I thank Deputies Ó Murchú and Niamh Smyth for raising this issue. Any loss of life through suicide is a tragedy and I do not want to class the people the Deputies have brought to the floor of the Dáil as being merely "any life". It is their life and it is their families who have been affected. Deputy Ó Murchú spoke about two individuals, from the Taaffe and Browne families, and Deputy Niamh Smyth did not mention names but referred to the age profile and gender of the individuals from her constituency. There is not …

I thank the Deputies for the constructive way we have addressed this matter. They have come with solutions and suggestions. I take on board everything Deputy Niamh Smyth said. I think the convening of a meeting will ensure that the protocols are reiterated and that there is a clear understanding. CFL is about connecting the community. Deputy Niamh Smyth mentioned the involvement of the local HSE, the GAA and Pieta House, and that is what CFL is about. It is important that we also continue to build resilience in all…

I thank the Deputy for raising the issue. A robust testing referral pathway for GPs was put in place in the early days of the pandemic and it has proved a vital component of our overall testing pathway. Enhancements to the referral process have been made throughout the pandemic, including the extension to out-of-hours GP services and new IT systems were developed or modified. The GP community has been a key partner in our efforts to quickly identify and test suspect cases of Covid-19 and I would like to acknowledge…

I agree with what Deputy Alan Kelly said. If the Minister, Deputy Donnelly, was here I am sure he too would agree with him. We have to consider the advantages and disadvantages of a self-referral or alternative referral system. A self-referral system has the potential to broaden access to testing, thereby providing greater out-of-hours access and would likely reduce turnaround times. It could also provide additional capacity as general practitioner surgeries move into the winter. It is important to remember that th…

I thank the Deputy for raising the question. As outlined in the recently published programme for Government, the Government is committed to improving services and supports for people with disabilities, including those with autism. The HSE has established a national autism spectrum disorder programme board with the key responsibility of leading the implementation of the recommendations of the 2018 review of the Irish health services for individuals with autism spectrum disorder. The board has been tasked with leadin…

We did incredibly well to ensure we had a full-time committee on disabilities established and I ask the Deputy to write to its proposed new Chairman to outline her requests and see if they can form part of the work programme and the committee's planned schedule. In order to lead implementation, the HSE set up the national autism spectrum disorder programme, consisting of senior operational and clinical decision makers, as well as independent professional academic support and two individuals with lived experience of…

The Deputy will be aware that last week, we announced €7.8 million for assessment of needs. As Minister of State with responsibility for disability, I note autism plays a major role within that responsibility and will be one of the key drivers in my work on the programme for Government. To all those who may be listening to proceedings this evening, the Deputy is correct; there was and is a national scandal involving children being sent home from school and not accessing full hours. I agree completely with the Deput…

I am honoured to serve as Minister of State with responsibility for disabilities in the new Government. I take very seriously the responsibility and opportunity to have a positive effect on the lives of thousands of people with a disability in Ireland. I want to be the Minister of State who reimagines how disability is viewed in this country. Disabilities are not merely a health issue. People with disabilities have a human right to be considered in every Government portfolio, be it health, transport, employment, sp…

I will respond to the debate and to the one Member who has managed to stay in the convention centre to hear my response. Correct me if I am wrong, a Cheann Comhairle, but is there anybody else other than Deputy Harkin here to hear me respond?

I am sorry. Normally when I am taking notes, I believe it is important to respond to everybody who has taken the time to come in to raise their issues. I have made many notes on the valuable contributions made. It is regrettable that the contributors have not stayed here to listen to my answer. I will begin with Deputy Harkin, who just raised issues with me. I will respond directly to her before delivering my speech. She raised two issues, the first being the resumption of the adult day services. I could not agree …

The other Deputies also raised vital points. I touched on transport. On funding for school leavers and those transitioning to adult services, the sum available is €12.5 million. That issue is being addressed by the different providers and through the school leaver programme. One contributor stated there was no funding available for the reopening of adult services. A sum of €40 million was provided as part of the Covid-19 reopening which was in addition to the €484 million allocated for budget 2020. There is a progr…

I am.

I thank all the Deputies for their contributions to the vital debate here this evening on the Government’s response to Covid-19. While I was sitting here for a number of minutes after the Minister, Deputy Stephen Donnelly left, I took notes and would like to respond with some of these before I go into the rest of the speech that the Minister, Deputy Donnelly, has prepared for me, and which I will then read out. As to my colleague across the floor, Deputy Andrews, who spoke about a visit to St. Mary’s, I will liaise…

I thank Deputy Funchion for raising this important issue and for giving me the opportunity to outline the position on the resumption of services for adults with disabilities. I confirmed with Deputy Funchion's office earlier that the question relates to day services for adults specifically. Since disability day services closed in March, as per public health advice, it has been especially challenging for those vulnerable members of our society. The HSE has been planning for the resumption of adult disability day ser…

I agree with the Deputies that more clarity should have been more forthcoming earlier on and there is no denying it. With regard to the Covid committee, from where some of the queries have come, the Department of Health made contact with regard to that commentary and it could not be backed up. My understanding is the Department will write to the Covid committee because it could not reference any services that fell into that category. Clarity has been sought on this as has a correction of the record of the Covid com…

I thank Deputy Kelly for raising the issue. In the last 20 days since I took office I have liaised directly with the HSE and the Department of Health and yesterday I met the Minister, Deputy Donnelly, to address this particular issue. I am acutely aware that there are 1,000 services and only 286 of them up and running and only 500 people have returned. We have set in place communication between the Department and the various providers. They are all individual units. As I said, I met yesterday with the Minister, Dep…

I thank Deputy Funchion for bringing forward the motion. Like her and Deputies Sherlock and Mitchell, who contributed earlier, I sat on the Oireachtas Joint Committee on Children and Youth Affairs. Deputy Connolly is correct that I have been very outspoken on this matter. There are so many reactions I would like to give, having read the motion and understanding the programme for Government in depth. I am sure the Minister would like to respond to all the Deputies who contributed because he will have an answer for e…

Give us the opportunity. I have been in the job for only 20 days, while the Minister has been in his current role for only 24 days. In all fairness, I welcome the debate tonight because it is urgently required and we need to set out our stalls. It also gives both of us an opportunity, from where the Department is sitting at this time, to flesh through where we are coming from and discuss what we are going to do and what is in the programme for Government. We do not want to shy behind one or another agency; that is …

I thank Deputy Murnane O'Connor for raising this important issue. The Deputy has long advocated a new building for the Holy Angels day care centre and her commitment to seeing progress on this project deserves to be acknowledged, as does the work the staff at Holy Angels do for children with disabilities. As can be seen in the programme for Government, we are committed to improving the lives of children with disabilities through further developing services and supports, particularly early access to assessment and i…

I thank Deputy Chambers for sharing his time with me this evening. I too acknowledge the fabulous work An Post has done in connecting in with people in recent weeks. However, the two issues I wish to address this evening are broadband and our new engagement with social media. Is the Department engaging with the Department of Education and Skills on creating a heat map to ensure teachers have connectivity to deliver the class work that is required in the event of a second wave of Covid and that they are able to cont…