Our thoughts are with all of those affected by the terrible conflict in Ukraine. The Department of Health, the Medical Council and NMBI will continue to support Ukrainian health professionals forced to flee their homeland as they arrive in Ireland and seek to re-establish their lives and integrate into our community. As Deputies will appreciate, our health regulatory bodies have a duty to protect patients by ensuring that all health professionals seeking registration meet the required training standards and are saf…

I thank the Deputy for raising this. In the time I have, I will try to outline the response on behalf of my colleague Deputy Mary Butler, Minister of State at the Department of Health. Budget 2022 provided an unprecedented mental health budget of €1.149 billion, including €24 million for new developments. The new-development funding will allow further implementation of Sharing the Vision. Investment of €750,000 — the full year cost being €1 million — will enable the continued expansion of the specialist teams under…

I assure the Deputy that the expansion of the programme will occur on a CHO basis and in an integrated manner across mental health services in the primary care division and include a close relationship with the acute hospital groups. The point the Deputy made about people who present at accident and emergency departments and acute hospitals is critical. In response to the Deputy's colleague Deputy Ward, Ms Niamh Wallis, the head of service of the mid-west mental health service, has stated that the national office, …

I move amendment No. 1: To delete all words after "That" and substitute the following: "Dáil Éireann, while acknowledging the spirit of the Housing (Adaptation Grant for People with a Disability) Bill 2021, resolves that the Bill be deemed to be read a second time this day 12 months to explore further the extent to which the underlying ambition of the Bill can be addressed in the context of a review of the operation of the relevant grant schemes, which is already underway, and to allow for further consideration of …

I wholeheartedly want to reassure the Deputies and the House about this Bill. As I know from my constituency, our common objective here is to help these people who are in extreme pain. This is a very good grant scheme. I will outline further in my closing comments that the streamlining of the application process will deal with many of the issues the Deputy referred to. As I said, the Bill itself might have unintended consequences. From that point of view, I ask the Deputy to accept our bona fides, in that we are tr…

I will try to respond to some of the points raised. I agree with Deputy Berry about the Curragh camp. I have written to the Minister for Defence on this. As a demonstration project, it could deliver sustainable housing for the Curragh, and the plans are important. Deputy Chris Andrews and I have spoken before about the redevelopment of the Dublin city flats, which are important from the point of view of housing and heritage, and should be repurposed. Deputy Kenny raised Housing for All and a number of members raise…

On behalf of the Minister, Deputy O'Gorman, I welcome the opportunity to close the debate on this motion. This is a sector I have a huge interest in. I have been a volunteer at a direct level with community childcare for some 20 years now, as Deputy Funchion would know. It is a sector I truly value, as we all do. I commend the Minister on the work he has been doing since his appointment as Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth. I thank Deputy Funchion for tabling the motion. There is a …

I thank the Deputy for articulating the case of Alexis and her family and the comments by the OT about improving the quality of care and reducing physical discomfort. These are really vital issues for her care, well-being and her quality of life. My Department provides funding to local authorities under the suite of housing adaptation grants for older people and people with a disability to assist people in private houses to make their accommodation more suitable to their needs and to facilitate early return from ho…

I assure the Deputy I will take this matter back to the Department. I agree with him. A conclusion should have been brought to the discussions between the Department and the HSE to provide clarity to families. Perhaps the issue here is that medical aids and devices such as a hoist require the assistance of a carer and specialised training. That may be the matter under negotiation. As I am not sure, I cannot state that is the case. I will take the specific case of this family back to the Department because it is one…

I would appreciate that.

Gabhaim mo bhuíochas leis an Teachta as an gceist seo a ardú inniu agus as an seans a thabhairt dom dualgas Uisce Éireann a leagan amach. Tá an freagra as Béarla, agus tá brón orm faoi sin. The Water Services Acts 2007 to 2017 set out arrangements in place for the delivery of water and wastewater services by Irish Water and for the scrutiny and oversight provisions that apply in respect of these arrangements. The Deputy will understand the provision of facilities in County Galway is a matter for Irish Water in the …

Gabhaim buíochas arís leis an Teachta as an gceist seo faoi áiseanna fuíolluisce ar An gCeathrú Rua a ardú. Geallaim go bhfuil an Rialtas tiomanta do mhaoiniú suntasach a chur ar fáil d'Uisce Éireann. Again, I have a stock response here but this an issue that I will take back through the Department to Irish Water. I am not fully familiar with all of the details of the project but if there is a suitable site, it should be considered. I agree with the Deputy that it is absolutely unacceptable for raw sewage to be dis…

Gabhaim buíochas leis an Teachta as an gceist seo a ardú. I would like to convey the apologies of my colleague, the Minister for Justice, Deputy McEntee, who regrets she cannot be here for this matter due to another commitment. On behalf of the Minister, I would like to thank Deputy McAuliffe for raising this important matter. As he said, it is very distressing for families to deal with the loss of a loved one without having to deal with something like this too. It certainly does not help with the grieving process …

As stated previously, the Minister, Deputy McEntee, has no role in the timing and conduct of post-mortem examinations. The direction of post-mortem examinations is solely a matter for the coroner concerned. However, the Department of Justice has appointed three coroners to the Dublin district to actively support the Coroner Service in carrying out its statutory functions. This should have a positive impact. According to the statutory annual returns, as required under section 55 of the Coroner Act, as amended, there…

As the Leas-Chathaoirleach correctly said, I am taking this Commencement matter on behalf of my colleague, the Minister for Education, Deputy Foley. She sends her apologies for her inability to attend this morning. I thank the Senator for raising the matter, which provides me with an opportunity to clarify the current position in relation to secondary school places in Kildare. In order to plan for school provision and to analyse the relevant demographic data, the Department of Education divides the country into 314…

As I outlined in the statement, it is important that we look at those areas of duplication where, for a number of reasons, parents might be applying to a number of schools. The Department is working proactively with the schools involved to try and address those issues. The figure may not be as high as the Senator proposes here. However, the Minister will take on board the comments the Senator made here this morning and she will try to address these issues. It is critically important, because it can be stressful on …

I am also taking this matter on behalf of the Minister for Education. I thank the Senator for making his points so well. I pay tribute to all schools that are adapting and consistently implementing best practice in teaching and integrating children with additional needs in school. Some very impressive work in that regard is going on throughout the country. This year, the Department of Education will spend in excess of €2 billion, or more than 25% of its budget, on providing a wide range of schemes and supports for …

The module is, in effect, mandatory. The Céim standards, the standards for initial teacher education published by the Teaching Council in November 2020, have strengthened the definition of “inclusive education” to include “any aspect of teachers’ learning aimed at improving their capacity to address and respond to the diversity of learners’ needs; to enable their participation in learning; and remove barriers to education through the accommodation and provision of appropriate structures and arrangements to enable e…

If I could just finish quoting from the passage, it states: This will include additional learning needs (e.g. autism, dyslexia, dyspraxia) ... [...] [In addition, and in accordance with the stated standards] During every module of school placement and as appropriate to the student teacher’s stage of development, the student teacher shall, through the use of their Taisce: Demonstrate an understanding of inclusive education as applicable to that context ... In my view, that reflects a strong approach by the Departmen…

We will take on board the points the Senator made, although there is a strong approach on the part of the Department.