This Bill is important for transparency purposes. We know fees are paid to healthcare professionals or organisations for a range of reasons, including consultancy, speaking events, analysis and medical writing, with no proper record of the payments made and their purpose. Gifts can also come in the form of conferences and payments for travel, accommodation and registration costs. Evidence shows that in other jurisdictions, payments and gifts from the pharmaceutical industry are associated with higher prescribing ra…

Almost two years ago, when Covid first struck, none of us knew exactly how long we would have to live with the consequences of this disease and how far-reaching those consequences would be. If we cast our minds back to March 2020, when the first restrictions were imposed, they were designed to last for a few short weeks in order to flatten the curve. Weeks became years. For most of those two years, tough public health measures had to be put in place. My party supported those measures on the basis of the public heal…

Time and again we see scandal in our healthcare services and time and again we see no action, accountability, consequences or change. We saw it with the Grace case, the Brandon case, CervicalCheck and now CAMHS in Kerry and the appalling way those children were treated. We know there was poor clinical oversight, mismanagement and the appalling treatment of a whistleblower who came forward. The pattern is the same. The whistleblower was thrown under the bus and there was no change or consequences for those who faile…

The Irish Hospital Consultants Association yesterday published data on waiting lists for University Hospital Waterford. Some 50,000 people are on some form of health waiting list, the majority of whom are waiting to see a consultant. What is obvious about the figure is that it is huge and affects people from across the region. It is the equivalent of the population of Waterford city. Patients from across the south east use the hospital. For years, many of us in this House, including some of the Tánaiste's Governmen…

I welcome the Minister. It is very welcome to have a Bill that overhauls the higher education system. I support many of the provisions in the Bill. I wish to raise a number of issues in relation to the south east. I am sure the Minister expects that from colleagues across the State where new institutes of technology are being put in place. I begin with a number of points on the autonomy piece, which is really important. I sat on the Committee of Public Accounts for several years and I fully agree we need to have re…

I thank the Minister.

That is not true.

What about the exemption?

When the Taoiseach builds affordable homes, he will get our support.

Well done. Look after Donegal now.

I commend the proposers of the motion and thank them for giving us the opportunity, for a third time, to discuss and debate this important issue in the Chamber. I have debated and discussed this issue with the Minister for Health at the Joint Committee on Health a number of times. I have had private conversations with him by telephone and we have had discussions and debates in the Dáil Chamber as well. I concur with Deputy Connolly that it is completely unacceptable that the Minister is not here. I will always give…

This is the last opportunity we have to be reassured that the Government has a handle on Covid before the Dáil recess. There is a lot of talk from the Government about personal responsibility. That is part of it, but I believe that the vast majority of people are already doing their best to keep themselves and their families safe. We must act with our healthcare workers and the burden this pandemic is putting on them in mind. We can reduce our social contacts, make sure to mask up and test regularly, but there are …

I welcome the opportunity to speak on this important issue. I thank the proposers of the Bill for bringing it forward in the first instance and giving us an opportunity to have this debate on this issue. The language we use and the tone we strike as legislators is important. It matters to women going through a crisis pregnancy, it matters to those families who have received a diagnosis of a fatal abnormality and it matters to those who have had to make that difficult decision to seek a termination in the past. It a…

This Topical Issue matter is to ask the Minister of State to give an update to the House on the roll-out of the progressing disability services for children and young people, PDS, programme in Waterford and in the south east. There is also the related issue of the operationalising of the children's disability network teams in the same region. I thank the Ceann Comhairle.

I welcome the acknowledgement by the Minister of State that there were difficulties and challenges in rolling out these services and establishing the networks. Any Deputies who understand changing structures know that doing so is very difficult and challenging and, obviously, trying to align staff under the new structures was always going to be a difficulty. I certainly accept what the Minister of State has said in good faith. However, I want to get to an important part of the scripted response circulated on her be…

You do not see the houses either.

As did the ESRI.

A number of months ago, Ministers and the three leaders of the parties in government made a lot of noise about the bonus and recognition payment for those on the front line in healthcare. Many Ministers fell over themselves to talk about how that was going to be expanded to others on the front line outside of healthcare. There was a lot of expectation built up and a great deal of noise. The budget came and went, but people heard nothing. Since the budget, that noise has been replaced with radio silence. Maybe the T…

I move amendment No. 1: "In page 5, between lines 1 and 2, to insert the following: “Definition 1. In this Act, “relevant statutory instrument” means any regulation made under: (a) the Health (Preservation and Protection and other Emergency Measures in the Public Interest) Act 2020; b) the Emergency Measures in the Public Interest (Covid-19) Act 2020; (c) the Criminal Justice (Enforcement Powers) (Covid-19) Act 2020; (d) the Health (Amendment) Act 2020; (e) the Health (Amendment) (No. 2) Act 2021; and (f) the Healt…

I move amendment No. 2: In page 5, between lines 1 and 2, to insert the following: “ Parliamentary oversight of Covid-19 regulations 1 . (1) Every relevant statutory instrument made by the Minister shall be laid before each House of the Oireachtas not less than 48 hours before they come into effect and- (a) where, before the date on which paragraph (b) would have effect, a resolution annulling the instrument is passed by either such House, the instrument shall be annulled accordingly but without prejudice to the va…