I will be sharing time with Deputy Barry. I thank Sinn Féin for this very important motion on nursing home and elder care. There are obviously viability issues in the nursing home sector and if we had the same speeches 25 years ago, we would be talking about a different composition of nursing home care. At that time in Ireland, it was 80% owned by the public and 20% owned by the private sector. That is now reversed. Whether that is a good or a bad thing is up for negotiation. I would say it is not a good structure …

I, too, welcome the motion. We have discussed the issue of home care many times over the past number of years. It is an extremely important part of the healthcare system. It is vital that somebody in his or her own home is given the proper intervention and vital care at that time. We have moved towards the model where people want to stay in their homes, if it is medically feasible, because that is obviously where they feel more relaxed and more at home - excuse the pun. It is a better environment, both physically a…

We are having a very good debate on young people and the strategy around justice and so forth. Young people are sometimes maligned. They can be marginalised by society so it is important we give confidence and credit to their age group. The most important thing, if young people engage in activity they should not engage in, is to divert them away from the criminal justice system. The Garda diversion projects are very good. I have first-hand experience of such a project. It is a very good project that takes people aw…

My question concerns the ongoing situation in Tunisia. The Tunisian Government has increasingly become authoritarian in relation to journalists and political and civil rights activists. I wish to hear the Tánaiste's views on the ongoing situation, particularly Ireland and the EU's relationships with Tunisia.

I thank the Tánaiste. As I said from the outset, a number of prominent politicians, trade union leaders and lawmakers have been imprisoned in recent months. It is very ironic, in the birthplace of the Arab Spring 12 years ago, that one dictator took over from another in 2011. He is oppressing his people and has used horrible and really xenophobic language against people of colour that is completely divisive. It is important that Ireland uses its influence via the EU, which is one of the biggest trading partners wit…

I do not have much else to add, but the issue of the funding that emanates from the EU and goes to Tunisia is important. There must be some sort of consequences in respect of what the Tunisian Government is doing. I say this because if we look at what happened several decades ago during the Ben Ali dictatorship, we can see that this Tunisian Government is doing exactly the same as he was doing, not only to the people of the country but to the opposition there. As a beacon of democracy and solidarity with the Tunisi…

At the health committee on Tuesday, the HSE stated that there is an over-reliance on the recruitment of international doctors and nurses. Nearly 40% of doctors and nurses in our health system are from overseas. Without them, our health system would not function. There is an anomaly in our system because undergraduate places for nursing are over-subscribed by 3:1. There needs to be more undergraduate places, particularly for nursing. Obviously, we produce amazing nurses in this country, but most people-----

People Before Profit welcomes the principle of this Bill but many will ask why it took so long to ban the sale of these products to under-18s. It is hard to believe that we are only introducing legislation now because vape products have been around for more than a decade. Questions have to be asked about that. There is no doubt that tobacco companies are luring young people in particular with very seductive packaging. There are thousands of flavours and you even see young people who are definitely under 18 using th…

This week, Professor John Crown raised concerns regarding cancer patients with private health insurance in respect of not getting timely access to vital cancer medicines. There were major discrepancies regarding timely interventions by private health insurance companies. There were some waiting periods of up to two years in respect of these vital medicines. The Irish Cancer Society has stated there needs to be fairer access to drugs via standardisation through Sláintecare. Is it Government policy to standardise acc…

I welcome this motion from Sinn Féin. It is very topical, well thought out and relevant to issues around respite. I worked in respite for a long time. It is an essential service for service users and families. It is like a home from home. You build friendships with clients and so forth and you really cannot put a price on that development, that friendship, that care and those surroundings. Respite care is an essential service. At the moment, however, its provision is arbitrary, to say the least. The majority of peo…

My question relates to the Minister's discussions with senior gardaí on the policing of anti-asylum seeker and anti-refugee demonstrations across the State. Many of us are concerned about what has manifested in the State and the situations in which police find themselves.

Some lines have been crossed at some of the demonstrations. There is no doubt about that. It is unequivocal. Outside agitators are trying to sow fears and play on people's fears and hatred. Some of these are outside agitators who have an agenda, that is, to stoke fear and so forth. It is a testament to the Irish people that we have welcomed the vast majority of people to this country. There has been a considerable influx of people from different parts of the world and, largely, Irish people have welcomed people fro…

We understand the police find themselves in difficult situations, but there are also question marks over where those lines have been blurred at demonstrations. Remember these demonstrations are outside where people live. Some of the policing has to be questioned. It is very light touch in comparison to what the Debenhams workers went through two years ago. There is a stark contrast in how the gardaí dealt with them and how the people who are stoking up the worst fears imaginable. The gardaí find themselves in a dif…

This is the fifth anniversary of an historic referendum that changed Ireland. It gave a generational view to a new Ireland. It is in that context, and also in the context of the review by Marie O'Shea BL and the proposed Bill, that we are talking about abortion services in Ireland. The current legislation, as Ms O'Shea has said, is not fit for purpose. Ms O'Shea is unequivocal in her review and critique that the legislation put together four or five years ago needs to be updated. Hundreds of women and girls are bei…

I will not use my entire ten minutes. I will probably take less than five. I welcome the motion tabled by Sinn Féin. We have had many debates on this issue. We probably cannot have enough debates about our health system. As it is, our health system is good, when people can get access to it. We have some of the best doctors, nurses, healthcare assistants and clerical staff in Europe. They are a very highly motivated and educated workforce, but there are mitigating circumstances whereby there is a schism between publ…

I congratulate the Independent Group on the motion. It is quite wide ranging. We would like to see all of that implemented as soon as possible. The pandemic showed us many things about our health service, our country and ourselves. There was a collective spirit. It was a very dark time in our history but there was a collective effort to look after each other in our public service. The front-line workers were up against something that was unprecedented in the history of any health service in the last 100 years. Mass…

I commend Deputy Brady on the Bill. It is quite a modest Bill and is in line with the Boycott, Divestment, Sanctions movement across the world to condemn apartheid Israel. The Minister of State and his Government have a chance to send a message not only to apartheid Israel, but to the world. Can he imagine the message going out that an Irish Government has finally taken the stance, through a modest Bill such as this, that there must be economic consequences to apartheid? Last week, we saw how distorted and racist I…

I thank the Ceann Comhairle. I am out of breath.

It is an important question. Hold on and I will catch my breath.

It is a very quick question for the Taoiseach on the medical card review. I am aware there was a report in 2014 around the expert panel and medical card eligibility. Will the review take place soon on the system of discretionary medical cards and the remit for those who have a terminal illness or who have cancer? People who do not have a terminal illness are finding it very difficult to get a medical card in the context of costs and so on.