This question is on cancer services and the national cancer strategy. We have had two strategies, the one coming to an end and the previous one, and they have added real value and are among the best success stories in the Irish health service. I am blown away by the work people do in this area, with research, development, new technology, new drugs and new treatments. It is mind blowing and it is of benefit to patients. There has been slippage in some of the key performance indicators, KPIs, and some of the access t…

We would all accept that early intervention in healthcare is very important, especially for cancer patients, from the first GP referral to a consultant, diagnostics, treatment and surgery. I acknowledge that in some of the areas we are still doing very well but there are areas where there is slippage. Data from 2025 shows that 15% of chemotherapy patients and 21% of radiotherapy patients did not start their treatment on time. It also shows major delays in surgical care, which is concerning A total of 61% of prostat…

One of the benefits of having health regions is that we can have this type of focus, we can drill into the data and we can have real accountability. There are regional imbalances, county imbalances and very localised imbalances. The cancer strategy is a national strategy. We have specialist centres. I want this to be maintained, of course. It is really important. Where the areas of chemotherapy and radiotherapy are a problem, and where we are slipping, we have to fix the problem. From what I can see, part of this i…

Across the State, households are watching the price of fuel surge in real time. In the days since the US-Israel strikes on Iran, the cost of home heating oil has skyrocketed. We are hearing from people across the country and, in most cases, the price of a delivery has effectively doubled. The average price for 500 litres is now just under €800. Since my colleagues and I have raised this issue publicly over the past number of days, I have been inundated with emails from people describing what is happening. One house…

I am not knee-jerk because I understand what families are going through

They are faced with rent hikes and grocery price increases.

They are faced with insurance cost increases, and now energy price increases, which have skyrocketed over the past few days. Not a single word of what the Tánaiste said will bring any comfort to families who are under fierce pressure. I do not believe that the supports he said are in place are in fact in place. One of the measures the Government brought in was to increase the carbon tax, which has increased the cost of fuel on families, not made it any cheaper. The Tánaiste's approach is that his head and those of …

“Under review” does not mean anything.

Out of touch.

We are years into this Government.

What they have heard is that they are on their own. That is what they have heard.

They heard that they are on their own.

It was revealed this morning that the Minister for housing, Deputy James Browne, will jet off to an event on the French riviera paid for by developers, large corporate landlords and vulture funds. We must bear in mind that this is the same Minister who is rolling out the red carpet for these funds, the same types of funds that will make a fortune from the Government's rent hike Bill. Documents show that officials expect private market sponsors to pick up the tab for what is called the "Ireland Pavilion", from where…

So it is cosy.

Two hundred and fifty seven post offices closed over the last ten years. Those were 257 post offices that were in rural and urban communities which have now gone. People know Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael were in part responsible for that but I listened to the Minister of State, Deputy Healy-Rae’s comments earlier and it is quite something to have sat here before the last election and watched as the Minister of State, Deputy Healy-Rae, challenged the Government quite robustly on its failures for rural Ireland day in, d…

Hear, hear.

Manners.

The appalling ongoing treatment of children with scoliosis and spina bifida is absolutely disgraceful. This month is eight years since Simon Harris made that commitment that no child with scoliosis and spina bifida would have to wait longer than four months for life-changing and, in some cases, life-saving treatment. What has happened since is appalling, and it really shows how bad things were in CHI. Before I get to that, I want to acknowledge that there are some excellent staff working in Crumlin, Temple Street a…

I want to make a few brief remarks, if I can. We will get through this very quickly. Obviously, I support the Bill. For a long time, I have been calling for a ban on single-use vapes and it makes sense for obvious reasons. There is an amendment that I have down that we will get to. I suspect the Government will not be accepting it but I will speak briefly to it. I want to quickly raise issues regarding a proposed parallel Bill that was signed off on by Cabinet yesterday, as I understand it, or at least the heads of…

I support the intent behind Deputy Rice's amendment. We have seen in the sale of alcohol, for example, where the industry has tried to get around changes which were brought in in relation to the display of alcohol in supermarkets and shops. The industry, whether the tobacco industry, the vaping industry or the alcohol industry, will always be looking for ways to get around legislation that we bring in for specific and clear purposes. Deputy Rice is correct. It is important because this Bill is for one purpose only,…