If the Deputy would like me to answer, I will do so. The reality is that staffing has increased in Cavan Monaghan General Hospital by 26% but the increase in Monaghan has been 70%, so Monaghan is not being left behind. I look forward to going there and discussing all these issues, including the business cases submitted or not submitted by Monaghan hospital, as I am sure the Deputy already has.

I thank the Deputy. I am a huge advocate for the reform and expansion of pharmacy services and the Government is committed to ensuring people can access as much care as possible in the community including in pharmacy, which will play a very large and expanded role in this. The report of the expert task force to support the expansion of the role of pharmacy was published in August 2024. Its findings provide a framework to inform how we are going to do that. My vision for the future includes pharmacists playing a muc…

I am sorry.

The first and most important thing is to take the steps forward to get this going. There was an inertia on that, if I may say, until recently. It has now been progressed and there are detailed negotiations to take the necessary steps forward. I would like to see this in place and operational and then be able to expand it appropriately. I have already said, I think, that the list of common conditions should be expanded. It is not going to be enough but it is no harm to get the practice under way as quickly as possib…

I agree completely with the Deputy, and I thank her for that. While I do not have an update for her today - it was yesterday we discussed it - I have instructed my officials to see what can be done, and I will revert to her on it. I have to say Deputy Moynihan has got me. I do not know, and I am going to have to find out. I can tell him about estradot patches and so many different things but I cannot tell him about vets, agriculture and pharmacy. He has got me, and I am going to have to go back and find a proper an…

On 19 June, CHI advised the Joint Committee on Health that neither Temple Street nor Crumlin hospitals accepted the Dickson report when it was completed in 2017. My Department received a copy of the report on Friday, 20 June and my officials are reviewing it. I will be seeking assurance from CHI that the matters raised in the report have been addressed. In light of concerns raised in relation to corporate and clinical governance concerns at CHI, as the Deputy is aware, I have appointed two HSE board members to the …

I could say about the summary that it is CHI's view that this is the best it can do, recognising some of the HR and legal constraints. I want to see the report published in the broader public interest but it is not necessarily the case that in every instance it should be published. In particular, I am concerned that this was a HR report where people who might be constituents of the Deputy, and for whom he might take a protective trade union perspective as well, participated in a process to try to address a signific…

I very much respect the Deputy's perspective on that and on the culture piece. I had a good meeting with the new CEO, Lucy Nugent, where I was very clear and reiterated that this is a new CHI for the future with a new executive management team, a new approach and a new culture. She needs that team around her to be able to implement that new culture. She is coming from Tallaght, where there has been good success and where she has a very strong track record in relation to that. I take the Deputy's perspective on the …

What a statement.

Hear, hear.

That is not true

What?

I thank the Deputy for raising this matter. The area of dental services is a particular concern of mine. We are trying to expand the number of training places for more dentists. We also have a difficulty in the number of dentists offering services on the public side, which is impacting. We are trying to find a range of different innovative ways to get dental services to schools more easily and to make it easier for schools, children and parents to get to dental services. I note the particular point made by the Depu…

I am happy to meet with the group. This is something that I have worked with Epilepsy Ireland on in the past. I am familiar with the issues. I will very happily meet the group.

It is very important that we have a focus on men's health, just as we have, correctly, had an emphasis on women's health. The funding is spread across a number of different streams. I will have to ask my officials to pull the information out for the Deputy and update him. I assure him this issue continues to be a priority for my Department.

Hear, hear.

I thank the Deputy for his ongoing engagement on this issue more broadly. He is right that the drug has been approved by the EMA. The next stage is that the drug company must make an application to the HSE. I checked this morning to see if that had happened. It has not happened yet. Perhaps it has happened in the period I have been in the House, but it had not happened when I checked. I will be watching it very closely. I have already spoken to the Secretary General of my Department and to the CEO of the HSE about …

I thank the Deputy. I recognise the extraordinary impact long Covid can have on people. It is my understanding that this scheme has been extended on a number of occasions and there is no proposal to extend it further. People are entitled to illness benefit but there is no proposal to extend the scheme further at this time.

I thank the Acting Chair. I have a lot to get through. I thank Senators for inviting me to the House to discuss this important topic. I was here in March to speak about women's health on International Women's Day. Breast cancer was raised by several Senators then and many have raised it continually since. As Senators are aware, approximately 3,600 women are diagnosed with breast cancer every year, making it the most common cancer among women in Ireland. One in seven women receive a breast cancer diagnosis in their …

I thank Senators for giving me the opportunity to listen to them and I acknowledge the important issues they have raised. First and foremost, I again recognise the women and their families who are impacted. So many people in this room have either been impacted very directly and personally or have a close family member who has been. I am no different, so I recognise the importance of BreastCheck in diagnosing breast cancer and the ongoing care it gives to women. I wish to state clearly that I have every confidence i…