I thank the Deputy. The Government is committed to full ratification of the optional protocol. There is a process I have not veered away from since I became Minister of State which relates to two matters I referred to in my reply. The first is the general scheme of the Assisted Decision-Making (Capacity) (Amendment) Bill 2021 that has gone to the Joint Committee on Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth. I ask the joint committee to prioritise its consideration of that. I allocated funding in last ye…

I suppose I should be glad you are in the Chair tonight, a Leas-Cheann Comhairle, or you would be adding your voice on this matter. I acknowledge the Saolta group as I am a resident who accesses the Saolta group. It is important to put that on the record. I accept that our waiting lists are far too big. Many patients are waiting an unacceptably long period of time. The waiting lists were too long before the pandemic but have worsened due to Covid-19 and the cyberattack. We are taking action to address this. For 202…

The 2018 health service capacity review was clear on the need for a major investment in additional capacity in both acute hospitals and in the community, combined with wide-scale reform of the manner and location of the provision of health services. Approximately 800 beds have been provided on a permanent basis over the number available at the end of 2019. We have hired more than 6,000 staff - doctors, nurses, midwives and therapists - since last summer. On 7 October the Minister, Deputy Stephen Donnelly, published…

They have not been open for many years.

I thank Deputy Murnane O'Connor for raising this issue. I acknowledge her work in advocating for the people of Carlow-Kilkenny. I am taking this matter on behalf of the Minister for Health, Deputy Stephen Donnelly. I can confirm that a preferred site has been identified close to Tullow town centre for the construction of a new primary care centre. The new facility will not only provide community services to the people of Tullow, it will also serve the local population in the surrounding areas of Rathvilly and Hacke…

I can assure the Deputy that the Minister, Deputy Donnelly, and I are absolutely committed to delivering the investment and reforms required to improve our health service. This very much includes the continuing development of primary care centres right across the country. Significant progress has been made and there are now 146 operational centres throughout the country, up from 70 at the end of 2012. Looking to next year we are targeting the opening of another 24 centres, so we have real momentum in the building p…

Again, I am taking this matter on behalf of the Minister, Deputy Stephen Donnelly. Diabetes is a complex condition that can have a profound impact on the quality of life of people living with the condition. If not well managed, it can lead to debilitating complications. The increasing prevalence of diabetes poses a major challenge to our health service, with increasing costs driven primarily by hospitalisation and treating associated complications. Management of the condition is required across the entire spectrum …

Let us be clear on the response. Portlaoise hospital has employed an advanced nurse practitioner in diabetes to support the diabetes service and has recently approved an additional 0.5 whole-time equivalent to meet the needs in the dietetic service. In reference to the dietetic service, a 0.5 of a whole-time equivalent has been approved and that was shared in my initial response. I will seek further clarification to give the Deputy a comprehensive answer from the Minister, Deputy Stephen Donnelly. This Government i…

I thank Senator Lynn Ruane for bringing forward these statements today. I also acknowledge Shane Griffin, and I thank Senator Fiona O'Loughlin for mentioning Shane. It was Shane who informed me the first day ever about what it was like to be a child in care. He helped me in my previous role as spokesperson on the children's committee. I would not have come with all of the knowledge and, therefore, I had to reach out to have a better understanding. I thank many people who informed me but Shane in particular played a…

I thank Members for their contributions. In January this year, the Taoiseach, on behalf of the Government, the State and its citizens, apologised for the profound generational wrong visited upon Irish mothers and their children who ended up in mother and baby homes or county homes. He stated categorically that the State did not uphold its duty of care and thereby failed these women and children. He acknowledged that an apology alone was not enough but only a first step. The Government had undertaken to respond to t…

I wish to share time.

I thank Deputies for their contributions and for the opportunity to address this motion. I also thank the joint committee both for its invaluable work in seeking to improve services and promote the rights of people with disabilities and for producing the report. Having published Ireland's first State report on the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities last Thursday, it is timely that we are having the discussion here today. I wish to start by talking about the new Department, which wi…

I thank the Ceann Comhairle for giving the go-ahead to the Joint Committee on Disability Matters. It was a new venture and one appreciated for allowing that voice into these Houses. I thank committee members for giving me the opportunity to come before them tonight and engage with them. I am aware that not all senior Ministers might come before the committee. One of the privileges I have is that I can knock on their doors to see how we are working for persons with disabilities. While I was sitting there I was think…

I thank Senator Conway for the opportunity to address the House on this important matter, which I am taking on behalf of the Minister for Health, Deputy Stephen Donnelly. I assure the Senator that the Government remains fully committed to improving patient-centred care and services across the country. That commitment is seen in the unprecedented level of funding that is being targeted across the health service in budget 2022. This investment will ensure that hospitals can continue to develop the services they provi…

I again assure the Senator that the Government and Department of Health remain fully committed to improving services and having patient-centred care in Limerick and throughout the country. This includes diabetic services. It is clear that significant efforts are being made to ensure such services are being progressively developed at the University Limerick Hospitals Group. The group is fully aware of the need for additional resources within its diabetic services. For this reason, it is proactively working to increa…

I thank the Senator again for raising the topic of diabetes. It is incredibly timely, especially in view of the fact that we celebrated World Diabetes Day last Sunday. I am taking this question on behalf of the Minister, Deputy Stephen Donnelly. Some of the questions the Senator asked reach into other areas of health and I will hopefully get the chance to respond to them when I have read the prepared statement into the record. Diabetes is a complex condition that has a profound impact on the quality of life of peop…

It would not be within my gift to put a timeline on it. The Minister, Deputy Donnelly, would have to speak to that piece. The Senator was correct in saying funding has been allocated for the e-budget. However, when there is a slippage in the numbers the Senator mentioned, one would have to ask how that happened and what the long-term costing of care is within that. Is our system not working within general practice or is it not working within the wider sphere of health? That is the first question we have to ask beca…

I thank the Senator for raising this Commencement matter. I am taking it on behalf of the Minister, Deputy Stephen Donnelly. As the Senator will be aware, publication of the assisted human reproduction legislation is a priority for the Department and the Government and a commitment to enact the legislation is included in the programme for Government, Our Shared Future. The Department continues to engage intensively with the Office of the Attorney General in order to finalise this complex legislation. I was really s…

It is not possible to give a definite timeline for the completion of the AHR Bill and its subsequent passage through the Houses of the Oireachtas. However, as the Senator said, it is on the priority list for drafting and publication during the current term. I understand intensive work on the Bill is being undertaken by officials to finalise the legislation before the end of this year. Regarding the current supports for those undertaking the AHR treatment, a defined list of fertility medicines needed for such treatm…

I thank Senator Boyhan for raising this Commencement matter today and I thank the Cathaoirleach for selecting it. The Senator has a direct question that quite rightly, deserves a direct response. The Minister, Deputy O'Gorman, and his officials are actively considering the contents of the report in advance of bringing it to Government and publishing it. The Minister intends to engage with individuals affected by illegal birth registrations on the report in due course. The Minister has the report and is actively wor…