The Senator is right that the scheme needs to be reviewed. Everything has a cost so we have to work out the broad need across the board. Not everything will be possible. I thank the Senator for highlighting that. He is right that the scheme needs to be reviewed. Was there anything else?

I do not know enough about that. I will need to look at it.

That is so wrong.

Russia invaded Ukraine.

I thank the Deputy for raising this matter. Perhaps I could follow up with her directly because I do not have notice of this. I will try to find out the position. It should be available consistently. What we want is that there is consistent access to both treatments and medications right across the regions. I will investigate and come back to the Deputy.

I thank an Cathaoirleach Gníomhach for making the time for these statements, which I believe are the first on health in this new Dáil. The Government and I are fully committed to a vision of a universal health and social care service where people have access to services based on need, and not on their ability to pay. The full implementation of Sláintecare remains one of the most significant reform programmes ever implemented by the State. I am so pleased it is a collective effort in this House that is enabling this…

Yes.

It is very much a team here who are here to work with Members as a team. I thank the House for the acknowledgement that, when we all do well together, it is the people who benefit. That is the way we will work here. I say this on behalf of all of the Ministers of State here. Deputy Rice made a very good point that this is not the most efficient way of using Dáil time. It is most unusual at this time until the legislation comes in and until the committees are structured. At least 37 people have spoken in this debate…

That is terrible.

I thank the Deputy. I am happy to look into it but my initial understanding is that this was always to be 44 additional beds in the overall construction. Will the Deputy please allow me to look into it and come back to him?

I thank the Deputy. One of the things we are checking is where the responsibility lies with some of the different changes. It is important to recognise that while we have provisions for older people and many of the guidelines relate to this area, my early understanding is that there is space to do an awful lot more here. I will look into the issue and come back to the Deputy, if that is okay, because it is very much an issue of understanding.

I compliment the excellent work done by Connolly Hospital, not only on keeping its trolley count down but also on the range of different work it is doing. I refer to the capital investment the hospital deserves to continue to do that. Our plans for Connolly Hospital, with a catchment area of 300,000 people as identified by the Deputy, are to maintain and extend the children's service, the paediatric service, while there will also be a new dental training and surgical facility there. Of course, it will also be the s…

I thank the Deputy for flagging this issue to me in advance so I could get additional information for this very short window I have to reply to him. He is right to highlight the gaps and the 277 posts that are funded but have not yet been recruited for. It is not through lack of trying. We have increased our numbers in the healthcare system very considerably but we have the funding and wish to do more. A very significant capital programme is going into this hospital, as the Deputy is aware, including the CT upgrade…

I thank the Deputy for raising the matter. A number of different things are happening. As the Deputy is aware, Limerick has already been the beneficiary of additional bed capacity and staffing. Another 96-bed unit will be completed shortly. There is also a surgical hub. The Deputy mentioned scheduled procedures being cancelled. Those procedures will be scheduled in the surgical hub and that will be followed by an elective hospital. Limerick is the beneficiary of considerable investment in beds and staff. There are …

The Taoiseach and I might go together. It is an excellent hospital that needs more investment. I am happy to speak to the Deputy about the capital plan for the coming year. I will be opening a new lung care research facility in the hospital shortly and I ask the Deputy to come along. It is an excellent hospital that is deserving of continued investment.

I thank the Deputy. I am more than happy to sit down with him about the provision for Kerry more generally in the capital plan. He is right to highlight the trolley situation. At 8 a.m. on Saturday, 1 February, for example, there were only four people on trolleys in University Hospital Kerry. By Tuesday morning, that number had risen to 18. There were 24 the following day and 28 thereafter. The number then fell to two the following Saturday. It moved to six before going back up to 20 on Monday and Tuesday, followin…

I am aware of the issue and am beginning to examine that. It is a pan-European problem so perhaps I can come back to the Deputy on it. I am very aware of it. On the cost of HRT, provision was made in the budget for HRT products but not for the dispensing fee. That is covered in parliamentary questions going back to October and November last year and that position has not changed. The Government set aside money to pay for the products but not the dispensing fee for pharmacists. I have met the pharmaceutical union. I…

I thank Deputy Nolan for highlighting this important issue. It is correct to say we are struggling with having enough dentists, both on the public side and, more broadly, to meet the need, particularly the developmental checks that are so important. While I am not aware of the specific case in Offaly, I would be glad if the Deputy might forward me the information so that I can be better informed. I have met initially in respect of this significant issue. There are a number of different new training programmes, espe…

I thank the Deputy for the question. He is quite right to identify that there is a problem, particularly in Dublin. While there has been an increase in the numbers of nursing staff generally, we are struggling in the recruitment of public health nurses. Several measures have been taken by the HSE to try to remedy this, including an equivalence in terms of salary scales and other incentives to try to bring more public health nurses into the health service. I recognise, however, that the work is not complete and ther…

I thank Deputy Bacik. Like Deputy Bacik, the first thing I want to do is offer my condolences to the family of the lady. A three-hour wait is simply not acceptable. I would like to get more details of the specific case, if the Deputy does not mind.