They could say there was a proper Government in place.

Bord Bia-certified means something to everyone.

The Ministers of State were given four and half minutes extra.

In September of last year, the then Minister for Finance, Paschal Donohoe, conceded that pulling one-off payments would be difficult. His decision at the time was predicated in part upon inflation continuing to remain around 2%. Those were his own words. In reality, CSO figures now show a 12-month inflation rate of 3.2%. It was a callous and cruel budget that was cut-throat with cost-of-living supports. In defence of his compassionless budget, the Taoiseach acknowledged that these supports have been crucial in resp…

-----because there is no other way to address and respond to the challenges we face as a society. Every Member of this House can staple their colours to the mast through this motion. Are the members of the Government not concerned that both the ESRI and the PBO predict that poverty will continue to rise for people with disabilities?

Do they want to do something about it?

If so, the Minister must support this motion.

People are.

I welcome that Tusla is to be assigned guiding principles, particularly in relation to the best interests of the child as a paramount consideration, as well as the duty to co-operate between relevant bodies and the establishment of the implementation and the interagency committee. They would seem to be sensible proposals. At this point, people rightly expect more from the Government. While we are 30 years on from the primary legislation, we are nearly three years on from the pre-legislative scrutiny report of the O…

In January 2022, the Minister’s predecessor committed to doubling the number of domestic violence refuge spaces in the State by the end of that year. I acknowledge that the doubling of available spaces is significant. However, the number in question is only half the number mandated by the Istanbul Convention on the prevention of violence against women and girls. That said, the Government commitment was to increase the spaces in 2022 from 141 to 282. Will the Minister outline again how many additional spaces have ac…

I thank the Minister for the number he just referred to: 232. We have not even increased the number to 282, which we were supposed to do in 2022. It is four years on from the Government’s announcement of zero tolerance of domestic, sexual and gender-based violence. Cavan and Monaghan remain without any refuge centres. As a member of Monaghan County Council from 2012, I was shouting about this, but we still do not have a centre. I realise the Minister has said it is not regarded as that important for perpetrators to…

I thank the Minister. I want to point out that families are waiting. I have dealt with a few patients in my constituency in the past month who were waiting to be transferred to Beaumont and the Mater hospitals in Dublin. It took up to four weeks before they were transferred so they are taking up beds in Cavan Hospital when they could be transferred on. I am wondering about the new HSE system, or app, that is in situ . Is it operating so other hospitals know when patients can be transferred and if bed management in …

I thank the Minister. I would love to work with her to ensure that people do get the step-down units and be able to use them in Monaghan Hospital. Monaghan Hospital was closed a long time ago but there is so much potential there. There are rooms available that could be used for more step-down units. I will definitely come back to the Minister on that. On the app, is there communication right across the board about patients, hospitals, doctors and nurses? Are they using the app to make sure that patients are being m…

I thank the Deputy

I thank the Minister for answering my question. However, my question referred to clinically determined need. For me clinically determined would be the older person as well. Older people need blister packs to ensure safety and to ensure that they manage their medicines safely. It is a cruel move that the Government is not funding blister packs. It is a necessity and it saves a lot of time and effort allowing older people to take their prescription medication in a safe manner. I ask the Minister to reverse this polic…

The Minister has again said that the pharmacy was charging the State. I again ask that she would incorporate that cost. It is not fair on the older person or on the vulnerable person that he or she has to pay for it now. I ask the Minister that the State would pay for it and that she would get over this obstacle with the pharmacies. It is not fair to put the cost on older and vulnerable people which is what is happening now. Loads of people have come to me saying that it is costing them €20 some weeks. I ask her to…

But it is the older person who now-----

The older person does not have the income.

What steps will the Minister take to address the major shortfalls in school dental screening and the extreme waiting times for orthodontic care, and will she make a statement on same?

I raised this question numerous times through parliamentary questions and at the Committee of Public Accounts and the health committee, among others, last week. There was no school screening in Monaghan in 2024-25. That is just not good enough. I get a lot of emails and other contacts in this regard. There is no orthodontist in the north-east region at all. There used to be one in the Monaghan area. People are now being asked to travel to Dundalk, which is not acceptable. I do not even know if that orthodontist is …