference that work made to people'…

I want to echo the words of the Acting Chairperson on the role Senator Conway plays here in the Upper House. In his engagement at all times with me, as a Minister of State, on not just a single issue but a multitude of them, he is a strong and powerful advocate. I also want to wish him luck in his recent appointment to a position on a European board representing Ireland. I have no doubt but that he will fly the flag very well for persons with disabilities and Ireland. The Senator has asked three valid questions of …

I would like again to underline the Government's commitment to implementing the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities. Much of the work for the year ahead will involve advancing the measures needed to implement the convention so that Ireland is in a position to ratify the optional protocol as soon as possible. As it is Disabilities Week and tomorrow is International Day of Disabilities, the Senator is right. The way out of poverty is through employment and education. Awareness, training, breaking…

I thank the Deputy for the opportunity to discuss Cappagh hospital and orthopaedics. I acknowledge my colleagues, Deputies Brendan Smith, Cahill and McAuliffe, who brought me to Cappagh hospital and gave me the opportunity to see at first hand what the Deputy has articulated to me. The Deputies also gave me the opportunity to meet the mother of the Deputy's young constituent, and I also met one of Deputy Cahill's constituents. Deputy McNamara is right. It is not until one comes face to face with a parent who can ve…

It is important to state that, as with all capital projects, this project must progress through the various stages of public spending code and the HSE's capital project manuals and approval protocols in the first instance. The project is currently at a strategic assessment stage and its progress is subject to approval and availability of funding. It is also important to state, however, that decisions are currently being made in respect of elective hospitals. The National Treatment Purchase Fund, NTPF, funding does …

I thank the Deputy for raising this important matter, which I am taking on behalf of the Minister for Health, Deputy Stephen Donnelly. The Minister is acutely aware that access to dental services for medical card holders under the dental treatment services scheme, DTSS, has become an ever-increasing problem during the pandemic. The problem is that too many dentists contracted by the HSE to treat medical card patients have chosen to leave the scheme. This has led to difficulties for medical card patients in accessin…

I take on board everything the Deputy said and I will liaise directly with the Minister, Deputy Donnelly. It is important to say on his behalf that his officials have been engaging with the dental profession. He has secured funding. I will speak to the Minister about taking immediate action and engaging with the Irish Dental Association. All Deputies are contacted by constituents who are severely impacted by this, such as a 17-year-old who needs to have her teeth cleaned before she gets orthodontic treatment and ca…

I thank the Cathaoirleach for selecting this matter for discussion and I thank Senator Malcolm Byrne for bringing it forward. When tabling it, the Senator put it forward to the Department of Education, but it was deflected to me in my role as Minister of State with responsibility for disability. It is important to understand that while I will be giving an answer, the true pathway in terms of response lies within the control of the Department of Education. As the Senator rightly stated, the Irish Sign Language Act 2…

If it was in compliance with the Act, I would not be here taking a Commencement matter this morning. Perhaps that is the best way to answer the question. At the end of the day, we have young people whose parents are their advocates. We all talk about early intervention through speech and language therapy, occupational therapy and physiotherapy, but we also talk about early intervention in education. Under the access inclusion model, AIM, programme and the early childhood care and education, ECCE, scheme, the young …

I am taking this question on behalf of the Minister of State, Deputy Peter Burke. If I had known Deputy Griffin was going to speak entirely in Irish, I would have asked the departmental officials to have the courtesy to give the response in Irish.

However, the reply I have received is in English and I will deliver it as such. On behalf of the Minister of State, I thank Deputy Griffin for raising this issue. The Minister of State welcomes this opportunity to update Members on work currently under way within the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage on this important issue. First, I want to outline the context and policy framework that underpin this work. The ongoing implementation of the language planning process has a statutory footing under t…

It is important that I read out the last part of the reply, which relates to the various policies to which the Deputy referred. Membership of the working group established by the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage is made up of representatives from the Department of Tourism, Culture, Arts Gaeltacht, Sport and Media, Údarás na Gaeltachta and the relevant local authorities. The Minister, Deputy Darragh O'Brien, is committed to working with the relevant stakeholders in the coming months with a view t…

I thank Deputy Cairns for raising the issue of the optional protocol and recognise that Friday is international day for persons with disabilities. It is also great to have the opportunity to discuss the matter this week and keep a focus on the agenda. I appreciate the Deputy's commitment and that of the entire House for the progression and ratification of the optional protocol. Ratifying the optional protocol to the UN Convention on the Right of Persons with Disabilities is a matter of significant importance to me …