We support this Bill because it provides for digital health records. Digital transformation is essential to improve patient safety. We need to bring the health service into the 21st century in order to improve productivity, efficiency and value for money and properly hold the system to account. It is 2024, and the fact we do not have an integrated IT system across the HSE is a damning indictment of successive Fine Gael and Fianna Fáil Governments. We do not just see trolleys of patients, we also see trolleys of fil…

Thank you.

Sanity has prevailed and Fianna Fáil, Fine Gael, the Labour Party and Independents have been stopped from giving away €14 billion of taxpayers' money. In 2016, the European Commission concluded that Ireland had granted illegal state aid to the Apple group and awarded Ireland billions of euro. That should have been that, but it was not. This was our money. I have never in my life heard of someone having been awarded money by a court and not only saying they did not want it but taking legal action to stop it being gi…

While I acknowledge and welcome the publication of this Bill and recognise the hard work done by the Minister of State and her officials to get to this stage, it is long overdue. A general scheme of this legislation was approved in 2015 but was not produced until 2021. I was a member of the Sub-Committee on Mental Health that did the pre-legislative scrutiny of the Bill in November 2021. We concluded in April 2022 with 19 recommendations. This Bill was not published until July 2024. In simple terms, what this means…

I am speaking on behalf of the residents of Lucan Lodge Nursing Home and their loved ones. The HSE has taken temporary control of the home and its operation. Lucan Lodge is a test for the State's priorities. Is the Government willing to lose the 74 beds there. The number of nursing home beds has decreased under this Government's watch. I have been constantly calling for engagement between the Department of Health and the owner of Lucan Lodge. This has not happened. The owner has said that he is willing to foot any …

Solutions have been found in HSE nursing homes for the same thing.

Domestic abuse remains rife in Irish society. A senior garda revealed last week that a staggering 26,000 reports of domestic abuse have been made to gardaí since the beginning of June. Gardaí receive a call about domestic abuse every ten minutes across the State. I have seen first-hand the incredible work done by Saoirse Women's Refuge in my area. It informed me of the stress a woman has to go through in the legal system. The process of obtaining a safety order can be difficult logistically as well as mentally. Oft…

Before I start, I want to state my absolute condemnation of the Russian military attack on the hospital in Kyiv. Pictures from the scene showed young children on intravenous drips sitting outside the hospital as it was evacuated. It was absolutely horrific and the EU is absolutely right to sanction Russia. However, as I was reading the minutes of the European Council meeting in preparation for this debate, I could not help but see the hypocrisy when it comes to the Palestinian people. EU leaders welcomed the adopti…

I welcome the opportunity to contribute to the debate on this motion. Ireland prides itself as a neutral and peaceful nation. Our neutrality is a strength. It is valued and supported by the Irish people. On the international stage our neutrality has underpinned our contribution to peacemaking and diplomacy and has never been a weakness. In the Tánaiste's opening comments at the committee on defence yesterday, he called once again for the triple lock to be removed. Sinn Féin is absolutely opposed to the move by the …

We need to address the chronic underinvestment in our Defence Forces to allow Ireland to continue to participate in UN peacekeeping missions, to defend and monitor our skies and seas and to protect Ireland from real threats we face including cyberattacks. I have spoken many times on matters of defence in this Dáil. I mentioned before that my own father spent 25 years in the Army. Growing up, I saw him have to work numerous jobs in addition to his Army duties just to keep food on the table and clothes on our backs b…

I will counteract that. We have a situation now where people who go away for six months to serve in the United Nations have to sign on for the working family payment when they come back. That is the truth because the pay is that low.

I can send the details about this. The pay is so low that soldiers are coming back from United Nations peacekeeping missions and having to claim the working family payment. That is a damning indictment on the Government. Pay and conditions within the Defence Forces have been something my Sinn Féin colleagues and I have raised regularly and they need to improve. This is how you strengthen our Defence Forces. You pay the men and women properly. This will also help with recruitment and with retention. Nearly four year…

Ireland's recognition of the State of Palestine last month was a welcome development. The recognition of Palestine was important for symbolic reasons. It was the result of decades of campaigning by many groups and individuals right across the State. Despite the Government's misgivings, the sky did not fall in, but the sky is falling in on Palestine right now. Sanctioning Israel has never been more important. Rafah has been attacked, which was a red line for the EU, the US and most western countries, and yet there a…

The Government has sat on its hands when it comes to reform of the Special Criminal Court. It has sat on the review for more than a year. There is no sign of any progress. We need a more modern understanding of the threats to the security of the State that originate from organised criminal gangs. We need action and we need reform. I do not see how laws created in the 1940s can possibly be fit for purpose in the 21st century. The societal landscape has completely changed since the 1940s. Sinn Féin has long argued fo…

Yesterday, I hosted Families for Reform of CAMHS. What we learned is that, under this Government's watch, CAMHS waiting lists have reached a record high, CAMHS beds have reached a record low, and children with intellectual disabilities and mental health problems are falling through the cracks. Children with dual diagnosis of mental health issues and autism are being passed from pillar to post and children with ADHD are waiting far too long for treatment. Families for Reform of CAMHS informed us that the mental heal…

I want to bring the Tánaiste's attention to the lack of services in Dublin Mid-West. I have a constituent from Clondalkin who needs a mobility scooter. He has been told that he must wait 37 months for an occupational therapist appointment in Rowlagh. In Newcastle, we have no public health nurses for one housing estate, but we have for the housing estate beside it. It is the same in north Clondalkin. Finally, we have no special educational needs officer for Clondalkin. I have families who are desperately trying to g…

It is a recruitment issue.

There are none in Clondalkin.

I beg your pardon.

I do not know. We would have to ask the Minister, Deputy Donnelly.