I thank the Deputy for raising this issue. The Minister acknowledges the significant contribution of health and social care professionals to the Covid response, in particular, the urgent requirement for testing in the community services. I am aware that in the Department of Health, many of the various teams are still working on Covid. The HSE has put a plan in place to stabilise the testing workforce to release staff back to their substantive roles. However, with the rising number of cases and the requirement for t…

There are, however, a significant number of measures being put in place to manage such competing priorities, for example, a national requirement campaign for dedicated testing and tracing resources. We expect that such measures coming in place will assist in our ability to meet both Covid and non-Covid service demands. HR in community operations has been in dialogue with trade union partners regarding the matter and has agreed to progress a roadmap for the return of all staff to their substantive roles as the new s…

I thank the Leas-Chathaoirleach for his kind remarks. It is always good to be back in the Upper House, even if it is sitting in the Dáil Chamber today. I thank Senator Ruane for affording me the opportunity to speak on this very important matter. The immunisation programme is based on the advice of the National Immunisation Advisory Committee, NIAC. The committee's recommendations are based on the prevalence of the relevant disease in Ireland and international best practice in relation to immunisation. It makes rec…

I thank the Senator. Vaccines are one of the most successful health interventions of all time. They have saved thousands of lives in this country and have helped make diseases like polio and smallpox, which previously caused devastation to families and communities, largely a thing of the past. Cervical cancer is the fourth most common cancer in women worldwide and one woman dies of cervical cancer every two minutes. Almost all of the cases of cervical cancer can be attributed to HPV infection. HPV also causes other…

I thank the Senator for raising what is an important issue — increasing access to contraception. The Government understands the need to promote women's health and equality and, as such, the new programme for Government includes a commitment to expand access to free contraception for women aged between 17 and 25, as outlined by the Senator. The Senator has made me aware of the recommendations of the Joint Committee on the Eighth Amendment of the Constitution. The working group was established in April 2019. This gro…

I appreciate the Senator's concern about this very complex issue. The working group highlighted that the majority of people in Ireland can and do access contraception without difficulty. Contraception use in Ireland is high and stable. This is a fact that we welcome but there are issues we need to address. At the same time, the Government is supportive of the need to expand access to contraception even further and move towards the provision of a free contraception service over time. This is reflected in the commitm…

I thank Senator Conway for his kind remarks. It is great to be back here in the Seanad. I am delighted to see Senator Wall here. I serve with his dad in the Oireachtas so it is great to see him back here as well. Before addressing the medical card limits for the over-70s, which both Senators have raised today, it is important to acknowledge the difficult year that older persons in our society have experienced as a result of Covid-19. In particular, social distancing and cocooning were and remain challenging for man…

Senator Conway mentioned savings being achieved and obviously that has not occurred, due to Covid. As was said, currently 75% of people aged 70 and over have a medical card and if the potential beneficiaries of this measure - an estimated 56,000 people - materialise then an increase in the income thresholds will result in over 88% of this cohort now being eligible for a medical card. The Senator suggested we stop the active consideration and making a commitment and I will bring that back to the Minister. There is n…

I thank the Deputies for raising this important issue. A comprehensive, reliable and responsive testing and tracing operation is central to our public health strategy for containing and slowing the spread of Covid-19. Capacity has been in place since early summer to test 15,000 people a day. While the system did come under pressure in recent weeks, overall the system is working well and is proving central to our public health response. Rigorous contact tracing, automatic testing of close contacts, serial testing in…

I thank Deputies Nash and O'Dowd for their commitment to trying to get a pop-up centre to Drogheda. They have made a very powerful case. As I said, the HSE advises that we are meeting all testing demand nationally across the end-to-end testing and tracing process, with adequate swabbing and laboratory capacity. I understand that these issues will be reviewed, and I will bring the Deputies' concerns to the Minister's attention. Unlike many other European countries, our testing demand does not currently exceed supply…

I thank the Deputy for her views. We have found ourselves in a complex and difficult situation and I take this opportunity to update the House on the holding of drug and alcohol support group meetings in Dublin. Last week, the Government published Resilience and Recovery 2020-2021: Plan for Living with Covid-19. The framework states that no organised indoor gatherings should take place when level 3 restrictions are in place and Dublin moved to level 3 from midnight on 19 September for a period of three weeks. The l…

I reiterate that it is my full intention, as Minister of State with responsibility for this area, to do all I can to ensure we can achieve the restoration of these essential addiction treatment services in Dublin. We all have compassion; it is not only the preserve of one party. Every Deputy, Minister and Senator in the Oireachtas and people across the country have compassion and we are working extremely hard. People in my area of the north west have come to me with addiction problems related to alcohol, drugs and …

The incident that occurred at the National Maternity Hospital in March 2019 was tragic and the Minister and I are very conscious of the distress it has caused for the couple involved. Our overriding concern is that the couple's questions are answered appropriately and that any patient safety learning identified from the case can be implemented at the hospital concerned and across all maternity services. It is not appropriate to discuss the specifics of the case but I will outline the process that is being put in pl…

I thank the Deputy for his statement on this tragic case involving Christopher and his parents who are, as the Deputy said, broken-hearted. The Minister fully agrees with the need for a fair investigation to take place into the incident that occurred in the National Maternity Hospital in March 2019. He is committed to moving this process forward as expeditiously as possible. The Department is satisfied that an independent external review is the appropriate mechanism by which to investigate this matter. To ensure th…

I welcome the opportunity to address the House on behalf of the Minister for Health, Deputy Donnelly, in respect of the ambulance service in the south-east region and in Thurles in particular. The National Ambulance Service makes use of historical data and future projections of service volumes in determining the allocation of resources and deployment locations within an area. Therefore, to increase the response capacity of the south region of the National Ambulance Service, in 2020 an additional six whole-time equi…

I thank Deputy Cahill for raising this important issue. I assure the House that the National Ambulance Service is focused on continually improving the ambulance service in the south-east region and throughout the country. The improvement of the service is being implemented through a multi-annual reform programme, Vision 2020, which prioritises investment in new developments, increased manpower and fleet and improved technology. Recent developments such as the new community paramedic model of care and the hear-and-t…

I will take it.

On behalf of the Minister, I thank Deputy Ó Ríordáin for raising this matter. As the Deputy will appreciate, the Office of Public Works has responsibility for the provision and maintenance of Garda accommodation. Works in respect of Garda accommodation are progressed by the Garda authorities working in close co-operation with the OPW. The current Garda building and refurbishment programme, which runs to 2021, is based on agreed Garda priorities and covers more than 30 locations across the country, supported by sign…

On behalf of the Minister, I thank the Deputy for raising the issue. I will bring his comments on establishing a commission to look into these very difficult areas to the Minister. The Deputy will be aware that the Garda Commissioner is, by law, responsible for the management and administration of An Garda Síochána, including personnel matters and the deployment of resources. As such, the Minister has no role in these matters. I am assured, however, that Garda management keeps the distribution of resources under co…

I thank Deputy Durkan for his question and for his ongoing support for the public health measures that have been put in place in recent months. While the Government has today launched a new roadmap for the period ahead, as the Deputy points out, following the protocols on hand sanitisation, social distancing and reduction in interactions is still the most important thing to do. It is important to remember that Covid-19 is a highly infectious disease. The risk of getting Covid-19 is now part of our daily lives and w…