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

I move: That leave be granted to introduce a Bill entitled an Act to provide for offences committed against adults whose ability to guard themselves against violence, exploitation or abuse, whether physical, sexual or emotional, or against neglect by another person is significantly impaired; and to provide for related matters. We have all heard the horror stories - Áras Attracta, Lees Cross, the treatment of Grace, failures in home care and care homes, and the indefensible failures in the Brandon case. A simple que…

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

I acknowledge the consultation process on rural future policy. I raise the delay in funding for vital Local Link services in rural Waterford, particularly affecting Portlaw, Kilmacthomas, Mahon Bridge and Lemybrien. These services were expected under the National Transport Authority’s “Connecting Ireland” plan to be properly funded. However, communities in Waterford are now being told they may have to wait until 2027. This is a major setback for rural Waterford and communities which have waited long enough for prop…

I welcome the opportunity to have a debate here on climate action and commend the Green Party on bringing forward this motion. The frustration for me when we have debates on climate action is that, in part, yes, the debate is framed around carbon taxes, which is one part of the overall strategy, and we have our view on whether or not it is effective, which was very clearly set out by my colleague an Teachta O'Rourke. The other is that we have a discussion about high-level targets which we never meet. Any climate ac…

I welcome the opportunity to speak on the Public Health, Tobacco Products and Nicotine Inhaling Products (Amendment) Bill 2026. This is an important Bill, which is broad in scope and long overdue. For too long, policy in this area has been reactive. New products emerge, marketing tactics change and the law has lagged behind. This Bill marks an important change in approach from the Government, which we in the Opposition have sought for years. This is future-focused legislation rather than the usual catch-up and piec…

Hear, hear.

The way children with disabilities and their families are treated in this State is an absolute disgrace. We are here not just every year, talking about school places and appropriate school places for children with disabilities. We have tabled countless motions on a range of issues from school places to assessments of need to therapies children are being deprived of and are not getting. We do not see any action from Government. Parents are at their wits' end. They are tired, frustrated, angry and they see a broken s…

My question concerns potential industrial action by ambulance paramedics, particularly pre-hospital care professionals, which would include emergency medical technicians, EMTs, paramedics and others. They voted overwhelmingly to take industrial action, as the Minister knows, on 12, 19 and 26 May. I imagine that the last thing paramedics and EMTs want is to be on strike. A number of votes were taken in recent times, including one last year, on the roles and responsibilities changes that paramedics voted against, so …

The problem is that the National Ambulance Service is massively understaffed. I put down a parliamentary question to which the Minister's office responded a number of weeks ago. In 2025, the HSE target was to have 4,162 whole-time-equivalent paramedics working in the National Ambulance Service. The number for this year is 2,657. By 2026, the target was to have 4,780. The number is estimated to be 2,920 by the end of the year. By 2028, it is meant to be over 6,000. At best, we are going to hit 3,500. We are somewher…

The paramedics that I have spoken to, and I have spoken to many, are all in favour of reform, but they also want to know that the Government has their backs and is putting in place the capacity. The Minister is right to say there has been an increase in the number of paramedics, but the objective was to double the number of paramedics over a five- to six-year period because that is what was estimated was needed. I gave the Minister the figure that, for 2026, the target is 4,780. The Department and the HSE are telli…

I am seeking an update, if I can, on the Sláintecare programme board and how that will operate, given that we have a new CEO of the HSE and, indeed, a new Secretary General in the Minister's Department. I wish to take the opportunity to thank Mr. Bernard Gloster and Mr. Robert Watt for their many years of service, two people I have worked closely with and have a very high regard for. I also want to wish Ms Anne O'Connor and Mr. Derek Tierney the very best as well. We obviously want them to succeed. They are two hig…

I welcome some of what the Minister said but the problem is there are not clear deliverables and timeframes in the current Sláintecare action plan. That is something that has to change. I want to see, for example, changes to the medical card and GP card thresholds. There have not really been any substantial changes to medical card eligibility in a long time. The big reform that the health service needs, from an acute hospital perspective, is delivering the elective hospitals. If you really want to deal with waiting…

I know the Minister is. When she is pushing forward those reforms, I will be supporting them, as I did with the public-only consultant contract because we needed it. We have to get bang for our buck. I agree that we need reforms and efficiencies but we also need capacity. If we do not have the diagnostic capacity, the bed capacity and the staff in our hospitals, then it is more difficult to reach our targets and actually get the reforms. It is a combination of all of that, and all of that is obviously part of Sláin…

I could not agree more. I have been saying this for a long time. I am a big supporter of the surgical hubs. There is one coming in my own constituency adjacent to University Hospital Waterford, so I know the difference that will make. I fully agree that we have to look at how to take pressure away from our acute and major hospitals, for example, more off-site rooms for outpatient activity where we can free up clinical space. I am in favour of all of that. I am fully on board with a seven-day-week health service. I …

I am looking for an update on the replacement of the existing adult mental health 44-bed unit at University Hospital Waterford with a 50-bed single bed unit. I acknowledge the work of the Minister of State, Deputy Butler, in making sure this was on the current capital plan recently. I was criticised in one local newspaper for doing so.

I think the criticism was because there was frustration that developments can be glacial and it takes a long time for these projects to get over the line. There are other projects I want to talk about, which I will later. On this particular project, it is important to have timeframes as to how quickly we can expect this development might be delivered, which I think we all accept would be massive and a game-changer for mental health services in Waterford.

I very much hope that the new adult mental health unit will progress as quickly as possible. I agree with the location and I want to see it developed as fast as it can be. There was also a promise for a 96-bed ward block over five storeys at University Hospital Waterford, and a multi-storey car park. The Minister of State issued a press statement a number of years ago where she said there was a proposal for a two-floor vertical extension over the existing outpatients department, to provide an additional 36 consulti…

I raise these issues to illustrate the point that when announcements are made, people expect things to be delivered and then ask how quickly they will get them. If there is an announcement regarding additional health capacity, that is really good news. It is exciting, and people want it. When people hear about the announcement of an additional 60-bed ward block over five storeys at University Hospital Waterford but then do not see it and when I am putting in parliamentary questions and cannot get answers on the tim…

The Irish Coast Guard is launching an enhanced aviation service from Waterford Airport today. I fully support and welcome it because it is a really important service. We all know that the search and rescue service has huge support right across the State, but particularly in the south east. Unfortunately, there were tragedies in the past and colleagues were lost, but it is great to see an enhanced service. I want to raise a wider issue in relation to Waterford Airport because there is now a real opportunity to devel…