I move amendment No. 2: In page 6, line 5, after “Act” to insert “, other than section 25 ,”.

I move amendment No. 3: In page 8, line 17, to delete “2004,” and substitute “2004, or”. This is a minor technical amendment to add the word "or" between subsections (b) and (c) and the definition of "relevant person" under the Bill.

It is indeed, one of the more controversial things we will deal with today. The definition of "relevant person" primarily relates to Part 4. Part 4 concerns the secondary use of health information for specified public interest purposes, namely, a public interest purpose in the area of public and occupational health, policy and regulatory activities, including in respect of service planning and performance management, and statistics. Under this Part, the HSE will be empowered to request and receive from a relevant p…

I thank both Deputies for their very clear political direction and statement of intent on this issue, which align with mine and with the broader public interest in the supervision of public funds. From the perspective of the patient, I honestly believe the patient does not know whether he or she is attending a voluntary hospital or HSE hospital. If you are attending hospital due to a trauma or in a vulnerable situation, you honestly do not care whether the structure of the hospital to which you are presenting in ne…

There is no tension between me and any part of the health system. There is a report of an engagement in relation to one of the voluntary hospitals and the Chair and there is a difference of opinion that was aired in the media. My broad sense is that there is exceptionally good work being done in voluntary hospitals. Many of them, for example, have addressed their trolley situations in exceptionally good ways and are to be commended on that. I think there is a difference of understanding in relation to the role of t…

It certainly will be required. I am very glad. I understand that there will be a technical briefing next week or the week after in relation to that, which is a step in the ongoing engagement that is appropriate of that nature. I agree with what Deputy Cullinane said in respect of taking forward electronic health records generally, but, if I may, I will deal with the amendment before us. It is important to say to Deputy Rice that there has been a really sustained and positive engagement with the Data Protection Comm…

Digital health literacy is critical to fostering trust and safety around the use of health data. For example, the HSE is working with a number of advocacy organisations to ensure that its app can be used by people with a wide range of needs. It is also seeking to ensure that the app uses inclusive language and takes into account additional requirements that patient groups may need by conducting user research and testing groups to see where people might be experiencing challenges in using the app. I am not in a posi…

I move amendment No. 6: In page 23, after line 22, to insert the following: "PART 5 Amendment of Patient Safety (Notifiable Incidents and Open Disclosure) Act 2023 Amendment of section 68 of Patient Safety (Notifiable Incidents and Open Disclosure) Act 2023 25. (1) Section 68 of the Act of 2023 is amended, insofar as that section inserts section 41A(10) in the Health Act 2007, in the definition of "relevant designated centre", by the substitution of “paragraph (a)(iii) or (c)"for “paragraph (c) ". (2) The amendment…

That is not true.

Yes, there is.

It is the law.

I have literally just come from Crumlin where I met some of the new consultant radiologists who have come here from other countries in anticipation of the children's hospital. I am meeting the chief people officer after the statements on men's health in respect of some of the vacancies. On our cancer strategy, the Deputy is right to identify regional variance, which is one of the very many reasons we are shifting the funding model this year to a letter of determination to the HSE that focuses both on inputs and out…

I welcome this opportunity to speak on men's health, which is a priority in the programme for Government. In 2009, Ireland was the first country in the world to develop a national men's health policy. The men's health policy sets out a comprehensive and, I hope, ambitious framework with a series of objectives aimed at improving men's health. It was followed by two action plans. One was published in 2017, with a more recent one published in 2024. A clear commitment in the programme for Government, which I was proud …

I thank the Deputy for raising this. I have raised it with the board of the HSE and with the chief people officer of the HSE who I will meet shortly to better track where the difficulties are. It is not always a difficulty of the HSE. Sometimes it is simply difficult to get candidates and certainly on the public health nurse side we have had to increase the incentives in a number of different ways to try to recruit more people but it is something, in a general sense, I am watching carefully and I appreciate the Dep…

As I said when I was in the hospital in Limerick, all three options are being considered. Naturally, our priority is the acute in-bed capacity, which is what HIQA identified as the priority. We are trying to progress that. A total of 96 beds were opened this week. While that will not take 96 people out of the emergency department, because some people will stay for three, four or five days, I see it having an impact on trolley numbers already in the past seven days. There is a reduction but it will not eradicate the…

As I said in Limerick-----

Deputy Michael Murphy has raised this with me a number of times. He has been a strong advocate for this. As Deputy Healy said, the position has been advertised. Unfortunately, it was not possible to fill it on the first occasion. I very much hope that it will be filled on the second occasion. We are committed to Tipperary and I would like to compliment-----

-----the excellent general manager there, Maria Barry, who is doing extraordinary work not just in terms of the trolleys but also in terms of waiting times. In regard to the scale of investment in terms of construction, I was there recently to see the excellent work being done by the general manager and HSE Estates.

It is very strong. As the Deputy is aware, a new inpatient ward block is happening. There is an emergency department upgrade.

I would not like the Deputy to create any impression locally or anywhere else but that there is anything but the best of commitment to that hospital and my highest compliments go to the manager.