I am delighted to have the opportunity to speak about men's health and describe some of the initiatives that my Department and the HSE have in place to improve men's health. As a society, we are living longer and Ireland has one of the highest life expectancies in the EU. This should be celebrated, but it also brings challenges. We need to help people to enjoy good health and well-being at every stage of life and try to close the life expectancy gap between men and women. The Healthy Ireland vision is one where eve…

I thank the Senator for raising this important issue, which I am taking on behalf of the Minister, Deputy Carroll MacNeill. I have taken all of her concerns on board and I will definitely come back at the end on what she has brought up. The Irish Blood Transfusion Service is a non-commercial State agency responsible for collecting, processing, testing and distributing blood and blood products in Ireland. It relies completely on the generosity of voluntary non-remunerated donors to provide sufficient donations to en…

I totally agree with the Senator. The increase in demand is driven in part by the success of the recent investment in expanding the surgical and health system capacity by delivering better access to care for people. To ensure this demand is met, donor attendance figures are up by 10,283 in the year to date. This is an increase of 8.9% on target. There has been an increase. With the increase in donor recruitment drives, some 11,291 first-time donors were recruited in 2023. This number rose to 11,351 in 2024. I will …

Yesterday, I attended the briefing in the audiovisual room and listened to the parents and families of children on the waiting list. My heart goes out to them. I welcome that the Government has committed to an inquiry and I urge that this happens as soon as possible. It is right to acknowledge that we are not where we need to be in addressing urgent problems in spinal care, despite the sincere efforts of successive Ministers. Strengthening governance and oversight, driving down waiting times and ensuring increased …

I also welcome Rodion and his family. We are delighted to have them here. I am taking this Commencement matter on behalf of the Minister for Health, Deputy Carroll MacNeill. I thank the Senator for the opportunity to address the issue of accessibility and dental services for people with disabilities. The national oral health policy has two key goals, namely, to provide the supports to enable every individual to achieve their personal best oral health and to reduce oral health inequalities across the population by e…

I thank the Senator for raising this matter. I assure her once again that the Government is committed to supporting access to oral healthcare services for people with disabilities, which is evidenced by the significant investment in recent years. A package of measures was introduced in 2022 to expand the care available under the dental treatment services scheme, DTSS. Significantly, increased fees have been paid to contractors. These measures have improved access to care. Payments for contractor claims in 2024 show…

I thank Senator Craughwell very much. I welcome his daughter here today. Since I became Minister of State with responsibility for health, cancer has come up so much. So many families are affected by cancer. It is not only the Senator's daughter but he, his wife and all of them together who are affected. As he said, they are a unit working within the hospital. I want to say well done. It was very emotional today. It is great to see the Senator's daughter here. As Senator McDowell said, timing is of the essence, and …

I am delighted to announce further investment in budget 2026 for the national drugs strategy and health and well-being. The total allocation for drugs and inclusion health has increased to €289 million. This is an increase of €11 million in non-pay related measures. I am determined that people throughout the country will access timely quality care. I am committed to the continued expansion of drugs services across all regions, with a particular focus on rural areas throughout the country and not just in our main ci…

I thank the Senator for raising this important issue, which I am taking on behalf of the Minister for Justice, Home Affairs and Migration, Deputy O'Callaghan, who is in the Dáil Chamber today. The Minister is acutely aware of capacity restraints in our prisons and the resulting challenges faced by those who work and live in our prisons. Work to increase capacity has begun. Since 2022, capacity across the prison estate has been increased by 380 new spaces, with 126 delivered in 2024 and 43 delivered to date in 2025,…

I thank Senator Byrne for bringing up such an important issue. On behalf of the Minister, I want to underline the importance of the commitment to progressing and implementing policies aimed at increasing the use of community sanctions that reduce offending, divert people away from imprisonment and provide effective rehabilitation. That is something we are working on. On 6 May 2025, the Minister published the general scheme of the Criminal Law and Civil Law (Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill 2025, which proposes to inc…

I thank the Senator for this matter which is an area we have all been making recommendations on. It is something that is important to us all. As the Senator will know, I am here today to represent the Minister, Deputy O'Callaghan. It is important to note that criminal legal aid and civil legal aid are separate services. Criminal legal aid is granted by the courts and concerns the prosecution of criminal offences. An applicant for legal aid must establish, to the satisfaction of the court, that their means are insuf…

I will certainly bring this request to the attention of the Minister, Deputy O'Callaghan. I feel it is very important. Access to justice is a fundamental right, a cornerstone of our democracy and central to the rule of law. Nowhere is this more significant than in cases where victims of domestic violence need court support. This is exactly what the Senator is saying. As I mentioned earlier, the comprehensive set of recommendations contained in the civil legal aid review is being given careful consideration by the M…

I thank the two Senators for highlighting this very serious issue. I am taking this matter on behalf of the Minister, Deputy Helen McEntee. The Department of Education and Youth plans to address the additional accommodation needs for St. Aidan’s Comprehensive School, Cootehill, County Cavan. St. Aidan’s is a co-educational comprehensive school under Catholic patronage. Currently 630 pupils are enrolled in the school. The Department is in receipt of an application for funding under the additional schools accommodati…

I thank the Senators. I see the seriousness of it. Every day I deal with schools in my area, Carlow-Kilkenny. I want to echo the Senators. I have to compliment the teachers for their hard work and dedication over the years. There is the urgent matter, as Senator O'Reilly said, of the 37 students - local children - looking for a school. Both Senators can be assured that I will be straight away back in contact with the Department. I have been advised that the Department will advance this matter as quickly as possible…

I thank the Senator for her very passionate words as a cancer survivor. It is so important that the Senator, through her role, highlights these concerns. It is great to see her doing so well today. We all know how cancer can affect families. There is not a family in Ireland that has not been affected in some way by cancer. I thank her for her advocacy and hope that her health will be brilliant. She is doing a very good job, for which I thank her. Breast cancer is the most common invasive cancer among women in Irela…

I will be delighted to follow up with the Minister, Deputy Carroll MacNeill, today. It is like everything in life. The Senator mentioned the good things that happened in the process but when someone has gone through the process, the only concern really is the timing of assessments, whether the scan, the biopsy or the test. I will definitely go back to the Minister on that. Early diagnosis is so important in cases of cancer. Since the first national cancer strategy in 1996, detection and diagnosis at the earliest po…

I thank the Senator for raising another important issue. More young people are vaping and it is also an issue for businesses. How we work on that will be very important. The Government promotes smoke- and aerosol-free environments through a variety of legislative and non-legislative measures, as set out in the tobacco-free Ireland policy. The Public Health (Tobacco) Act banned smoking in indoor workplaces in 2004. In 2014, legislation prohibited smoking in a car with a child present. This legislation was in respons…

Legislation is one tool we have and it is very important, but we are continuing to support the great voluntary initiatives being implemented by the local authorities and the HSE. They have also been funded to carry out a vaping prevention campaign for young people. Like the Senator, I am very mindful that it is not just young people who are vaping. Rather, it is across the board. We are working on two important Bills that will come to the House very soon on the banning of disposable vapes and to look at the colours…

I am pleased to address the House as Minister of State with special responsibility for public health, well-being and the national drugs strategy. I will talk about vaping and the use of other nicotine products by our young people and what the Government is doing about this public health challenge. Every day, I hear from parents, teachers and coaches who worry about how many of our children are vaping. Residents and Tidy Towns organisations also see the proliferation of vape shops in our towns and villages and the l…

First, I thank everyone for the points that have been raised and for this important debate. The Minister, Deputy Carroll MacNeill, and I are very much aware of the issues of bringing the legislation before the House. Some TDs said we are not moving quickly enough in respect of it, but we are. It is a priority. I assure Members of that. We all want our children to have the best start in life, and that is why it is important that we, as legislators, take action that will make it easier for our children and ourselves …