I thank Senator Hoey for her contributions in the Joint Committee on Health. I enjoyed being on that committee with her. The Minister, Deputy Donnelly, has asked me to deal with this Commencement matter. I thank the Senator for giving me this opportunity to address the House on the review of the operation of the Health (Regulation of Termination of Pregnancy) Act 2018. The Act was signed into law on 20 December 2018 and expanded termination of pregnancy services have been available since 1 January 2019. The Act all…

It is worth noting that the Health (Regulation of Termination of Pregnancy) Act 2018 is of relatively recent provenance and has been in operation for just over five years. For much of that time its operation was affected by the challenges resulting from the Covid-19 pandemic. Nonetheless, it is recognised that the service has embedded well into the health sector, as outlined. We now have 17 of the 19 maternity units providing that service and the other two will come onboard in 2024. It is acknowledged, however, tha…

This is a very important matter. On behalf of the Minister for Health, Deputy Donnelly, I thank the Senator for raising it and giving me the opportunity to provide an update. The central objective of the programme for Government is to deliver increased levels of integrated healthcare, with service delivery reoriented towards general practice, primary care and community-based services to enable a home-first approach. Integral to this is the development of primary care centres in local communities across the country.…

It is a very important issue and these are very important developments in the area. On behalf of the Minister, I thank the Senator for raising this issue. The primary care centres provide important primary care infrastructure and can support the delivery of integrated care by facilitating closer co-ordination and co-operation between health professionals across different disciplines. They also provide a single point of access to services for the individual and can serve as a resource more broadly for the community,…

I welcome the opportunity to address the House on the issues raised by the Deputies who tabled the motion. I would like to begin by echoing my colleague, Deputy Butler, in her opening remarks, and to thank her for the constructive and positive contributions to this important motion on the issue of funding for the national cancer strategy. I apologise that the Minister for Health, Deputy Donnelly, cannot be here this evening, as I understand he is dealing with legislation in the Seanad. I acknowledge the input of al…

Thank you.

I thank the Ceann Comhairle and the Members here today for their kind comments regarding my new role as Minister of State. I look forward to working with all Deputies. As Deputy Shortall knows, I have served a long apprenticeship in the health committee. I think I am one month short of 13 years on the health committee, so I have served a long apprenticeship. I hope it can be of benefit to me in my new role. It is important that all of the contributions here were extremely constructive. There are a number of message…

Will the Minister outline what action the Department is taking to ensure Ireland achieves its goal of 8 GW of solar connections by 2030? Will the Minister make a statement on the matter?

I thank the Minister. He must accept that at present we have 1 GW of solar power and the target is to have 8 GW by 2030. The Minister said that building of 2 GW will commence over the next 12 months but 8 GW is a substantial target to try to reach in what is really a five-and-a-half-year time period. Is the Minister satisfied, from the submissions he has received and from the planning applications going to local authorities, that over the next two or three years we will see it increased by even 4 GW? The Minister r…

I referred to the 80% target for energy from renewable sources by 2030. In real terms, there has been a very slow roll-out of offshore wind. How fast can we now develop the offshore wind energy area? Its delivery needs to be expedited as well to reach the target of 80%. Are we satisfied that we have a sufficient number of people interested in developing projects? Second, have we set targets for each year as regards getting the infrastructure in place and delivering the projects in a timely manner, in particular by …

The Minister mentioned the Port of Cork. As somebody who previously served on its board I know the board and staff in the Port of Cork are very go-ahead.

I have a question in relation to-----

That is all right. I am sorry. I apologise.

Minister-----

Minister-----

Minister, can we try to stick to the designated time period?

The patient safety (licensing) Bill was approved in principle by the Government in 2017. It came before the health committee in 2018. The pre-legislative scrutiny took place. It was sent to the Attorney General's office but no progress has been made since. RTÉ's "Prime Time" programme on Monday night clearly showed there is a real deficiency in the regulation of cosmetic procedures and the availability of drugs and medication in that whole area. There is an urgent need for that Bill to be brought forward and dealt …

I was in Farmleigh ten years ago when the then Minister, James Reilly, started dealing with the issue of rare diseases. I am disappointed that we have made very little progress in real terms. While some progress has been made, it is not enough. I refer to the report by the Joint Committee on Health in 2018, which set out approximately 15 or 16 recommendations about access to drugs where rare diseases are concerned. It was published on 28 February 2018. I ask the Minister and the Department to go back and look at th…

What action is the Department taking in evolving strategies to divert the flow of older patients from accident and emergency departments into more suitable pathways? I ask the Minister to make a statement on the matter.

There is still a problem when an older person ends up in an accident and emergency department for different reasons. All of us, including the Minister of State, have been contacted by people who have an elderly family member who has spent 48 hours or more in an accident and emergency and still not been assigned a bed in a ward. It is very distressing for the elderly person involved but also for their families. Can more be done within the hospital structure to try to fast-track older people and get them into the app…