In fairness to Gerry O'Dwyer, who retired yesterday as the CEO of the South/Southwest Hospital Group, he wanted to sign off on this before he left. He tried everything to get it signed off but that has to be done at a national level. He has now retired and he is disappointed that this has not been signed off. I ask that I get a response to this within the next seven days.

I ask the Minister of State, Deputy Rabbitte, if consideration can be given to the introduction of additional nationwide organised screening programmes for two of the four major cancers in Ireland, namely, prostate cancer and lung cancer, taking into account that the national screening programmes for breast cancer, cervical cancer and colorectal cancer have led to the early detection of cases in recent decades, and if he will make a statement on the matter. The screening programmes, BreastCheck, CervicalCheck and B…

I very much look forward to the European Commission publishing its report and the recommendations in that regard. It is important we lead out in respect of those recommendations. I accept there is a cost factor and also an issue with recruiting people to deal with any changes that are brought about, but if we have a screening programme, we will save a great deal of money in the long term. The Minister of State mentioned the three screening programmes that are in operation, and it is important we talk positively abo…

I might just add that the comparative report on cancer in Ireland published by IHE, a Swedish institute, sets out clear comparisons. We should also learn from those kinds of reports to develop new strategies for cancer care in this country. While we have achieved a lot, we still have a lot to learn in this area.

The national development plan 2021-2030, clearly sets out the need for major infrastructural development and part of that infrastructural development is the building of three new elective hospitals in Cork, Galway and Dublin. The HSE South-South West submitted its plans in January. Robert Watt confirmed to the Joint Committee on Health on 28 September that we would have a decision by mid-October. I understand there was a meeting between the Department of Health and the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform la…

I am seeking clarification on the current position on awarding the contract for the Glashaboy flood relief scheme in Cork, the likely date for the award of the contract and when work is due to commence.

The problem I have is that major flooding occurred on 28 June 2012. Houses had more than 6 ft. of water in them. We now have properties, businesses and private dwellings for which people cannot get insurance. The relief scheme was signed off back in January 2021. The whole process that occurred thereafter was too slow, however. When contractors were invited to send in tenders, the cost of doing this work went way up. The Minister of State said it would be a few weeks. I always get concerned about the use of that te…

Is the Minister of State confirming that the invitation for tendering will go out before Christmas? Will we have a timeline for when tenders have to be in and when a decision will be made about the awarding of the contract? Will that all be done by 31 March of the coming year?

My colleague, Deputy Pádraig O'Sullivan, has set out the matter clearly. It appears there has been very poor communication with the parents of the pupils of St. Vincent's Secondary School, particularly the parents of children with additional needs. There is a very good educational structure in place in the school for 24 pupils with special needs. It takes a bit of time for children with such needs to settle into a school and now they are being asked to move on 1 September next year. This requires further consultati…

I thank the Minister for her reply. When an amalgamation is going ahead it is about whether the Department makes sure that all the boxes are ticked especially in respect of consultation. I am concerned that there does not seem to be a process within the Department making sure that all the boxes are ticked particularly in regard to consultation. As I said at the start I received a letter from the Sisters of Charity this morning confirming that they are going to meet with the board of management and with the teachers…

I seek an update in respect of the changes to the way that doctors can access employment permits and visas. We have a huge challenge in recruiting doctors and it is important that the process of getting them into the country is not delayed once they have been advised that employment is available.

As the Minister of State will be aware, we are now competing on the world market in respect of the employment of doctors. Any change being brought about which will facilitate the recruitment of doctors such that a very fast mechanism is in place is important. As for the scheme now in place, however, is there a need to set up a review of it in, say, six months to see how it is working and to see if any further changes can be made in order to make sure we are not losing people with the medical skills to other jurisdi…

The problem we have is that a lot of the smaller hospitals around the country still have shortages of general doctors. Another problem arising - I know it does not come under the remit of the Minister of State's Department but it is something we need to look at - is doctors transferring from one hospital to another and being on emergency tax. It is causing huge frustration and there needs to be more co-ordination between Departments on it. The Minister of State talked about going across his Department and the Depar…

My question relates to the roll-out of the RRDF. When people made submissions, they were based on submissions they got in at the time. Is the Minister's Department going to take into account the increase that has occurred in the cost of building since the applications were made and by the time the roll-out will occur?

The Minister said she will make an announcement on the successful applications within the next few weeks. It is important that the funding be rolled out at the earliest possible date because costs continue to rise. A large number of applicants are waiting for decisions as to whether they have been successful. In fairness to every group that makes a submission to the scheme, its agenda is to provide facilities for communities and, in many cases, deliver a whole regeneration that will assist those communities. Do we …

The Minister mentioned the roll-out of the LEADER programme, which she announced this morning. It is very welcome that she has increased the funding for County Cork. She also announced funding for community centres, which will be extremely beneficial to communities. I hope the new programme can be rolled out at the earliest possible date in order that groups can get on with the projects and deliver them in a timely manner.

I raise the issue of private nursing homes and the challenges they are facing. Sixteen private nursing homes have closed in recent months and a number of others are considering closing. That is because of what they are allowed. There was a comment recently to the effect that a nursing home that closed was getting €950 per week per bed under the fair deal scheme, while a public nursing home up the road was costing €1,900 per bed per week. What will be done? I understand further funding is available from the Departme…

I thank my colleague for raising this issue and I thank the Minister of State for the reply. Regarding wind turbines at sea, in view of the fact we do not have a huge amount of expertise in that area to date, I ask whether part of that funding would allow companies to have people work overseas for a period in order to get experience or necessary training. A number of other countries are well ahead of us regarding wind turbines at sea. We do not appear to have the relevant expertise here to the degree we need it if …

I thank Deputy Stanton for raising this important question and the Minister of State for his response. We need to consider this issue. People are dropping out of the education system and finding it difficult to get back into training. We need to do much more for them. One of the frightening figures over the past week was that 12% of households of people aged 20 to 64 years did not have an income coming in other than through State supports. The figure in the UK is 8%. In other European countries, it is 6%. Has this …

There was a welcome announcement on the refund of €1,000 to students. I want to ascertain when the process for the repayment of this €1,000 will commence. Will it occur over the next eight to ten weeks? The other issue is we saw the refund of moneys to people in the health sector delayed for quite a period. Is the structure established to make sure this can be dealt with in an efficient and timely manner?