I will bring everything the Senators have said back to the Minister. The women's task force is meeting later on this week and I will be 100% supportive of it. For far too long, young ladies did not really know what they were presenting with. They all thought this was normal but it is far from normal. No man in the country would accept this. It is mainly ladies who are present in the Chamber for this conversation on International Women's Day and there is no way a man would put up with what the Senators have describe…

I have enjoyed the conversation. One could not call it a debate. It was a really engaging conversation from the very beginning and all the way through. Everyone brought up really poignant topics in their contributions across the whole two hours. It is amazing when one sits down and reflects on one's own time and how one ended up in politics. For me personally, it goes back to my mother. There was a pothole down the road from where we lived so she drove into the council office one day. The pothole had been there for…

That is what goes on and we have to call it out. There is no point in us talking about percentages. They are only as good as what follows on from them. Without mentioning specifics, I have experience on a county council where females could not make their way onto an ETB because the boys would not leave even though that meant the board was not meeting its structural requirements. There is so much more to do, but I feel empowered because there are such strong women inside the gates of Leinster House and there are gre…

I wish I could say that women have always been treated fairly and equally by this State but it is important to acknowledge that this country has curtailed progress on women's rights at various points. We need only look at last night's "RTÉ Investigates" programme about illegal adoptions for yet another unearthing of discrimination. It is maddening to see how the State, and particularly Governments of the past, failed to protect and advocate for the rights of women. This, of course, follows on from the hurt and pain…

I thank the Deputy for raising this important issue. I am responding on behalf of the Minister for Health, Deputy Donnelly. Testing and contact tracing continues to be fundamental to our response to the pandemic. It is critical to ensuring that we can identify and contain the spread of the virus. The HSE has adopted RT-PCR as the gold standard test for diagnosing Covid-19 cases. This is the most reliable test that we have available for this purpose. In addition, appropriately validated antigen diagnostic tests are …

I thank the Deputy for raising this matter. It is interesting that we are having this conversation today, because only last week I met Paul Reid and Dr. Colm Henry regarding this matter. The week before, the Minister of Health and I also had a long conversation on this issue. Rapid antigen testing is a complementary tool, and as the vaccination programme is being rolled out it is imperative that we have backup alternatives available as we reopen society. It would give people the hope that Deputy Pádraig O'Sullivan …

I thank the Deputy for raising this important issue for discussion. I think this is the third time I have come into the House to answer a Topical Issue matter regarding the Laois-Offaly area. I am thankful that Deputies Fleming and Cowen do not seek responses from me as well, or I would be in here every couple of weeks answering these questions. The Government does understand this situation. I know all too well the difficulties families are facing in securing access to some disability services. That is why in prepa…

I agree with Deputy Stanley in respect of contracts. It is often a fear that short-term contracts are intended only to bridge the gap for six or 12 months. The HSE will this year recruit approximately 16,000 people throughout the sector, including 100 therapist posts coming to my Department. They are all full-time, permanent positions that will be spread across all nine CHOs. There also will be recruitment to primary care, which also provides occupational and speech and language therapists. Furthermore, in the scho…

I thank Deputies for their contributions to this debate. The motion put forward by the Social Democrats outlines why they believe that an extension to the term of the commission is necessary. Their proposal is "to extend the term of the Commission for another 12 months... to facilitate a review... into the destruction of the recordings and allow for any potential salvage of remaining testimony". It is positive, for some, that this extension does not need to happen now because the resulting outcome has already been …

I would like to be associated with the Minister's remarks in paying tribute to childcare providers and their staff. While rapid Government responses to the Covid-19 pandemic continue to be required, long-term and long-lasting development and reform are ever more important. A development and reform agenda has been under way in the Department for some time and Deputies will be aware of the progress made. New regulations in 2016 introduced a minimum qualification requirement for the early learning and care workforce f…

I thank the Deputy for bringing up this issue. He is correct in saying I met with iCARE and Bluestack Special Needs Foundation last November. As we know, at the moment, the HSE's operational plans are being put together. I have liaised directly with Dr. Cathal Morgan from the HSE on this in the last week. These organisations do positive and fantastic work right across the whole county of Donegal and provide a service for more than 400 families. The Deputy is correct; the HSE refers to them. In conjunction with the …

I thank the Cathaoirleach. I am representing the Minister for Health, Deputy Stephen Donnelly. The World Health Organization declared the prevalence of Covid-19 to be a public health emergency of international concern on 30 January 2020. Although we are now nearly a year on from that, I know that for many it now feels that it has been a lifetime. Since that day we have found ourselves living very different lives from those we would previously have expected or hoped for. We now find ourselves living what would once …

I have enjoyed this whole conversation and thank everyone who participated in it. It was a very meaningful debate. I have taken some notes and will deal with them before I read my script. One issue about which I am very passionate is SNAs and children with special needs, as well as special schools and special classes. A number of contributors spoke on that matter. Senator Flynn suggested that perhaps SNAs should be considered carers. Believe it or not, while SNAs are under the same union, when working in adult disa…

Thank you.

I was going anyway.

Before I read my speech, I will first respond to a question from Deputy Connolly, which was also asked earlier by Deputy Devlin, about copies of the report. In short, approximately 200 hard copies of the abridged report have been sent out to date. Of those, 75 were posted on the day of publication to the survivors and their representatives and to select Members, Deputies and Senators. Since then, 123 requests for the abridged version have been received to date and a copy has been posted to all of those who requeste…

I thank Deputy Hourigan for raising what the Ceann Comhairle has noted is a valuable topic. I am taking this issue on behalf of the Minister for Health, whose script I have to hand. I thank the Deputy for giving me the opportunity to outline to the House the position in relation to neonatology services at the Rotunda Hospital. As the House is aware, the Rotunda is one of the world's oldest maternity hospitals and one of the busiest such hospitals in Ireland. More than 8,000 babies, and one in four of all babies req…

I will take on board exactly what Deputy Hourigan has requested here this evening. I will articulate it to the Minister, Deputy Donnelly. Perhaps I could facilitate a meeting between Deputy Hourigan, the Minister and our new Secretary General, acting in the Department of Health, who has come from the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform and who would have a really good understanding of the gate 2 process the Deputy has referred to.

I thank Deputy Richmond for raising this question. I hope my answer addresses the question the Deputy has asked. I am here to represent the Minister, Deputy Darragh O'Brien. As Members of the House will be aware, the Electoral Act 1997, as amended, provides the statutory framework for dealing with political donations and sets out the regulatory regime covering a wide range of interrelated issues such as the setting of limits of permissible donations, the prohibition of certain donations, the disclosure of donations…

I thank Deputy Richmond for sharing the knowledge and the depth of understanding he has on this organisation. While my answer deals with electoral law, the issue of campaigning bodies is something I will bring back to the Minister. I will conclude by reading the Minister's remarks into the record. I again thank the Deputy for raising this important issue. As already indicated, our political donation regime is designed to maintain transparency in respect of our political process and to ensure the integrity of our el…