He should spend it for the purpose for which it was intended.

Sinn Féin will support this Bill. I welcome in particular the provisions relating to medicines substitution protocols, which will improve the availability of products through pharmacies without a prescription. These are issues we have talked about for some time in the Houses of the Oireachtas. I have tabled a number of questions on this issue through priority and oral questions over recent years and have been raising it. I know the Minister has been working on this for some time, as have people outside of the Dáil …

I would have made the same changes.

I might wait to the next group. I merely want to make some general points.

I could do it now. I will make one contribution only and I will be supporting all of the amendments. I, too, welcome all of those to the Public Gallery. They all are very welcome. This Bill has been a long time coming. Many of the substantial issues in relation to children's coronary services, but also issues in relation to how organs were disposed of in the past in certain parts of the country, are obviously emotive issues that needed to be dealt with and are being dealt with. I, too, know many people who have had…

It is not agreed. I ask that the Government provide time to discuss the Children's Rights Alliance report card to which reference was made on Leader's Questions. The Taoiseach engaged in a great deal of spin regarding a range of areas in the context of the report that was given to the Government. One area where the Government was given a failing grade, namely, an E grade, was in mental health and children in adult psychiatric services. That should come as no surprise to anyone in this House because we have failed f…

I move: That Dáil Éireann: notes that, as of 13th February, 2024, there are 327 children listed as waiting on a scoliosis-related surgery with Children's Health Ireland (CHI), as compared to 312 in February 2017; recalls the commitment given by the then Minister for Health, Simon Harris TD, in March 2017 that no child would wait more than four months for spinal surgery by the end of that year; further notes that: — 78 per cent of children are waiting longer than the Sláintecare target time for a paediatric orthopae…

It was very uplifting to have met so many children today, some of whom are still here in the Public Gallery. They travelled from the four corners of Ireland to be outside the Dáil and meet with politicians of all political parties to make the plea that we do more. All those children want is a fair start in life. What they want is equal access to healthcare and an equal shot at life as best they can. They want us, as legislators and politicians, to provide the healthcare resources and capacity they need. It is also …

I too want to raise the issue of the funding application from Waterford Airport towards the runway extension. I have been fair-minded when it comes to Government funding for projects in the south-east and in Waterford but I have to put it to the Tánaiste that there is an urgency in relation to this funding application. There is huge pressure on Dublin Airport. We need a counterbalance in the regions. It is make-or-break time for the airport in Waterford. It either gets this funding or it does not. Three local autho…

It is going on for years.

I understand that.

I welcome the Bill and strongly welcome the establishment of Taighde Éireann, which will be the new competitive research funding agency for all higher education bodies around the country. I raise the issue of the South East Technological University, SETU, about which the Minister and I have had many discussions. With respect to research capacity in areas in the south east, I am taken by the fact that the new site acquired by the university, the old Waterford Crystal site, is going to be a new enterprise hub and inn…

My first question is in relation to the number of acute inpatient beds currently in the system, the number of additional acute inpatient beds that will be delivered in 2024 and, crucially, the 1,500 rapid-build beds that were much promised and spoken about last year. When will they be delivered? Has the funding been secured? What is the timeframe for the delivery of those beds?

I welcome any and every additional bed put into the system. The Minister spoke of 1,126 beds that were delivered up to January. That money and those beds were committed to in 2020. In fact, they were to be delivered much quicker. It has taken far too long to deliver all those beds. In my view, that goes back to the need to reform how we deliver major healthcare infrastructure. That is why the 1,500 rapid-build beds were very important. It was my understanding that they would be rapid modular build, could be built m…

Of course there are plans. That is the problem I have. The frustration is that the Department and HSE have done a lot of work identifying sites and, as the Minister said, looking at where they want the beds to be provided. I assume that will be in areas where there are pressure points. Much of that work has been done. The frustrating part is that these projects can be delivered very quickly. The Minister indicated that work had been done. Expressions of interest have been invited, and it is great there is interest …

There is lots of information that we unfortunately cannot get through parliamentary questions. I understand the reason, namely, that there is an industrial relations dispute. I respect the right of people to engage in that. The information I am looking for is on the number of hospital-initiated cancellations for elective procedures. As we know, when the pressure is on in emergency departments, often one of the first things to happen is that elective procedures are cancelled, almost wholesale. How many cancellations…

We all know the majority of cases are rescheduled. The problem is that people end up waiting longer. By cancelling elective procedures because of pressures in accident and emergency departments, we end up just shifting the problem from one part of the health service to another. I respect the fact that there is an industrial relations dispute, but it is extraordinary that the Minister, the Department and the HSE, at a senior level, are not being given information on basic data like the number of hospital cancellatio…

I welcome the surgical hubs, as anybody would, but they are not a substitute for the elective-only hospitals. I share the Minister's frustration but I have also expressed frustration about the slow pace of delivery of elective-only hospitals. We are talking about lots of big infrastructural projects in healthcare. Members of the Joint Committee on Health get frustrated with digital transformation and all the other big projects that take far too long. The political system will have to deal with the fact that we have…

I do not dispute that.

I have visited five hospitals over recent weeks. I have spoken to many managers of hospitals, but also people who work on the front line, including nurses, doctors, consultants and healthcare assistants. Every single hospital is doing its best to deal with very difficult circumstances at the moment with rising infections in the community. Staff are working wonders, but they are burned out and there is a lot of fatigue. Managers are also doing their best. At every single hospital I have visited there are plans for m…