I thank Senator Byrne for raising this important matter. The basic income for arts pilot schemes will be delivered by my colleague, the Minister for Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport and Media, Deputy Catherine Martin. The arts and culture task force, established in September 2020, was tasked by the Minister with producing a report to include a set of recommendations on how best the arts and culture sector could adapt and recover from the unprecedented damage arising from the Covid-19 pandemic. The task forc…

I thank Senator Byrne for his interesting response. As I have stated already, the Minister and her Department are examining the responses to the public consultation in tandem with suggestions received as part of the stakeholder forum. She will finalise the eligibility criteria and application form in the coming weeks. The basic income for the arts pilot scheme will run over a three-year period. The intention is to research the impact a basic income would have on artists' and creatives' working patterns by providing…

No problem.

I thank the Senator for raising this issue and giving me the opportunity to provide to the House an update on this project. This is part of an overall project for the replacement of a 95-bed community nursing unit, CNU, at St. Vincent's Hospital in Athy, County Kildare. The project will be completed in two phases, with the 50-bed unit to be delivered as part of the first construction phase. I thank Senator Wall for the historical analysis he gave. It is quite obvious that the Sisters of Mercy have been very fruitfu…

As the Senator rightly said, the project involves planning permission, for which an application is expected to be submitted very soon. In establishing the community nursing unit programme, the Government's intention is to secure the future of public provision of residential care through investment in up to 90 centres throughout the country. The overall development at St. Vincent's Hospital, Athy, will deliver 95 replacement community nursing unit beds with the accommodation in line with current standards. The impac…

I thank the Senator for raising this important matter today. I am taking this matter on behalf of the Minister, Deputy Stephen Donnelly. The House will be fully aware of the historical abuse allegations which have been raised about a foster care home in the south east and in particular as they relate to a young woman known as Grace. It is absolutely incumbent on the State to ensure the safety and protection of all vulnerable people in its care. We owe it to Grace and all vulnerable people in the State to ensure tha…

I thank the Senator, who has raised some interesting, thoughtful and welcome suggestions. I agree with her that every person who uses disability services in this country is entitled to receive care of the highest standard and to live in dignity and safety. It is their right and it is our obligation to ensure their safety and care are paramount. Like the Senator, I welcome the actions taken by the HSE to date to strengthen the governance of safeguarding of vulnerable people in the care of the State, as I set out in …

I thank Deputies Durkan and Cronin for providing me with the opportunity to, on behalf of the Minister, Deputy Foley, update the House on the position with respect to the acquisition of the three-school campus site in Celbridge, County Kildare, on behalf of the Minister for Education. The construction of new school buildings for St. Raphael's Special School, Celbridge Community School and Scoil Naomh Pádraig are included in the Department of Education's schools building programme. It is intended that the new school…

I again thank Deputies for raising this matter. On behalf of the Minister, they should rest assured that this project is being given priority attention and we are attempting to bring the matter to a close as soon as possible. I understand significant technical matters crucial to the delivery of the site were identified by the site acquisition team. Each matter requires thorough and complex assessment, in conjunction with Kildare County Council and the landowner. I must emphasise the importance of conducting a thoro…

I thank Deputy O'Callaghan for raising this very topical and interesting issue. As the Deputy will know, the centenary of the publication of Ulysses is arguably one of the most important literary centenaries in the history of the State, and while this year we celebrate the 100th anniversary of a great book about Dublin by, as mentioned by Deputy O'Callaghan, a great Dublin writer, it is also a huge moment in international writing. As mentioned by Deputy O'Callaghan, Ulysses offers us many tourism opportunities, wit…

The Deputy has offered many ideas. As I said, Fáilte Ireland has supported the Bloomsday festival for a number of years. Tourism Ireland has also developed an innovative programme around this particular centenary this year by reaching out to global audiences around the world. As the Deputy said, this momentous centenary is being marked in many different ways, with the support of the Government. Like the Deputy, I look forward to the roll-out of this programme. He said that Joyce had a difficult relationship with Ir…

I thank Deputy Ó Ríordáin for raising this issue and I welcome the opportunity to update the House regarding this very important topic. The programme for Government includes the commitment to convene a number of citizens' assemblies, including one to consider matters relating to drug use. The specific timing of future citizens' assemblies will shortly be finalised by the Government. It could also inform the development of the next national drugs strategy to replace the existing strategy in 2025. I have been in touc…

I thank Deputy Ó Ríordáin for the opportunity to provide an update. As I said, the programme for Government includes a commitment to convene a number of citizens' assemblies, including one to consider matters relating to drug use. The specific timing of future citizens' assemblies will shortly be finalised by the Government. I look forward to those dates. The Government established a working group to consider alternative approaches to the possession of drugs for personal use in December 2017. The work programme of …

I am sharing time with the Minister of State, Deputy Butler. I very much welcome this opportunity to update the House on the Government's easing of the Covid-19 restrictions. I am joined by the Ministers of State, Deputies Butler and Rabbitte. Ireland has reached a major crossroads in our management of the Covid-19 crisis and, as we reflect on our journey to this point, we should recognise the positive position we are in as a result of the extraordinary efforts of people throughout the country. We acknowledge, in p…

I thank the Deputies for their contributions on this very important issue, and Deputy Ward in particular, who tabled the motion, which the Government will not oppose. We all have children and young people in our lives, whether as part of our family, among our friends or in our community. Along with our relatives, friends and community, we take special care of them and attend to their needs. We want to protect and guide our children and equip them for the challenges of life ahead. As parents, we want the best for th…

I thank the Senator for raising this issue and giving me the opportunity to outline to the House the position on capital commitments at Portiuncula Hospital in Ballinasloe and Sacred Heart Hospital in Roscommon. Portiuncula Hospital is an acute general and maternity hospital that delivers a patient-centred, quality-driven and quality-focused service and provides a wide range of diagnostic and support services. The hospital's catchment area includes patients residing in east Galway, Roscommon, the midlands and the m…

As the Senator knows, the Government is committed to ensuring that Portiuncula Hospital can continue to deliver patient-centred, quality-driven and quality-focused service and provide a wide range of diagnostic and support services to meet the needs of its catchment area. The construction of the 50-bed ward is good news for the people of east Galway, Roscommon, the midlands and the mid-west. Strategic reform in the model of delivery of care for older people is under way in pursuit of the policy goal of supporting o…

I thank Senator Kyne for raising this issue and giving me the opportunity again to outline to the House the position regarding the new emergency department at University Hospital Galway. I will also convey his concerns to the Minister. University Hospital Galway provides regional services for a wide range of specialties. It serves a catchment area in the region of 1 million people along the west from Donegal to north Tipperary. University Hospital Galway is a model 4 hospital that provides 24-7 acute surgery, acute…

I will convey Senator Kyne's concerns to the Minister, the Department and the HSE. As he knows, the project is of a huge scale and it is progressing through the stages outlined in the public spending code. The preliminary business case, as I said, is under review with the HSE and pending board approval. I hope that we will get board approval as quickly as possible. This project is part of a larger development that incorporates maternity and paediatric services. It is included in the HSE capital programme. In advanc…

I am pleased to address the House on this important subject and to outline the work being done in the area of public health and well-being and the national drug strategy to support our young people. Healthy Ireland: A Framework for Improved Health and Wellbeing 2013-2025, which was launched in March 2013, is a national framework action to improve the health and well-being of the country over the coming generation. Since last year, it has been further supported by Healthy Ireland's strategic action plan, which provi…