I have been made aware of a situation in my home county of Carlow. While the HSE advertised on Monday that it wishes to recruit experienced consultant psychiatrists for an acute hospital setting in general adult psychiatry, no psychiatrist currently serves young people, children or adults in the public health system in Carlow. I have had calls from constituents who either had to travel to neighbouring counties to get help or had to battle to get someone to see them in Carlow. This is particularly the case with chil…

I wish to advise the House of the following matters in respect of which notice has been given under Standing Order 37 and the name of the Member in each case: (1) Deputy Kathleen Funchion - the status of transport for adult day services in HSE south; (2) Deputy Chris Andrews - to discuss why the GAA was granted an exemption to play the minor and under-20 inter-county championship and why this exemption was not extended to the under-19 League of Ireland; (3) Deputy Jennifer Whitmore - to discuss changes by the archd…

I take this opportunity to welcome the news that the Christmas bonus is being issued this week. Preserving the State pension qualifying age at age 66 was so important. All of us had fought for that. I welcome the €5 increase in the weekly living alone allowance. More than 600,000 people are to benefit from the Christmas bonus - the double payment. Together with the fuel allowance increase, these are all good supports. Where I have a problem, and I will highlight it again, is in terms of the lack of support for care…

Every year, legislation is needed to update and revise the scheme which allows our system of sharing of risk across the insured population in Ireland. This year we have had big challenges in this area, with the growing elderly population, with Covid and with long Covid, as it has come to be known, and the risks people may be taking because they are afraid to seek help in hospitals. We must maintain the affordability of health insurance to offer real choice to people. One issue that has come across my desk is the av…

I appreciate the Minister of State taking the time today to discuss this important issue. I have had numerous inquiries over recent weeks from the Psychiatric Nurses Association ambulance drivers, who are the National Ambulance Service Representative Association union members, asking if there has been any contact or dialogue between the Minister of State's Department and the HSE regarding the union's aim to gain official union recognition. Before Covid-19, we all stood in solidarity with these ambulance drivers. We…

SIPTU, Fórsa and Unite are excellent unions and they are not the problem, because they do great work. The paramedics who have contacted me want to stay in NASRA. My understanding is there are approximately 500 members in NASRA. Paramedics or everyone else in this line of work do an excellent job and have been fighting for well over a year for NASRA, yet the HSE keeps saying "No". We need to have proper engagement and to come to some solution for these paramedics who want to stay in the union. It is important that t…

Sorry, Deputy, we are moving on to the next matter.

I am sure the Deputy will meet the Minister at a later stage to discuss the matter further. I know how important it is. I thank the Deputy and the Minister.

Community employment, CE, supervisors remain without pension entitlements. This is a long-running issue that has not been addressed. I have been contacted regularly by a number of CE supervisors in my constituency of Carlow-Kilkenny who feel very left behind. Why, after more than ten years, do they remain without a pension? A deep sense of frustration is felt by the CE supervisors and assistant supervisors in their efforts to secure an occupational pension. The State hires these supervisors and, to all intents and …

The Government does not wish to oppose the Mental Health Parity of Esteem Bill 2020. That being said, further clarity is required regarding this Bill. The aims of the Bill are general and aspirational in nature and differ from the background to the purpose of the Bill, as set out in the explanatory memorandum. The Bill does not give any indication of how to achieve its stated aims. While the intention of the Bill is positive, further work is required regarding what the effect of the Bill is intended to be and what …

I am sharing time. We know we will have to live with Covid-19 but we cannot live with lockdowns, which threaten our economy. We have to consider opening the country and deal with testing, tracing and outbreak management. We cannot afford another lockdown. I refer in particular to the move from level 5 to level 3. This would still mean that hotels could not accept visitors from outside their county, restaurants could serve only at a limited capacity and wet pubs could not open. We need to find a way of easing county…

I have been contacted by concerned parents in Carlow who have asked if community pools and leisure centres will be permitted to hold swimming classes for children in primary school and if swimming lessons will be included in the list of controlled sports under further restrictions. We have wonderful community pools and leisure centres around the country and children's swimming lessons are a vital part of the school curriculum. What are we doing to provide guidance to schools? As the Tánaiste knows, under level 2 co…

One of the biggest challenges facing us in the world is the extent and impact of violence against women and children. The global Covid pandemic shone a bright light on this darkness and we saw a staggering increase in the reporting of domestic violence. Women's aid services engaged in 20,763 support contacts in 2019, during which 20,049 disclosures of domestic abuse against women and children were heard. Women disclosed being beaten, strangled, burned, raped and having their lives threatened. Others told that they …

I welcome the Minister's update on his work and that of his Department. Much has been achieved to date and it is to be commended. I welcome the €50 million announced today for third level students for a once-off payment of €250 to each student. It was a welcome announcement for the almost 5,000 students of the Institute of Technology, Carlow and St. Patrick's College in Carlow. I spoke to some students today and there was great excitement among them. As a Deputy for Carlow-Kilkenny, I particularly welcome the progr…

I replaced the Minister of State on the Covid-19 committee when she was appointed to her role. I thank the Chairman of the committee who did an excellent job. While I welcome the report, we have been a little premature bringing the work of the committee to a close. We could probably have done with it being in place for longer, particularly in light of how things are with the virus. We have seen Covid-19 cases increase as communities reopen, even though we are in lockdown. I am troubled to see the rise in the number…

I thank the Minister for being here to discuss the issue of the bank of 72 hours which, should work be available, special needs assistants, SNAs, can be called upon to do from time to time. Constituents in my home town of Carlow have contacted me. They are members of a union which is in the process of pursuing a claim with the Department of Education to remove these hours on the basis of their widespread abuse. Issues have arisen with regard to the manner of scheduling their use and the tasks or duties that SNAs ar…

I thank the Minister for her reply. We are living in unprecedented times. I know from her work in education how much the Minister values SNAs and teachers, as we all do. It is important to acknowledge that. However, it remains my view that the 72 hours should be frozen. Given the situation we are in and the impact of the Covid-19 crisis on particular families and children, who are among the most vulnerable in our society, we must do our best for those families. I again thank the Minister for her reply.

I am sharing my time. We need a vibrant rural life where families can live and work locally in sustainable communities. I take the opportunity of a debate on rural development to welcome US insurance company, Unum's, expansion of its technology centre of excellence in Carlow. Unum has been a big success for Carlow since it set up here in 2008. It currently employs 150 people and today it announced an additional 50 jobs for Carlow. This is a great boost for the south east. Unum is the largest tech employer in Carlow…

A recent survey revealed that residents in County Carlow must travel an average of 40 km to their nearest accident and emergency department, a car journey of approximately 37 minutes. Because we do not have an adequate public transport system people must use any other mode of transport. There is nothing suitable for any kind of urgent travel. In Kilkenny, they have a marvellous scheme where anyone can travel from a location in the town, near McDonagh Junction and the train station. They can hop on and hop off the b…

As we are all aware, in the coming weeks we approach the publication of the final report of the commission of investigation into the mother and baby homes. This publication and surrounding story will most certainly be an emotional time in our storied history. A raw wound will be reopened and we must do all we can to heal that wound. It is important that those who have contacted us feel heard and that those who never spoke of what they went through feel heard through their silence. We need to begin a process of heal…