Hear, hear.

Budget 2024 demonstrates, from my perspective, how the Government has thrown in the towel on health. This budget lacks ambition and vision. More than that, it lacks the funding that is necessary to properly fund our health services. The Minister may be aware that over the past 24 hours there has been a perception that he has been thrown under the bus by the Government because of the cost overrun in the Department of Health. In reality, the people who have been thrown under the bus are the patients, those on the fro…

This is an extremely difficult scandal to come to terms with. My thoughts are with the children affected by this tragedy and their families. I hope the Minister will ensure those children and their families will get every support they need, including health supports, emotional supports and other supports as well. This is one of the most tragic scandals I have come across in my time as spokesperson on health. At the heart of this scandal are 19 children and their families who have been traumatised, harmed and wronge…

The Boston review as well?

The report into Crumlin, in my view, has still not been published. There are other reports which have not been published which need to be published. For us to have confidence in understanding all of the problems, we need to see all the reports and the information behind it, as do the advocate groups. We cannot have anything other than full transparency. We cannot have anything other than full support for the families. On the use of the implants and the springs that were unauthorised, it is for a small number of chi…

In the Minister's opening statement he said that in November 2022, his Department was notified that two serious patient safety incidents had occurred in Temple Street hospital and that he was informed around that time, sometime in November. In the CHI report, which was prepared for 8 August this year and which is a composite of a number of reports, it states that in July and September two serious incidents in spinal surgery were reported at CHI in Temple Street. If it was July when the first incident took place, an…

I accept that but the point is that if it was the case that in July, CHI first became aware but it was not until November that the Minister and the Department became aware, that is serious. When the Minister became aware in November of these two incidents and other related issues, did he inform the Taoiseach at that point?

When did the Minister inform the Taoiseach?

Addressing this question to the Minister, this is a very serious issue. He has accepted in his opening statement that there is much trauma in respect of the families involved and I do not dispute the Minister's sincerity in this. Given the seriousness of these issues, people will want to know whether the Minister did his job right and whether he informed the Taoiseach and others in government as to the seriousness of these issues. This is not about communication between his officials and, yes, that would be helpful…

These are questions we will put to the Taoiseach to discover what exactly his recollection is of when he was informed. In relation to the non-CE spring implants, the Minister stated in his opening statement that this first came to light in August. Is that when the Minister was informed?

Did the Minister inform the Taoiseach or anyone in government of that issue?

Given the short time and the fact that we have Children's Health Ireland appearing before the Oireachtas Committee on Health on Thursday, I believe there are also serious questions for Children's Health Ireland on that particular issue which has been referred to by many colleagues in their statements. The big issue for the Minister at the moment is to ensure that the external investigation has the full confidence of the parents and the advocacy groups. He has acknowledged today that he will meet with these groups a…

It is important that the Minister acknowledges that because many people looking at this issue, me included, will be wondering how is it that a Minister for Health, when a scandal like this happens with all of the trauma that it involves for families, crafts the terms of reference which the HSE had input into and which we understand Children's Health Ireland had input into, but that the families and the advocacy groups had no input into. Nobody can stand over that, nor can the Minister. I just want to follow that up…

The reason I say that is that I spoke earlier about all of the reports that have been published. I am asking the Minister now whether he can give a commitment to publish the report into Crumlin. That should be published in the interests of transparency. On the Boston report, the advocacy groups are angry about the fact that they had input into that report but there is not a mention of that anywhere in it. That adds to the scepticism they have over the terms of reference of the review, which is why that is so import…

My first question relates to the national children's hospital. Related issues have now come to light in respect of children's healthcare, which I will raise shortly. My fundamental question is whether a handover date has been agreed between the board and the developer. Can the Minister of State confirm what that new handover date for the children's hospital will be?

It is quite incredible that we still do not know what the handover or completion date will be and, even though an updated programme of works has been submitted to the board, that date has not been made public. It is in the public interest to do so, given all the controversies relating to this issue. We know that one of the big advantages of the new national children's hospital will be protected surgeries, especially for children with scoliosis and spina bifida. The Minister of State will know that there is now a ma…

I cannot accept that everything possible has been done given that under freedom of information, FOI, requests and information submitted to me, we found out that the Minister did not meet with the board for the entirety of 2022, or for the first and second quarters of 2023. He had informal conversations with representatives of the board, which is not acceptable given the seriousness of these issues. There is not a person outside this Chamber who has any confidence in this Government's ability to deliver this project…

We need a multi-annual plan for the health services. We know there is a crisis in emergency departments, with people waiting too long. There are almost 900,000 people or more on waiting lists when one includes diagnostic waiting times, acute hospitals and community waiting lists. There are problems in children's healthcare. A multi-annual plan is needed. I have been calling for one for some time. What plans does the Government have to put such a plan in place?

I have met with dozens of hospital managers, front-line healthcare staff and advocate groups in recent months. They all talk about plans they have submitted for new beds in hospitals, surgical theatre capacity and diagnostic capacity, all of which are necessary to reduce wait times in hospitals. The same can be said in mental health, where there are many buildings that are simply not fit for purpose. We need a long-term investment plan. We need a decongregation plan for people with disabilities. All of these areas,…

While I respect the Ministers of State who are present and we all understand why the Minister for Health travelled, I again make the point to the Leas-Cheann Comhairle that a real crisis has unfolded at Temple Street hospital but there have been no statements on the matter this week in the Dáil. I asked questions on one of the most important issues facing the Department, that is, to get the national children's hospital delivered. The Government has a completion date but it will not share it. We are being told there…