First, these decisions relating to staff rotation are part and parcel of strategic workforce planning. That decision is taken by the local area director of nursing, who is fully entitled to do that. I want to make a second point. Over the past two years, I secured an extra €97 million for mental health. It is the largest ever budget. I will always be looking for more when I am in this post. There are some positives out there. As a result of the budget I secured last year, 55 new staff were hired in CAMHS throughout…

It is not for paediatrics. It is for adults first and then paediatrics. I have to put 16 in place and I will have nine at the end of this year. It is incremental. It is the only way we can get the staff and that is what we are doing. It is important to point out that we know CAMHS is a specialist service for people under the age of 18 with moderate to severe mental health difficulties. It is not for everyone. Only 2% of young people will need the support of CAMHS. Sometimes what happens is that young people are ref…

I thank the Senator for raising this matter. As he said, he has raised it several times before, which I acknowledge. I welcome the opportunity to provide an update on the status of the new emergency department at University Hospital Galway. I also take this opportunity to acknowledge the very difficult and unacceptable conditions for patients, families and healthcare staff working in University Hospital Galway. I am pleased to say that a €13 million capital investment was approved for an interim emergency departmen…

I thank the Senator and will convey his concerns to the Minister, the Department and the HSE. The proposed new emergency department and the women and children's project is a large and complex project and is in the early stages of design progression. The original proposal was for a new multistorey emergency department block. However, as a result of service-led demands, there has been a significant increase in scale and ambition for the constricted Galway site and the proposal is now for much more than an emergency d…

They are not.

I thank the Deputy for the question. She has raised this issue many times. I welcome the opportunity to address the House, on behalf of the Minister for Health, Deputy Stephen Donnelly, regarding ambulance resources and services in the south-east. Since 2016, the National Ambulance Service, NAS, including in the south-east region, has undergone significant reform and modernisation involving the prioritisation of investment in new service developments, including increased manpower and fleet and improved technology. …

I thank the Deputy. Everybody in Carlow can rest assured that the county will not be forgotten as long as she is in the House. As I stated, she has raised this issue on many occasions and I know how important it is. I can assure the House that the Government remains committed to resourcing the National Ambulance Service across the country, including in the south east. As I have outlined in the limited time available to me, the NAS is currently undergoing a multi-annual reform programme which is prioritising investm…

I welcome the opportunity to address the House on the issue raised by the Deputy. I am replying on behalf of the Minister, Deputy Donnelly. I thank the Deputy for the constructive way in which he outlined the situation and acknowledged that €100 million has been invested in the past ten years. More capacity has been put in place but UHL still recently recorded the highest ever number of patients on trolleys, at 126. I have answered questions on this topic in the Dáil and the Seanad and I have discussed it with the …

I take on board all of the points the Deputy has raised regarding the proposal to build three elective-only hospitals, his comments on UHL and the enhanced role for the model 2 hospitals located in that particular community healthcare organisation. The health service capacity review 2018 was clear on the need for a major investment in additional capacity in both acute hospitals and community services, combined with a wide-scale reform of the manner and location of the provision of health services. Since January 202…

I thank the Deputies for raising this issue. I am taking the debate on behalf of the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine, Deputy McConalogue, who is on official business as part of an agriculture trade mission to the US. He sends his apologies. The Deputies have brought great passion to the points they raised. I am not familiar with Clondalkin Equine Club but they have made clear how important it is to their community. The Minister is fully committed to supporting sustainable One Health, One Welfare initi…

I thank both Deputies again. I acknowledge, as Deputy Kenny himself has done, that the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine has committed over €580,000 to the project. In addition, officials from the Department have worked with the club, South Dublin County Council and Government agencies. However, I take on board what the Deputy said as a board member, that the board and the club have exhausted every single avenue. I also take on board what Deputy Ward said about how it is a highly disadvantaged communit…

I thank the Deputy for raising this matter. I am taking it because the Minister, Deputy McConalogue, is away on official business. I welcome the opportunity to update the House on the matter. The receipt of the observations letter from the European Commission on 31 March marks another important milestone in the development of Ireland’s CAP strategic plan for the period 2023 to 2027. Ireland is one of the 19 member states that submitted plans ahead of the statutory deadline of 1 January last and to which the Commiss…

I thank the Deputy. In response to his question about when the letter relating to the observations will be published, it has already been published on the Department's website. The Commission intends to publish all the member states’ letters and member states’ responses on its website shortly. That is the answer I have in relation to that matter. The officials are working through the observations with the Commission and will consider if changes are required as we move through the process over the coming weeks. Some…

I welcome this opportunity to address the House on the issues raised by Senators Byrne, Conway and Ahearn. Senator Ahearn cannot be present and I acknowledge that he has also raised this issue previously. I acknowledge the distress that overcrowded emergency departments, EDs, cause to patients, their families and front-line staff working in very challenging conditions in hospitals throughout the country. Senator Byrne spoke about the case of an elderly gentleman who spent three days on a trolley. That is just not a…

It is accepted that a key part of the solution for Limerick is additional beds. The new 60-bed modular ward block at UHL is a significant step in addressing this and provides modern single-room inpatient accommodation with improved infection prevention and control capabilities. This follows the completion of two separate rapid-build projects delivered under the Government's national action plan in response to Covid-19, which provided an additional 38 inpatient beds on site at UHL. Furthermore, Project Ireland 2040 …

I thank Senator Byrne for raising this matter. The mission of the Department of Foreign Affairs is to serve the Irish people, promote their values, advance their prosperity and interests abroad, and provide the Government with the capabilities, analysis and influence to ensure Ireland derives the maximum benefit from all areas of its external engagement. To fulfil that mission, the Department is staffed with a team of dedicated civil servants who promote Ireland's values and interests, working from 97 embassies, co…

I welcome the Senator's interest in this topic. To ensure that our diplomatic team is of the highest quality and representative of the people of Ireland, the Department works closely with the PAS to ensure a robust and fair recruitment process for diplomatic grades. In the last year, the PAS has administered open competitions to the grades of counsellor, first secretary and third secretary. Further recruitment to the diplomatic service is expected later this year. All competitions are advertised on the PAS website …

I thank the Deputy for raising this matter, which I am taking on behalf of the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage. The challenge posed by rising sea levels is clear and the practical implementation of measures to mitigate these risks, particularly for coastal communities, is critical, as the Deputy set out in clear and strong terms. I welcome the opportunity to bring some clarity on the matter. Climate change projections indicate flooding events are expected to become more frequent and severe in th…

I have listened carefully to Deputy Stanton's views. I again thank him for his valuable contribution. One of the words the Deputy mentioned in the first contribution was "insurance". That is a valid point. I have worked closely with a family whose home has been flooded on three occasions over the past 20 years and, unfortunately, after the third claim, they were no longer able to secure any insurance. It is a real live issue. The Government recognises the clear challenge posed by rising sea levels for the country a…

I thank Deputy MacSharry for the question. I am happy to be here tonight as several of my colleagues are laid low with Covid. When you are a junior Minister, you cover many issues. Today, I am on ministerial rota duty and that is why the Deputy is looking at me across the floor tonight, delighted to be here. I met the Waterford postmasters three weeks ago to discuss various issues of the postmasters' union that Deputy MacSharry has raised, and I was delighted to meet with them. The passport service is proactively m…