On the detailed note the Minister mentioned, he might provide all that information to us. The more information he can provide to us, the better. As for the email address for submitting questions that was given to party health spokespersons, the response time is reasonable but could be better. I ask the Minister to take that up with his officials. I acknowledge that the Minister cannot get loaves and fishes out of 40,000 doses coming in weekly. Nevertheless, genuine questions have been raised by different cohorts, w…

I move: "That Dáil Éireann: notes that: — the Government has commissioned two reviews of the pay of student nurses and midwives; — the first review on pay for placements during the Covid-19 pandemic was completed and its main recommendations were published on Raidió Teilifís Éireann (RTÉ) before the report itself was published or issued to members of the Oireachtas; and — the second review has yet to be concluded; recognises that: — there are more than 4,500 student nurses and midwives who must complete clinical pl…

I will finish where I started my first contribution by again reading to the Minister some of the first-hand testimonies I have received. When I read them out I want him to bear in mind that I have spoken to hundreds of student nurses and midwives directly. I am not sure how many the Minister has spoken to. The following are some of these accounts and the first reads: In three weeks, I will find myself yet again in a ward rampant with Covid and severely understaffed for nothing. I left a paid job because I could not…

I want to start by wishing the Ceann Comhairle and all of my colleagues a happy new year. Hopefully we will get through this year as best we can. We are facing into the worst phase of the pandemic on this island. As of this morning, in this jurisdiction, there were 1,750 people in hospital with this deadly virus and more than 170 in intensive care. The HSE forecasted that the best-case scenario for the end of this week was that we would have 1,500 hospitalisations. We have exceeded that. The most pessimistic scenar…

I have seven and a half minutes and there will be two and a half for my colleague. I want to go over and back as fluidly as I can with the Minister. I accept this is a difficult format. I do not want to bash the Government over the head on the roll-out of the vaccine and I certainly do not want to bash over the head Dr. Colm Henry, Professor MacCraith and Professor Butler. They have difficult jobs and we all wish them well and want this to be a success. Everybody in this House wants the roll-out of the vaccine to b…

Of the 700,000, the most up-to-date information given to health spokespersons at the latest briefing by Professor MacCraith, his team and Dr. Colm Henry was that we would get 40,950 doses of the Pfizer vaccine weekly until the end of March, although that amount might increase when the additional procurement through the EU comes on stream. Has that position changed? Is the figure of 700,000 people vaccinated by the end of March based on the current flow of 40,950 Pfizer vaccine doses or is the AstraZeneca vaccine, w…

The 700,000 is the best -case scenario and is based on including the AstraZeneca vaccine and the current number of Pfizer doses increasing. On the day we were briefed by Professor MacCraith, the news came through that 300 million more doses would be procured through the European Commission, of which we would be in line for 3 million doses. When are they likely to arrive? Where does Ireland lie in terms of priority? The US is in line for more and Germany has ordered more. Will they be ahead of us? When are the 40,95…

I accept that. I will ask my next question constructively, although I am not sure whether what I am asking for is possible. If the AstraZeneca vaccine receives certification at the end of January as anticipated, and given that AstraZeneca is one of the companies that has undertaken a great deal of advanced manufacturing, will it be possible to get shipments of the vaccine to the State before certification so that, when it is certified, the doses are in Ireland? Has the Minister asked the European Commission whether…

My colleague wants to contribute, so I will ask a final question on the vaccine before putting a question to the Minister about what is happening in our acute hospitals. We are all getting genuine queries from different cohorts of the population about where they will be in the roll-out of the vaccine. Carers and home helpers are two categories of people from whom we are getting many calls. Where do they come in the roll-out? The Minister stated that he would publish the priority list of front-line healthcare worker…

Yes.

I am sharing time with an Teachta O'Reilly. First, in what will be my final contribution in this House before Christmas, I wish the Minister and his family a happy and peaceful Christmas and, indeed, all the staff in the Department and those in the HSE. I thank sincerely all the front-line workers who work in our acute hospitals and in primary, mental health and community care, as well as those in our nursing homes who have done a really difficult and challenging job and Trojan work over recent months in what has b…

I am sure the Minister is aware that there is a strong campaign under way by student nurses and midwives for fair pay in respect of the work they do. I have heard the Minister state that he is committed to resolving this issue, but student nurses and midwives need more than words now; they need action. I have also heard the Minister say he is committed to a review. It must be ensured that this issue is not, as has been the case in the past, buried in reviews but that it is actually dealt with by the Minister. Will …

I spoke to the Irish Nurses and Midwives Organisation, INMO, yesterday. It is very concerned that what the Minister is considering is a short-term response. If something can be done in the context of Covid-19, that would be of some help. The Minister, however, can also resolve the issue in the medium to long term immediately as well. When the INMO hears about further reviews, it will hear the can being firmly kicked down the road. In a response last week, the Minister's party, after voting against a motion in the D…

I think the Minister's response is disingenuous. We got a similar response from the Taoiseach in recent days. Let me be very clear that my party is certainly not looking for a return to the past or an apprenticeship programme. We are supporting the call from the INMO for fourth-year students to be paid the equivalent rate of a healthcare assistant and that there be a fair allowance for first-, second- and third-year students. One student who wrote to me commented that she was infuriated to read the statement from t…

I am raising with the Minister the issue of dupilumab, which is a drug for people with severe eczema. I know that the drug approval process is an apolitical one, and so it should be and I fully support that, but my understanding is that this drug was discussed at a meeting on Tuesday of this week within the HSE. Can the Minister provide an update to the House on this drug?

I hope we will see movement on this issue in January. The drug is a treatment for severe eczema, which causes inflamed, dry and broken skin, which is exhausting to treat, painful and intensely itchy. I have met many people who suffer from this unfortunate disease and many healthcare professionals who are campaigning on the issue. While the issue is apolitical, we all get lobbied on these issues from time to time and I am very clear as to what our role is. Equally, however, when I listen to healthcare professionals …

I thank the Minister for his response. I recently met with Professor John Crowne. We had a good discussion on cancer care and one of the issues he raised with me was, again, these high-tech drugs to which the Minister referred in the field of cancer. He was very supportive of and enthusiastic and excited about a lot of these new drugs. However, he pointed out that many of them are not available to patients in this State because, as he and many others who work in this area have observed, the unfortunate slowness of …

I thank the Minister of State for his contribution to what has become an annual debate on private health insurance. I will support the Bill. Having said that, we should take the opportunity every year when we debate such a Bill to review where we are with Sláintecare and with the commitments that all parties in the House gave to phasing out private health insurance and the private health sector, and to working towards a public, universal healthcare system where people are treated on the basis of need and not of how…

I thank Solidarity-People Before Profit and Teachta Paul Murphy for bringing forward this motion which is very important. It is an issue many of us have been campaigning on for a number of months. I have had numerous engagements with the Irish Nurses and Midwives Organisation, INMO, and have received thousands of emails from nurses and midwives on a range of issues over the past number of months, in particular on this issue. I also note the solidarity of senior nurses and midwives with their student nurse and midwi…

Do not be sore.