I thank the Senator again. The Minister was given assurances that the Dental Council and the Orthodontic Society of Ireland were using their influence to encourage dental practitioners to support these patients. The Senator has said otherwise and I will bring those views back to the Minister. I assure the House that the Department is consulting stakeholders across the dental profession to support the continuity of care for the affected patients in Oranmore. As the case is before the High Court and is subject to in …

I thank the Deputies for raising this important matter. As they have outlined, the Mental Health Commission has made the decision to put a restriction on the registration of the Centre for Mental Health Care and Recovery in Bantry General Hospital, given its concerns over the size of residents’ bedrooms in the centre. This decision would mean the centre's total number of registered beds would reduce from 18 to 11. The centre, which is located on the grounds of Bantry General Hospital, provides residents with acute …

I hear the Deputies loud and clear. Both the Government and the HSE value the regulation of our mental health services. It provides a framework in which to constantly review and improve our services so they remain person-centred. The long-term strategic aim for mental health services is to provide a consistent, quality approach across all mental health residences. The Government will continue to work with the Mental Health Commission and the HSE to improve our mental health services and to ensure they best serve th…

I confirm that it has not been decided to suspend this service at St. James's Hospital. Urgent and time-sensitive surgeries for women with cancer diagnoses are prioritised to provide priority access to care based on clinical need as assessed by treating physicians. Preventative mastectomies are usually risk-reducing surgeries for women who have been diagnosed with a BRCA gene alteration. As the Senator will be aware, people who inherit harmful variants in one of these genes may have an increased risk of breast canc…

I thank the Senator for her contribution on this matter, which has been very helpful. The HSE's national cancer control programme is aware of the waiting times for risk-reducing mastectomy surgery within the designated cancer centres. These surgeries are carried as part of a prioritisation with other cancer surgeries, and tumour-directed breast cancer surgery for a woman with a cancer diagnosis will invariably be prioritised. I reiterate it has not been decided to suspend this service at St. James's Hospital. Signi…

I thank the Senator for raising this important issue. The Government is committed to the development of improved community-based services, shifting care to the home and offering greater choice for older people. In budget 2021 the Government allocated additional funding of €150 million for home support to progress the development of a reformed model of service delivery to underpin the statutory scheme for the financing and regulation of home support services and to provide 5 million additional hours of home support.…

I thank Senator Gallagher for highlighting this most important issue. As I said, we see this issue in all of our constituencies. The number of home support hours provided in communities is increasing in line with enhanced investment. Delivering this enhanced capacity requires substantial recruitment. The recruitment process has been affected by the strategic workforce challenges in the home support sector. Therefore, it is our ongoing objective to meet the continued increased demand. The Minister of State, Deputy B…

I thank the Deputy for raising this issue, which she has raised on numerous occasions. Since 2016, the National Ambulance Service, including its south-east region, has undergone significant reform and modernisation involving the prioritisation of investment in new service developments, including increased workforce and fleet, and improved technology. Since the end of 2016, National Ambulance Service staffing resources nationally have increased from 1,744 as at December 2016 to 2,037 at the end of May this year, an …

We are almost at the end of the session and I am happy to help the Deputy. I thank her for raising the issue of the provision of an ambulance base in Carlow town and for allowing me to outline what has been done to help people experiencing delays. A significant programme of work is under way to transform the national ambulance service from an emergency medical service to a highly adaptable and responsive mobile medical service that is well positioned to treat patients at the lowest appropriate level of acuity, resu…

Work is under way on identifying and securing a feasible site. The Deputy has raised this issue several times and it is nice to have some good information for her. She is getting two for the price of one as I will also follow up on the primary care centre for Tullow as quickly as I can.

I thank the Deputies for raising the important issue of ambulance services in Connemara. It is an issue on which good progress has been made but it has been going on since 2015. I am aware that the Deputies are engaging with the proposals for an ambulance base in Connemara. I can confirm that the project for a new ambulance base, to be located in the village of Recess, is in the HSE's capital plan for 2022. I am advised by the HSE that preparation for works at the new facility is at an advanced stage. In the interi…

I thank the Deputies again for raising the issue. I assure the House the Government remains committed to ensuring the NAS delivers an enhanced service in Connemara through the establishment of the new base in Recess. I reiterate that this region is receiving additional support in the interim through the temporary crewing deployment arrangements I outlined. The strategic development of the NAS is a multiannual reform programme that will require continued investment in response to identified capacity deficits and cha…

I thank the Senator for his question on these important issues for the Department of Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science. He mentioned two important words in this contribution, namely that he "values" and "respects" apprentices. I could not agree more. We are moving into a space now where we need to value and respect them much more. The Senator's analogy with growing up was very appropriate and I share his view on it. As part of the Action Plan for Apprenticeship 2021 to 2025, the Ministe…

I thank the Senator. I take on board his views on those leaving secondary school. He said there were up to 9,000 students taking construction studies and it is great that they are considering the trades. The Senator also noted how hospitality and healthcare are. Education and training relevant to the skills needed in the construction sector and the green economy is delivered across the full remit of the tertiary system and through mainstream education and training, as well through specific programmes such as Spring…

I thank the Senator for raising this important matter for discussion. I am taking this matter on behalf of my colleague, the Minister of State with responsibility for disability matters, Deputy Anne Rabbitte. The Government remains firmly committed to ensuring the provision of the best possible health and social care services for both children and adults with special needs, whether they are therapy supports, respite, residential care or day services. The Government recognises that children's disability services fac…

I thank the Senator for outlining her heartfelt and genuine concerns regarding delays in children with special needs accessing much-needed therapy supports in a timely fashion. It is a concern shared by all Members. It is imperative we work together to tackle the recruitment challenge and, in that regard, the HSE has continued to make every effort to support the recruitment of essential staff to expand the capacity of CDNTs. It is imperative teams are staffed to their maximum capacity if we are to provide the best …

I thank Deputy Healy-Rae, on behalf of the Minister, Deputy Stephen Donnelly, for the opportunity to update the House on this very important matter. First, I want to acknowledge the hard work and commitment of the staff of University Hospital Kerry, UHK, in the provision of services during the Covid-19 emergency and in managing many difficult cases presenting in very challenging circumstances. These challenges have continued to hamper UHK’s efforts to provide safe, timely and effective care for its patients. At cer…

I again thank the Deputy for raising this issue. I want to reassure the Deputy that the Health Service Executive has confirmed that every effort is being taken to support, stabilise and urgently address identified risks at the hospital. To provide that reassurance, a number of actions have been taken by the South/South West Hospital Group and the group's interim chief operations officer has been onsite at the hospital, as I said, directly supporting management and clinicians on a two days a week basis. A HSE review…

I thank the Deputy for raising this very difficult issue, which has been the subject of much discussion in the House. I express my sympathy to the families in Cork who, having experienced the tragedy of losing a beloved child, then had the difficult experience of learning that the organs of the child were disposed of without their consent. The Department is advised that the HSE, the South/South West Hospital Group, Cork University Hospital and Cork University Maternity Hospital have apologised to the bereaved famil…

I thank the Deputy. I understand that the further delay in completion of the review is very upsetting for the families affected. I express my sympathy to the bereaved families. I acknowledge the distress that has been caused to them. I am cognisant of the paramount importance of dignity and respect for these parents who have experienced the loss of a child. The Department continues to engage with the HSE on progress on this matter. It is advised that the HSE South/South West Hospital Group, Cork University Hospital…