I move amendment No. 2: "To delete all words after "Dáil Éireann" and substitute the following: recognises: — the invaluable work carried out by Health Care Support Assistants; — that the Home Support Service is a core service for older people and is highly valued by service users, their families and by the Health Service Executive (HSE); — that over the past number of years, improving access to home support has been a priority for the Government, as reflected in the increases in the home support budget which has g…

The private providers have agreed to it.

They were all involved.

I commend Deputies Ward and Mythen on introducing the Bill before us today and on their continuing interest in and their focus on improving our mental health services and legislation. I thank Deputies Brown and Ellis for being here tonight. On Thursday nights we do not see many people here, so I thank them for their interest. I have no problem coming in here at any time to discuss mental health and I appreciate that they have stayed here tonight to discuss it and the constructive way in which they have addressed th…

I would like to defer to Deputy Mythen.

I again thank the Deputy. We are completely in agreement with the principles he established here tonight. I thank my official, James Kelly, who has been working non-stop on this Bill for the past two years. There are 120 heads. It is complicated and much legal advice had to be sought. As I said, it is at the drafting stage and it will be priority legislation. I look forward to the Deputies' co-operation. I thank the Members for the good work that was done in the pre-legislative scrutiny stage as well. Obviously, we…

I thank the Deputy for raising this important issue. I am aware of the issues raised last week in the RTÉ "Drivetime" programme. The health and safety of children in CAMHS should remain the concern of us all. The independent Maskey report of the review of care provided by south Kerry CAMHS made findings regarding significant failings across multiple levels of the system and made 35 recommendations to improve service delivery. Those recommendations cover a broad range of areas, such as the re-establishment of trust …

I am satisfied with the measures now being taken by the HSE in respect of north Kerry CAMHS. When all this happened in February of this year, I moved very quickly to work with the HSE to put in place these three audits and the review through the Mental Health Commission. We cannot lose sight of that. There is a process in place. The process is set out under the terms of the audit being carried out by the HSE. What I requested at that stage across all 73 CAMHS teams was a sample random audit because I knew that it h…

I thank the Deputy for the question. The most important thing to look at here is the fact that we have children who need supports but when they get the supports, we must also have in place safe staffing numbers. Unfortunately, at the time if my memory serves me correct, there were 63 staff funded at the time but we only had 27 in place. That decision had to be taken from a safe staffing perspective. I have kept this under review the whole time. If there are any cases of children who need the supports, we have acqui…

I thank Senator Maria Byrne for raising this important issue and for her continued advocacy for health services in the Limerick area. The cross-party Sláintecare report in 2017 articulated a new vision for healthcare in Ireland, including the provision of elective-only hospitals to provide protected capacity for elective care. This policy has also been informed by a number of subsequent policy documents and Government decisions including the 2017 Sláintecare report, the Sláintecare implementation strategy of 2018, …

It is important to note that the locations chosen will allow for new facilities of a size and scale to implement a national elective care programme that will tackle waiting lists on a national basis. This means the new facilities will be designed to maximise their capacity and, in doing so, will operate to meet the demands of as wide a catchment area as possible, extending beyond existing and future health areas, including Limerick and the mid-west. As well as the strategic intervention under the new national progr…

I thank the Deputy for his question. I know he has raised it several times. To say there has been no engagement with the sector is completely untrue. I was in engagement with it this morning, and so have my officials in the Department. We engage with Nursing Homes Ireland on a daily basis, never mind a weekly basis. Concerns have been raised about 17 nursing homes that have either closed this year or given notice that they will close. Thankfully, some nursing homes have opened this year so we have not seen a net lo…

I thank the three Senators for raising this important matter. It is great to have a collaborative approach. It is very effective. I am acutely aware of the significant healthcare role that Clifden District Hospital plays and the excellent level of care and support which it provides to patients and their families in the local community and surrounding areas. Just after the meeting the Senators organised on Sunday evening, Deputy Ó Cuív contacted me at approximately 6.10 p.m. to explain the issue to me, exactly as th…

I assure the Senators that I will treat this with the utmost importance. Unfortunately, short-stay capacity in public hospitals and community nursing units can be impacted for a number of reasons including HIQA standards, infection prevention and control requirements and staffing challenges. The new rostering system was put in place and contingency measures were implemented to ensure respite services will continue. Having listened to the Senators and spoken to some of their colleagues in the past day or two, I thin…

The total allocation for mental health services in 2023 is more than €1.2 billion, which is another record budget for mental health. It will underpin implementation of the Sharing the Vision and Connecting for Life strategies. It delivers almost €72.8 million in additional funding for next year, comprising €14 million for new developments, €43.8 million for existing services, a further €10 million in one-off funding for minor capital works and a further €5 million for one-off funding supports. The budget will suppo…

I thank the Deputy for raising the issue of access to dental treatment for medical card holders. She is right, and there is nothing she has said with which I could disagree. It is the same in every constituency office and the situation is difficult the length and breadth of the country, more so in some areas than others. Swords in north County Dublin has a large population. I am taking this debate on behalf of the Minister for Health, Deputy Stephen Donnelly. Dental treatment for medical card holders aged 16 years …

I thank the Senator for raising this important matter. As some Members will be aware, the Mental Health Commission has made the decision to put a restriction on the registration of the mental health care and recovery approved centre in Bantry General Hospital, given its concerns over the size of residents' bedrooms in the centre. I will touch on Bantry General Hospital. I visited it three or four months ago. It is the most fantastic facility. It is the most remote level 2 hospital in the whole country, serving a hu…

As I mentioned, additional funding has been provided to resolve the current problems with accessing the dental treatment services scheme. The preventive scale and polish, which has been reintroduced, is being accessed by patients. However, the Minister and the Government recognise that the current model of provision of oral healthcare is in need of fundamental reform. I think we all agree on that. The Smile agus Sláinte oral health policy provides the guiding principles aligned with Sláintecare. It will support the…

I thank the Senator for the way he has addressed this issue. I am conscious that the centre is home for many of the residents in Bantry. As I have said, in CHO 4 the chief officer and the area lead for mental health have put in place a comprehensive plan, which I have seen, in relation to capital projects across counties Cork and Kerry. That is the first point. The plan is being given consideration by the health business services estates. The second point is that this relates to the national implementation and moni…

I thank Deputy Richmond for raising this really important issue and offering the opportunity to respond. The biggest issue anybody with young children will deal with is trying to make sure they are well cared for and looked after before and after school. On 15 September, the Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth launched Together for Better, which is the new funding model for early learning and childcare. Together for Better is underpinned by an expert group report entitled Partnership …