I thank the Minister of State. It is important that I acknowledge the work being done by gardaí and all the youth organisations in dealing with the matter. They are contributing to the efforts to deal with the problem.

It is welcome that the Minister has made the announcement today setting out clear guidelines in regard to how different groups will get the vaccine and the priority that has been decided. It is important that we acknowledge the work of everyone involved in this matter, in particular the National Immunisation Advisory Committee for its recommendations. I agree with my colleague about transparency. This is going to be quite a complex roll-out because it is not just one round of vaccinations. There will be a second ro…

I very much welcome the Minister of State's statement and the statement by the Minister earlier today. I again raise the issue of the record keeping and how that will be completed. It is important that clarification on that is given at a very early stage. Whether people do or do not have medical cards, across the board we need to have careful records kept of who is getting the vaccine and who must get it the second time around, if that is the procedure that will be adopted.

We are now in the final week of level 5 restrictions. The figures indicate these restrictions have significantly suppressed the spread of the virus. It has not been suppressed as much as we would have liked but the trajectory of the spread is downward. The hospital and wider healthcare systems have responded effectively to the autumn surge of cases. The various health agencies and healthcare personnel deserve our continued support and encouragement. The leadership shown by the Government and health agencies has bee…

I very much welcome the opportunity to discuss the Withdrawal of the United Kingdom from the European Union (Consequential Provisions) Bill 2020. In particular, I want to focus on the area of healthcare, which is dealt with in Part 2 of the Bill. It deals with arrangements on healthcare and allows the Minister to make the necessary regulations to deal with this area now that the UK is leaving the European Union. A memorandum of understanding is already in place between Ireland and the UK on many of these issues. It…

I welcome the budget and the additional €4 billion in funding for health services. We are talking about an additional 1,146 acute beds. The number of critical care beds is to increase from 255 to 321. However, this is not just about beds. It is also about ensuring access to theatre space and facilities like X-ray and MRI. It is important that there is a co-ordinated approach to the development of services within hospitals. We must also provide care in the community. That need is provided for by the additional 5 mil…

I move: "That the Bill be now read a Second Time." In 2011, the Law Reform Commission published a report, entitled "Legal Aspects of Professional Home Care". It set out clear recommendations in this area. To implement these recommendations, it is necessary to introduce legislation to amend the Health Act 2007, which is exactly what this Bill does. The new Bill is necessary and is designed to provide regulation in the area of professional home care. It provides an appropriate regulatory framework and legal standards…

I thank the Minister of State for being here this evening to deal with this matter. I fully appreciate that there are lots of pressures on the Department of Health as it is an area on which I have focused since coming into the Oireachtas back in 2011. I also thank all of the Deputies who contributed to this debate. I very much appreciate that and I also thank my colleague, Deputy Higgins, for her support in working with me on the drafting of this Bill. I wish to advise the Minister of State that I do not go away. T…

I very much welcome this Bill. While it has been practice, it is important that it is also put in a legislative framework and that is what this Bill does. Even though the practices have been in place for a long number of years, it is important that it is now covered by legislation. It is about the delegation by the Minister of a limited degree of control and authority over a Defence Forces contingent deployed as part of an international force to the force commander of that force. It is important that that is set ou…

I move: That leave be granted to introduce a Bill entitled an Act to provide for the regulation of professional home care, for that purpose to amend the Health Act 2007 and to provide for related matters. The Law Reform Commission produced a report in December 2011 recommending that a legislative framework be put in place relating to people who provide home care. It also recommended that adequate regulation be put in place. As we all know, more than 640,000 people are over 65 in this country. By 2030, more than a m…

Yes.

I move: "That the Bill be taken in Private Members' time."

I thank the Minister for the work that he has done over the past three and a half to four months, and I also thank his Department officials and all front-line workers for the volume of work and the way they have provided care in a difficult situation. I wish to ask the Minister about the protocols concerning the swabbing of patients who come into hospitals, with respect to outpatient clinics, patients who are admitted for care and those who require surgery. What will be the procedures for all hospital admissions fr…

This morning, Dr. David Nabarro of the World Health Organization advised that all patients coming into hospitals should be tested. I ask for this advice to be taken into consideration in the preparation of that final paper.

I thank the Minister, the Department of Health and all the people in the HSE, those in our nursing homes and all healthcare people who have worked so hard over the past three months in dealing with the issues. My query to the Minister is about the taking charge of private hospitals, which was the right decision at the time, whereby we have access to more than 2,000 beds that were not in the public healthcare sector. I live less than half a mile from one of the biggest of those private hospitals, the Bon Secours Hos…