My colleague, the Minister of State, Deputy Rabbitte, has put enormous work and energy into reducing the number of children who are overdue assessments of need. Nationally, 6,558 assessments of need were overdue in June 2020 under the old process. At the end of October 2021, through a combination of different measures, approximately 6,100 children had their assessments completed, reducing the backlog to 460 cases. That is a reduction of 93%, and by anyone's metric that is some reduction in the number of children wh…

By anyone's metric, achieving a reduction of 93% in a waiting list in 12 months must be acknowledged. Since 2019, some 285 new posts have been allocated to children's disability services across the country. The diversity of posts recruited include dieticians, occupational therapists, physiotherapists, psychologists, speech and language therapists, nurses and some administrative support staff. These posts have been assigned based on several factors, including the existing ratio of staff to the number of children wit…

I offer the apologies of the Minister of State with responsibility for public health, well-being and national drugs strategy, Deputy Feighan. He cannot be here because of Covid-19 restrictions. I am taking the question on his behalf. Under the national drugs strategy, the Government established a working group to consider alternative approaches to the possession of drugs for personal use in December 2017. The working group examined the option of decriminalising drugs and did not deem this an appropriate option in t…

The health-----

I do not accept that it is a misinformed answer. The health diversion programme will connect participants with health services and it will provide a pathway to treatment and recovery where there is problematic drug use. It will also allow participants to avoid a criminal conviction. An interdepartmental group, chaired by representatives of the Department of Health, is considering legal advice from the Office of the Attorney General and the formal views of the Garda Commissioner. The group, as the Deputy may know, i…

There is no reason for the Deputy to shout across the floor at me. I am taking this question on behalf of the Minister of State, Deputy Feighan, who cannot be here due to Covid-19. A little respect would go a long way.

Could I request, when I am on my feet, that the Deputy's microphone might be turned off so I can get the opportunity to reply? The report of the working group on alternative approaches to the possession of drugs for personal use published in 2019 noted difficulties with decriminalisation in the Irish legal context. In Portugal, personal possession of drugs carries an administrative sanction. The concept of administrative sanctions for a criminal offence is not compatible with the Irish legal system. Therefore, in I…

In 2015, Government decided to draft a general scheme of a Bill to amend the Mental Health Act 2001 in line with the 165 recommendations of the 2015 expert group review report. Among the expert group recommendations were proposals on revised criteria for detention, updated definitions of mental disorder and voluntary and involuntary patients, the introduction of guiding principles, statutory individual care plans, a greater role for authorised officers in involuntary admissions, improved safeguards for service user…

A formal Bill will be drafted by the Office of the Attorney General. I expect to introduce the legislation to the Oireachtas as early as possible in 2022. Updating the Mental Health Act is a priority for the Government and for me. I am glad that the Deputy mentioned detention for those under 18 years. I understand that 27 people under the age of 18 years have been admitted to an adult psychiatric unit this year. I have recently visited all the child and adolescent mental health service, CAMHS, units in Ireland. Som…

To conclude on the previous point, each case will be taken on a case-by-case basis. I will give another example. A young adult, under 18 years, was admitted to a psychiatric unit in Donegal one night because it was not possible to transfer him to the CAMHS unit in Merlin Park in Galway. Sometimes a decision like that has to be taken. A person might only be admitted to an adult unit for six or seven hours overnight until he or she can be transferred, but it still goes down in the figures. In some instances, a person…

No.

I acknowledge the Deputy has raised this issue with me on several occasions. Work is ongoing in the Department of Health to progress the development of a new statutory scheme to support people to live in their own homes. Recruitment for 130 posts to support the national roll-out of international resident assessment instrument, interRAI, as a standard assessment tool for care needs is scheduled to commence this quarter. A national home support office is in the process of being established and a home support pilot co…

To go back to the point, the funding of home care is not the issue. We are all aware of the €666 million available. Delays are occurring at the moment because we have delays in providing home care workers into specific areas. As the Deputy said, weekends and rural areas, especially, can be very problematic. Notwithstanding that, the number has come down significantly over recent years. Home care in Ireland is delivered with a 50:50 split, that is, 50% public and 50% private, but it depends where someone lives. Up i…

The pilot scheme in the Galway area is operational. The pilot schemes in west Cork, Mullingar and the Dublin area are not. I will get the Deputy a note on that because it will outline exactly the areas being covered.

The role of the cross-departmental strategic workforce advisory group will be to facilitate the views of stakeholders and to examine workforce challenges in home support and nursing homes. Potential areas will be recruitment and retention, training and the career development of home supports. I was updated by the chief officer yesterday on CHO 4, which comprises counties Cork and Kerry. They are strategically looking to hire 300 healthcare workers in the next three months. They have gone out on a very strong recrui…

We are, therefore, challenged but we are working with the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform to look at different things to see that people on social welfare, for example, might be able to work a certain number of hours and students in receipt of the SUSI grant might be able to work enhanced hours. We are trying to throw the kitchen sink at this to resolve it.

I thank the Deputy for tabling this Bill which seeks to address an issue of great importance to us all. I would like to put on the record the apologies of the Minister, Deputy Stephen Donnelly, who, as the Deputy mentioned, is attending the Cabinet sub-committee, but I understand the Minister engaged privately with the Deputy on the Bill in advance of this debate. I recognise his sincere interest in patients who are in need of orphan medicines. It is a cause he has championed for quite some time. We hear about it r…

Only two of them are bringing forward the Bill. Did the Deputy notice that?

I thank the Minister of State for her comments and for acknowledging that today is International Day of Persons with Disabilities. I thank the Deputies who contributed on this discussion, in particular the Bill's sponsor, Deputy Pádraig O'Sullivan. I commend the goal of the Bill, which seeks to provide faster access for people to new medicines for the treatment of rare diseases. I was particularly struck by Deputy Gould's comments. He was amazed that a backbencher could introduce a health Bill. Does that mean that …

I thank the Deputy for the question and his continued support of the nursing home sector. As he will know, the temporary assistance payment scheme was established in April 2020 as a temporary measure to support nursing homes during the pandemic. This scheme was extended twice. It was announced in September 2020 that the funding would cease. Funding of €134.5 million has been made available to date to the nursing home sector. There are outbreaks in 52 nursing homes, out of an approximately 575 nursing homes. The out…