My question is on an issue about which I know the Minister is aware because we have discussed it a number of times. It is in respect of a property in County Kilkenny that he is aware of and on which he has the details. I am trying to figure out exactly what is the update in relation to it. Is it with the Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth or with the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage? There are serious enforcement issues and other issues that I will go into later.…

I thank the Minister. As he knows, we have a number of locations throughout Carlow and Kilkenny and I have no issue or difficulty. I am raising this issue because I share the concerns of the community. It is a fantastic community and there are already a number of Ukrainian families living in the area. It could be argued that the holiday homes there will not be proper, long-term accommodation but the community has rallied around and stepped up to welcome everybody. The area in question is a rural townland and there …

I understand there would be a mix or rural and urban accommodation but surely there must be consideration of whether transport and facilities are available. To put it in people's minds, the facility in question is an old equestrian centre, so you can imagine the level of accommodation we will be able to provide. It will certainly not be up to standard. There are also serious issues in respect of compliance, and I know that has been brought to the local authority's attention. What is frustrating for the people in th…

I am taking this question on behalf of my colleague, Deputy Tully. The question is for the Minister of State, Deputy Rabbitte, and relates to a previous parliamentary question, namely, Question No. 97 on 29 February 2024. She is seeking an update on the recruitment drive for the CDNTs as referenced in the reply to the previous question of 29 February. My colleague is looking for a specific outline of how many staff have been recruited into the CDNTs in Cavan and Monaghan and asks the Minister of State to make a sta…

When the Minister of State says that it is a 58% staff vacancy rate, is she saying that the recruitment drive she is talking about is that to fill that 58%? Is she saying that there is a 58% shortage of staff, and is the recruitment drive she is talking about - which was at the end of January and is now in the final stages - to fill that? Okay. Perfect. As we know, there is a major issue with the pay disparity that exists between HSE-run services and those run by section 39 organisations. We have come across some a…

I thank the Chair. I promise I will not go over time in this minute. When the KOSI mechanism was raised with us, there were some people who were not fully aware of exactly what that process is. Basically, KOSI is the middleman, for want of a better word. That is good to know. I know the Minister of State touched on the disability services grant in the first part of the answer. Did she say that it has been launched?

Do we have a timeframe? I know the Minister of State said she was talking to Mr. Bernard O'Regan but there is no timeframe for that yet, or is there?

Okay, that is grand. I will give the Minister of State an extra 25 seconds to make up for everything else.

I am delighted to get the chance to speak on this motion because I find increasingly that people who cannot access a GP are calling in to us. In many cases, they have been living abroad or in another part of the country and when they come home they find it impossible to access a GP. In one recent case, a person with a very serious condition who had been living in England for a long period had to come home for health reasons and then could not access a GP. Similar to the story Deputy Doherty told, the person could n…

Amendments Nos. 7 and 8 have been ruled out of order.

Amendments Nos. 13 to 16, inclusive, and 18 to 21, inclusive, are related and may be discussed together by agreement.

The Select Committee on Health has completed its consideration of the Health (Assisted Human Reproduction) Bill 2022, and has made amendments thereto.

Amendments Nos. 23 and 24 have been ruled out of order.

My question is particularly relevant this week given some of the things we have, unfortunately, seen in the news. What engagement has the Minister and his Department had with Tusla on its struggles to respond to increased demand for its services, given that this increased demand, together with the complex needs of the children and young people presenting, have swamped the agency? I ask him to make a statement on this matter, particularly the special emergency arrangements.

None of us wants to see this situation. Yesterday, we saw another piece in The Irish Times . This is not the first time that there have been stories like this in the news. Last year, the retired Dublin District Court judge, Dermot Simms, spoke out on this. At that time, there were 130 children. If the plan is to deliver 110 places by the end of 2025, we are already way behind the curve. We need to start moving away from the private sector because the idea of having profit mixed with vulnerable children will not wor…

Those measures were welcome. Is there a forum or an opportunity for representatives from the social worker sector, Tusla and foster carers to sit down with the Minister? Perhaps one is already in place. Tusla, in fairness, says that as well. Everybody says we cannot have this and we need to end special emergency places, yet we end up having to resort to them. I understand that in a crisis a place has to be provided for a child but, as I know from people I deal with, these places are the worst situation for children…

I believe Deputy Harkin's question is next.

This question relates to the recently announced capital funding of €18 million. I know it has a precondition that providers agree to a predefined fee cap. Can we get some more information on that and how it will pan out? Given the high number of services that applied last year and were not successful, can we get some more information and clarity?

There was a lot of information in that. I welcome that it specifically relates to expanding baby room capacity for those between six months and three years. That continues to be a major issue in trying to access spaces. Has any analysis been done of what the €18 million might translate into in terms of places? That might not have been done. I understand the rationale behind the fee caps. Is that the same as core funding? If a service in core funding decides to expand and add a baby room or additional baby room, is …

I will make two more points. I recently got a reply to a parliamentary question on what funding was available for construction of new purpose-built early learning and childcare facilities. It stated there was no funding. Maybe this is not considered new funding because it is for existing services. Will the Minister clarify that? There are general works like, for example, retrofitting, which we are encouraging all places to do, or upgrades and other basic things. These are obviously separate to the building blocks f…