One in 12 children is now on some form of hospital waiting list. More than 100,000 children are on some form of National Treatment Purchase Fund list. One in three children has been waiting longer than a year for treatment or assessment by a hospital consultant. Over the Easter period, the Irish Hospital Consultants Association issued a press release on these figures. It states children will suffer from health and developmental issues that could have been reversed or mitigated if only they had been seen in time. Wh…

I have been a board member of Clondalkin Equine Club for the past five years. I was one of the co-founders of the club ten years ago. The concept was somewhat unique in a context where there was an enormous number of problems relating to equine welfare in the Clondalkin area. Horse owners got together more than ten years ago to appeal to the council and the authorities to prevent a type of revolving door system whereby horses were impounded and destroyed, which resulted in animosity. The club has brought all the ed…

I speak as a board member of the club. The board and the club have exhausted every single known funding avenue to the point where we are at this juncture. If we do not get this small amount of funding, the club will have no alternative, unfortunately, but to close its doors in July. As I said, that would be an absolute travesty in respect of the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine. I commend the Department. It has been really good in promoting urban horse ownership. Previously, people who owned horses in…

I raise an issue today with the Tánaiste and perhaps the Minister of State, Deputy Rabbitte, who is present, may be in a better position to answer this question. It relates to the progressing disability services for children and young people. A number of families in my constituency and outside it have raised the lack of services with me. These families have children with Down’s syndrome. They have painted a very stark picture in respect of the interventions they were meant to receive. The Minister of State will be …

My question relates to the future of the proposed national maternity hospital on the grounds of St. Vincent's University Hospital. Its construction has been something of a saga. People want clarity on its proposed ethos and ownership.

Is the Minister confident that will happen because this has been an ongoing saga for the past ten years? For the casual observer, it is extremely confusing in relation to the ownership of the land and the ethos of the building itself. I understand the building will be owned by the State but the board will still be run by a private holding, that is, the Religious Sisters of Charity. If that is the case, that may not be conducive to a Catholic ethos - I understand the Minister is probably on the same page as we are -…

I will take the Minister's word on that. What the women of Ireland will want to know is when will construction begin. We have seen projects in the State previously that are completely dragged out and, eventually, they may never be built. A modern hospital for the 21st century has to have a modern ethos to fit the 21st century. We live in a different era from when it was established on Holles Street. It was a completely different age in Ireland. I will take the Minister at his word. What I want to get from the last …

I welcome this document, which is subtitled "Listen. Invest. Deliver." For many years, however, none of that was done. In fact, many women were never listened to and there was disinvestment in women's health and society as a whole. As a consequence of that, women's health was subordinate in society and in healthcare. One of the greatest advocates for women's healthcare in recent times has been Vicky Phelan. Her testimony and life experience have been instrumental in how we deal with women's healthcare. Vicky advoca…

The concept of neutrality in this country is under threat like never before. Commentary in this House and other forums is now advocating for a different approach and policy. Ireland has a proud history of neutrality, going back centuries. That concept is never, ever to aid and abet militarism and war. Neutrality is never to be complicit in other states' wars of domination and conquest. It is against militarism and joining any military pact by stealth, since those promote conflict, regardless of where they are. Irel…

I wish to share time with Deputy Paul Murphy.

I commend Sinn Féin on this very important motion. We have debated for a considerable amount of time over the period I have been in this House the issue of disability services for children. From my point of view and that of my colleagues, we have always tried to be constructive rather than destructive and tried not to make politics of it. It is sometimes difficult not to make politics of issues but, on this issue, we try to be as constructive as possible. This issue goes back a considerable amount of time. As with …

Given the extraordinary number of Covid cases in the past week and the statement by the Irish Nurses and Midwives Organisation calling for the reintroduction of mask-wearing in crowded settings to ease the pressure on our public health service, will the Government review the decision it made earlier this month on ending the mandate of mask-wearing in public settings, namely, in retail outlets and on public transport?

The decision by the Government to delay a citizens' assembly on drug use is an affront to the debate. How any Government can prioritise a directly elected mayor over the urgent debate on drug use is beyond comprehension. Let us provide the context. This issue has been delayed for decades while thousands of people die and rot. The assembly that should be in the dock is not the citizens' assembly, but rather this assembly. This assembly has for decades let communities rot. Thousands of people would be alive today if …

I call on the Minister to launch a public inquiry in respect of Shane O'Farrell, who was killed on 2 August 2011 in the most terrible of circumstances. Since that terrible day, the family has sought justice and truth about Shane's death. I hope the Minister will oblige the family in its search for justice and truth.

It is more than ten years since Shane O’Farrell was killed. The family has always sought the truth and justice. You do not need to be a legal expert to concur that there was systemic failure regarding Shane’s death. Not only was there systemic failure on the day he died but there was also systemic failure before that. You do not have to be a legal expert to look at the facts. One fact is that Shane O’Farrell should be alive today. We should not even be speaking about him today, but there was systemic failure. I hav…

Deputy McEntee is the fifth Minister for Justice since the fateful day in question, 2 August 2011. Since then, there has been an internal investigation into what happened — an internal Garda inquiry into the systemic failures. It was quashed subsequently, which throws up more questions than ever before on the events surrounding Shane’s death. Many people watching this debate will be asking what happened. Why, in the circumstances, was Shane O’Farrell failed by the justice system? I respectfully put it to the Minist…

Has the Minister any indication as to when the report will be finished?

In light of the report in The Sunday Business Post in regard to governance of the HSE, it is incumbent on this House to have a wider debate on retention and recruitment in the overall health service. Many people who read that report were very concerned about the state of our public health services. We need a wider debate, not only in regard to that article but on the wider issue of retention and recruitment in the HSE.

This is certainly a detailed and technical Bill. There is a consensus that it will be supported and that disability services need to be reformed. The question is whether it will improve services for those who are in the disability services, their families and all of the workers who provide this very important service. The question is whether it makes the service better because it is reporting to two Ministers, given it has gone from the Minister for Justice to the Minister for Health and the Minister for Children, …

I wish to raise the serious consequences for everybody in respect of cancer care in Ireland. Obviously, because of the pandemic and its consequences, cancer care in the context of diagnosis, early treatment and early intervention has been severely curtailed. In fact, according to some experts on cancer, there could be a five- to ten-year tailback in early intervention. This is very serious for those who want to get screened and so forth. What is this Administration doing at present to address those issues in cancer…