I am sorry, I am speaking through the Chair. This is not just the Government making a decision as to how we reopen but is a collaboration. It is equally not just about young people versus old people. This is to ensure that everybody can get back to normal society.

Does the Deputy support Deputy Mattie McGrath's comments?

Through the Chair, the Deputy should focus on his own opinions. He is talking about me through the Chair but is making personal attacks.

Through the Chair, I want that reference to me withdrawn. The Deputy called me stupid.

I thank the Deputy for tabling this question. To be honest and get straight to the answer, I will provide a clear timeline: it will be published within a week.

Prior to having the disability capacity review published, the Government delivered on disability matters over the past 12 months and when we went through the process of budgetary preparedness last year. It is important to provide a recap on what we have delivered. There have been 126 individuals moved from congregated settings and funding was put in place to ensure a total of 102 new residential places, as well as 144 replacements in the community. More than 80% of the backlog of assessment of needs since June 2020…

I concur completely with the Deputy about disability-proofing across all Departments. As I speak, we are disability-proofing the medical model through the Department of Health. When I move to a new Department dealing with inclusion and equality matters under the Minister, Deputy Roderic O'Gorman, we will reach out to every other Department, including those dealing with education, transport and employment. Disability is not just about medical needs but it is about how a person can access education, do transition pla…

I thank the Deputy for raising this question and giving me the opportunity to address it. Seaview Respite House was closed until January 2021 but it has reopened and Rehab has the contract to deliver care there. It is open only five days a week and I would like to see it open seven days a week in the future because respite is such a crucial part and cornerstone of supporting families. Drumboe Respite House is a centre based in Stranorlar, County Donegal. It provides services including respite for adults and childre…

I need to correct the Deputy on a fact. He said it is not open. Of the three residents living in Drumboe Respite House at present, the plan is that two residents will move to Slieve Sneacht, Letterkenny. A technical assessment will be completed this week and a programme of minor works will be completed on the house. This has been prioritised in the programme of work and the move will be facilitated as soon as possible to do so. One resident has been identified for a joint placement with an external provider. Compat…

Seaview Respite House was closed until the budget became available in budget 2021. The Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine, Deputy McConalogue, has brought to my attention the need for it to be open seven days at week. Conversations have started in the HSE to ensure a funding application will be put forward to expand the service from five days to seven days. The Deputy can reassure the families this is a priority in the Donegal area.

I thank the Deputy for raising the question. The first quarterly HSE assessment of need report for 2021 indicates that as of 31 March 2021, the commencement of four assessments and the completion of 85 assessments were overdue in the Wexford area. Children who applied for an assessment of need after January 2020 will receive a preliminary team assessment. In some cases, these assessments will identify a requirement for a diagnostic autism spectrum disorder assessment. In the first quarter of 2021, 27 children in th…

As I said, this time last year, funding amounting to €7.8 million was made available through the Sláintecare initiative to address the backlog of assessments of needs. Since then, more than 80% of that funding has been delivered and we have managed to move forward with the PDS initiative. I have a concern in regard to CHO 5, however, in terms of ensuring all assessments are continuing. We are really having two different conversations here. When I talk about health, I am talking about an interventions-based and need…

It is not just in County Wexford that this issue arises; the entire CHO 5 needs to be addressed. For every child that is presenting through CHO 5, I need to ensure that an early assessment is taking place and, thereafter, that an intervention is happening while we are waiting for the roll-out of the PDS framework. No child and no family should have to access private services. The whole purpose of my seeking funding to clear the backlog last year was to ensure we get to an intervention-based model, not an assessment…

I thank the Deputies for their valuable comments on this motion. The debate has been useful and will be of great benefit as the Department continues to progress proposals to enhance and improve services for older persons further. I will pick up on a small, but key point made by Deputy Harkin that needs to be addressed by the Minister of State, Deputy Butler, and me. It has to do with recognising the valuable work and sleepless nights of nursing home owners and staff throughout Covid and the 100% they gave. It was n…

I thank Deputy Pringle for raising this issue and, most importantly, for bringing these matters to the attention of the HSE in 2016 on foot of concerns raised with him by a whistleblower. These concerns relate to the care and safeguarding of vulnerable service users in a HSE residential service for adults with a disability located within community healthcare organisation, CHO, 1, which comprises the counties of Donegal, Sligo, Leitrim, Cavan and Monaghan. As the Minister of State with responsibility for disability,…

I thank the Deputy for his persistence on this matter. I also acknowledge the role of the whistleblower. I confirm to the House that I have been given an assurance by the HSE that there are new policies and processes in place in CHO 1 to manage safeguarding concerns, including in the residential service that was the subject of the Brandon report. The independent review carried out by the national independent review panel is critical and I am keen to see the learnings from the report made public and acted upon. It i…

I thank Senator Crowe for tabling this Commencement matter. I am responding on behalf of the Minister of State at the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment, Deputy Troy. However, I wish to make a few points before I give the Senator the Minister of State's response. Last week was not just a low point for people in the business, it was a low point for the country. Everybody was looking forward to the reopening taking place on 5 July. I am also aware that one week in July is equivalent to November, as the Se…

I again thank the Senator for giving me the opportunity to respond. The Senator is right. The working groups of the VFI and the RAI, under Mr. Adrian Cummins, have been working tirelessly since the start of the pandemic. At all times they have approached it in a very measured format of what is right for their industry, the employers and the associated employees. There is a great deal of stress attached to this at present. There is no doubt about that. The Senator and I are from Galway and we know that the businesse…

I thank Senator Mullen for raising this topic. I am taking this Commencement matter on behalf of the Minister for Health, Deputy Donnelly, but I am also acutely interested in the nature of the question the Senator raised. On foot of the challenges experienced due to the recent cyberattack, which required a temporary shut down of the HSE IT system, the HSE is currently unable to access some of the information such as the relevant data from its patients’ private property accounts system, which my Department mighty us…

I thank the Senator for raising this matter in the Seanad, for his comments and for drawing attention to the HSE’s important and valuable patients’ private property accounts service, which provides a high standard of security for the finances of those in our care who would not otherwise be able to manage that themselves. I acknowledge the Senator's reference to the reduction in the number of post offices and bank branches, with the Bank of Ireland recently closing a number of its branches. Older persons do not have…