Throughout the course of Ireland’s vaccination programme, we have sought to ensure the administration of vaccines is conducted in a manner that is fair and has due regard to the protection of the most vulnerable in our society. I am pleased to note, in that regard, the significant positive impact the programme has had in long term care facilities, including nursing homes. The positivity rate for the current cycle of serial testing in nursing homes is down to 0.11%. The vaccination programme has now been extended to…

To date, there have been 3,500 referrals of housebound persons. Of that, between 300 and 400 came in the last week alone. The GP refers the person who is housebound and it is then triaged. The complexity of the triage process involves following up with the GP, the individual to be vaccinated or their family. Several additional referrals that came in this week are awaiting triage. There are ten ambulance vehicles on the road, operating seven days a week. One must understand the complexity of the number of people we …

In response to Deputy Calleary, anybody who is housebound or over 70 will be getting the mRNA vaccine made by Pfizer-BioNTech or Moderna and the second dose will be given within 28 days. That is the process that has been taking place since we started the vaccine roll-out and it will continue as far as I know at the moment. That is why the second vaccine is being offered. The Deputy mistook me. Approximately 300 to 400 new people have come on the list in the past week. To date there have been 3,500 referrals from GP…

I have a couple of points. The Minister said that the GP referred the case in January. The roll-out to the housebound started in the middle of March, just in case anybody believes the person in question has been waiting since January. That is not the case. The figures I have were given to me an hour before I came in here and I know they are accurate. We also need to point out, because I certainly do not want to play politics on this, that those in the group in question are very vulnerable. It is very difficult to g…

I agree with Deputy O'Dowd that we have seen an increase in the referral of young people, especially since the turn of this year. Last week, for example, I met the mental health lead from every CHO in the country. I will come back to the Deputy in writing on his query. I assure Deputy O’Sullivan that, starting today, the HSE will make direct contact with every single housebound person to let them know what the situation is and when they can expect to get the vaccine. I take on board all the comments made.

The ambulances are based in the various CHOs and are not just coming out from Dublin.

Respite services are available in certain cases. Those services have not stopped completely. For example, I dealt with a case in Galway last week concerning respite. I also dealt personally with another case in Waterford where the person concerned had to have home adaptations and respite was provided for two weeks. Therefore, respite is still available, but on a case-by-case basis. The Deputy can come back to me on this issue.

That is fine.

I thank the Deputy for raising this important issue, which has been raised several times today. To date, we have received more than 3,500 referrals from GPs concerning elderly and vulnerable people who are housebound and not able to go directly to their GP for the vaccine. Due to the complexity of the triage process, which follows from the referral concerning the GP, the individual to be vaccinated and their families, it has proved to be the case that the roll-out has taken longer than originally anticipated. The N…

I thank Deputy Ward for bringing forth this motion today. I acknowledge the consistent interest of Deputies Ward and Buckley in mental health. This motion provides me with an opportunity to discuss mental health now and beyond Covid-19, to update the Dáil on the work of my Department, the HSE and the voluntary sector in this area, and to put on the record the work happening on the ground. I look forward to addressing many of the issues raised. During Covid-19, the Government has focused on reducing infection number…

I wish to thank Senator Wall for raising these important issues today and for sharing the heartfelt pleas of Aileen and Nicola for support. Both the Government and the HSE recognise the challenges in meeting the demand for children's disability services and are acutely conscious of how this impacts children and their families in these most difficult and challenging times. Nationally, children's disability services are undergoing significant change as the HSE progresses towards the reconfiguration of services into c…

As I outlined in my opening statement, the challenges in meeting the demand for children's disability services are well recognised, in addition to the impact of these challenges on children and their families. I hope the Senators are reassured by what I said on the commitment of the Minister of State, Deputy Rabbitte, and the Government to improving access for children with special needs to specialist therapies, such as occupational therapy and speech and language therapy. These service improvements, which I referr…

I thank the Senators for raising this important issue and giving me the opportunity to update the House on the proposed reform of the nursing home support scheme, commonly known as the fair deal scheme. As they will know from working with me over recent years, this matter is close to my heart. The House will be aware that the fair deal scheme is a system of financial support for those in need of long-term nursing home care. It aims to ensure that such care is accessible to and affordable by everyone and that people…

I thank the Senators for their words of encouragement. This is quite a technical Bill, although people might think it is not. There are 26 sections in it. The Attorney General went back to the drafters in the Department of Health seeking 136 clarifications, so there is quite a bit of work on the question of a successor, who is working a farm and all the details that have to be put in place. That is also the case with small businesses. In some cases there are operations that function with small businesses and farmer…

I thank the Deputy for his comments. To update the House, the housebound vaccination programme commenced on 12 March. At the end of this week, 740 people will have been vaccinated. The first dose has been completed in Dublin city and county, the north east and the midlands, and vaccination has commenced in the south east and will continue there this week. In the coming weeks, the programme will expand to the west and south of the country. All first doses are expected to be administered throughout the country in ear…

Deputy Burke asked about the regulation of homecare providers. The Deputy tabled a Bill last year. Much work is being done on that. I know that the Department has been in contact with the Deputy. We expect to meet the deadlines. It is important legislation. The Covid pandemic over the past 12 months has shone a spotlight on the care of the elderly in our country. I look forward to continuing to work with the Deputy on the regulation of homecare providers. We need certain standards that we can all aspire to. I thank…

As we wrap up, I will speak on two different issues. One concerns the housebound individuals to whom Deputy Connolly referred. I will provide an update on how the roll-out is working for that cohort. GP practices receive guidance from the HSE home vaccination programme for the over 70s who are housebound. They have the responsibility of referring eligible patients who require this service. We assumed that there would be approximately 1,500 people in this group, but 2,000 people aged over 70 have been referred for h…

Ireland’s vaccination programme is designed to protect the most vulnerable in society, beginning with older residents of long-term care facilities and front-line workers, before rolling out to the wider community. We are continuing to prioritise those who are most vulnerable to Covid-19 infection, and front-line healthcare workers who care for them come first in the priority list for vaccination. Some long-term residential care facilities have experienced significant outbreaks over the course of the pandemic, leadi…

I thank the Deputy for his questions. I will try to respond to his question about the paediatric diabetes clinic in Mullingar regional hospital, a matter on which I recently answered a question from another Deputy from the area. Indeed, quite a few Deputies from the area have raised it with me. I acknowledge the work that Professor O'Grady has been doing. The post has been filled, but it will not be taken up for another few months. The Minister and I will work with the HSE to see whether we can expedite that. Deput…

I thank the Deputy for his question. As I identified earlier, to date, 99% of those aged over 85 who wanted the vaccine have received it. I compliment our older generation, who have been so stoic in the past 12 months. They have done everything that has been asked of them and they have been front and centre when taking on board the vaccine. On the issue of the small number of people who are housebound, the HSE was in contact with every GP practice and got a list. I met representatives from the HSE yesterday afterno…