I am delighted to announce a further investment from budget 2025 for health and well-being, and the national drug strategy. Some €9.5 million will be used to support a range of health and well-being initiatives, including physical, sexual and reproductive health. Building on the success of Sláintecare healthy communities, we have secured €1.2 million to extend the programme to four additional locations in 2025, benefiting an additional 100,000 people. Work will commence on plans for expansion to an additional 12 ar…

I thank Senator Dolan for raising this matter. I am very familiar with Portiuncula Hospital because a member of my family worked there for 12 months a number of years ago. Unfortunately, at the time they were working there, they worked 136 hours in one week-----

-----and were on call for 76 hours the following week. The whole junior doctor system has changed since then, thankfully. That is very much welcome. I thank the Senator for raising the issue of capital expenditure for Portiuncula University Hospital in the Seanad and I welcome the opportunity to update the House on this important facility in our health service. The Government and the Minister for Health are committed to the ongoing development of regional hospitals such as Portiuncula University Hospital. This Gove…

I fully agree with the Senator. We have a growing population in every area of the country and it is important that we respond accordingly. Portiuncula University Hospital, serving the people of Galway, Roscommon and the west midlands, has a reputation for the delivery of high-quality, innovative and safe care to patients. This Government is committed to the ongoing development of Portiuncula University Hospital and the hospital is in the midst of a programme of investment designed to improve services for patients. …

I thank Deputy McGrath for raising this very important issue. Children reported missing from care are recognised as being among the most vulnerable in society. It is always concerning where a child appears to be missing or has absconded from care, even for a short period of time. Tusla has a statutory responsibility under the Child Care Act 1991 for children in care, and the agency collects information regarding the number of children who go missing or abscond from a placement. Missing children in care is an issue …

If I may just respond to the Deputy, in relation to 33 children missing, the whereabouts are unknown in relation to the 33. However, ten of them have actually been in contact. Ten out of the 33 have been in contact but their whereabouts are still not known, just to put it into perspective. There is close co-operation between the Garda and Tusla. Operation Cosnaím was set up and, as part of same, all concerns of potential child sexual exploitation regarding a child who is in the care of Tusla, are notified to a cent…

My understanding at present is that more than 13,000 people are receiving treatment for drug addiction. That has increased by more than 1,000 in the past 12 months alone, so there is a major challenge there and there will have to be a joined up approach. As the Deputy knows, the Committee on Drugs Use is dealing with the citizens' assembly report. My Department will have to wait until the committee comes back with its proposals as to how we go forward. We have huge challenges in education, healthcare and a lot of o…

I thank the Deputy for raising this important matter, on which I will update the House on behalf of the Minister for Health, Deputy Stephen Donnelly. I extend my sympathies to the families who have experienced a waiting period for the carrying out of a post mortem. I understand the concerns raised about the delay in post mortem services in Kerry. I appreciate that the current situation may be adding to family stress during an already difficult time. The Office of the State Pathologist, OSP, is an important independ…

It is important that we distinguish between suspicious and non-suspicious deaths. The former come under the State pathologist's remit. I have outlined that there are four in Dublin and one in Cork. Where there is a suspicious death, they become involved. In other cases of non-suspicious deaths, that matter is dealt with in the hospital and within the hospital area.

I have set that out but I think it is important that we get the message across that post mortems are dealt with in two distinct ways. Post mortem examinations in non-suspicious deaths under the remit of the coroner are directed to be performed by hospital-based histopathology consultants.

I did not interrupt the Deputy.

I am taking this Commencement matter on behalf of the Minister for children. I thank Senator Currie for raising this important issue and for offering me the opportunity to respond. Ensuring access to high-quality and affordable early learning and childcare is a key priority for the Government. Various data sources provide evidence that the supply of early learning and childcare is increasing in terms of the number of services opening and the number of places and hours of provision that services are offering. Sector…

I did not interrupt the Deputy. What I am saying is there is co-ordination, as I understand it, between University Hospital Kerry and Cork University Hospital with regard to the provision of services. If there were delays, I will check what the reason is for those and revert to the Deputy. I will also get him the average time it takes for post mortems. The figures I have for 2021 show there were over 5,071 post mortems performed in HSE hospitals in 2021. That is a huge number. Where there is a suspicious death, the…

I thank the Senator and I fully agree with her. As we now have full employment, there is competition when it comes to retaining staff. As I stated, the Minister, Deputy O'Gorman, has recently established a new supply management unit in his Department to undertake more detailed analysis of supply and demand. That is an extremely important development. His role is to develop a planning function for monitoring, analysing and forecasting of the supply and demand for early learning and childcare in a nuanced and specifi…

I have been asked to take this Topical Issue debate by the Minister of State, Deputy Butler. She apologises that she could not be here this morning. Funding for mental health increased to more than €1.3 billion in 2024. This is the fourth consecutive year of an increase for mental health services and highlights the importance this Government places on the mental health of those living in Ireland. CAMHS is a specialist service for children or adolescents with a moderate to severe mental health difficulty. Evidence s…

I thank the Senator for raising this matter. I should outline that I am here on behalf of the Minister for Education. The Department of Education does not come under my remit but I have a very detailed statement, which runs to ten pages. I do not think I will have time to deliver all of it. Before addressing the specific matter raised, I will provide an outline of the extent of the school transport scheme. The school transport scheme is a significant operation managed by Bus Éireann on behalf of the Department of E…

Again, I am stepping in for the Minister of State, Deputy Butler. I do not think anyone is sticking their head in the sand. As I outlined, there was a 33% increase in demand for services and a 21% increase in the number of new cases. That is a substantial increase. The Deputy said people had their heads in the sand. The number of people working in this area has increased substantially in recent years. The focus for the Minister of State and the HSE is to ensure that children and their families have access to the me…

I will certainly take on board what the Senator has set out. As I said, a review has been published that sets out clearly the reform that is going to be implemented and the target of 100,000 additional students benefiting between now and 2030. In other words, the current capacity allows for over 161,000 children to travel on school transport. We are talking about adding another 100,000 on to that so it is being developed and it will be reviewed year on year between now and 2030. As for the particular issue the Sena…

I thank the Cathaoirleach. With all of us Members present from Cork, I wonder if we could have a Seanad sitting in Cork. I thank the Senator for raising this matter. I am here on behalf of the Minister for Education so the reply received is from the Department of Education. I thank the Senator for the opportunity to update the House on this matter. The State Examinations Commission, SEC, has statutory responsibility for operational matters relating to the State examinations. The SEC is fully committed to providing …

I thank the Cathaoirleach and the Senator. The SEC at this time is finalising the terms of reference and the composition of the structures that will underpin the review. The review will consider all relevant issues and will take account of the best practice internationally. This, therefore, is a comprehensive review. In this regard, I am assured that the SEC intends that there will be extensive consultation and engagement with as broad a range of stakeholders as possible, including young people with special educati…