The Deputy asked about sequencing and prioritisation. When the national immunisation advisory committee, NIAC, initially looked at the list, the decision was taken to vaccinate the most vulnerable and those most at risk of a bad outcome from Covid, including death. I will ask the HSE to come back on the Deputy's question about agency workers and to state whether it has a comprehensive list of the sequence of vaccination for the different agencies. My understanding is that any paid healthcare worker on the ground ha…

I will answer the Deputy's question about nursing homes. The Deputy is right that the past 12 months have been very difficult for anyone with a family member in a nursing home. As we know, the pandemic has borne down hard on the nursing home sector. Christmas week was the most recent time that anybody was able to visit a loved one in a nursing home, other than on compassionate or critical grounds. The preceding opportunity to visit was a couple of months earlier. I accept and acknowledge that it has been difficult.…

I thank the Deputy for her questions. I cannot answer the question on the call centre but I am sure we can get her a written reply on that. On where we started, on 15 February we commenced vaccination of those aged over 85.

Of those aged over 85 who wanted to receive the vaccine, 99% have received it to date. We are starting the roll-out for those who are housebound today.

Ireland’s vaccination programme is designed to protect the most vulnerable in society, beginning with older residents of long-term care facilities. I acknowledge the huge contribution made by all involved in establishing and commencing roll-out of the vaccination programme. We are prioritising our most vulnerable to Covid-19 infection. Health workers who care for them come first in the priority list for vaccination. Priority groups were approved by the Government based on public health and ethical guidelines. The v…

I thank the Leas-Cheann Comhairle for allowing me time to talk about the important issue of the impact of Covid-19 on women to mark International Women's Day on Monday, 8 March. As we stand here today I want to think of all those we have lost in the last 12 months due to Covid-19 and especially the women who will not see International Women's Day next Monday. I will focus specifically on the mental health impact of the pandemic on women and young girls in Ireland. Mental health difficulties experienced by women are…

I am pleased to address this House on the Health (Amendment) Bill 2021. As the Minister for Health has outlined, this Bill has been introduced to add to the State’s ability to robustly respond to the ongoing threats to public health from Covid-19. We have been improving and reframing our mechanisms for responding to Covid-19 in the past year. Since the first set of restrictions were announced in March 2020, the aim has been to identify the virus to the greatest extent possible and to protect essential public servic…

I am very well aware of it. I thank Senator Cummins for raising this issue and giving me the opportunity to outline to the House the position. He is quite right in everything he has said and I thank him for the very comprehensive overview of the situation pertaining in the Sacred Heart Centre, which provides services for children with complex additional needs. As the Senator will be aware, the early intervention services provided by the Sacred Heart Centre on Lady Lane, Waterford, empower children with a broad rang…

The development of a multidisciplinary, early intervention and respite care centre for children with complex additional needs on the grounds of St. Otteran's Hospital in Waterford is an important and significant project and it has been long fought for by many. Many people in both the Dáil and Seanad have advocated for this to happen. I agree with Senator Cummins that the announcement is very welcome and positive. I look forward to working with him to progress the timelines in a positive manner. Timelines are key, b…

I thank Members for allowing me time today to highlight the specific actions being taken to address the mental health needs of people experiencing homelessness and of individuals with a dual diagnosis of addiction and mental health difficulties. Covid-19 has posed significant challenges across society, including increased stress, anxiety and fear, not least for these particular groups of individuals. It is well evidenced that homelessness can be both a cause and a consequence of mental health problems. Similarly, d…

I will briefly answer the question on Jigsaw. The lease for Jigsaw's premises in the Tipperary Technology Park in Thurles was finalised as of 5 February. The new premises are within walking distance. Some minor fitting-out works must be done. Due to Covid, those will not be able to commence until 5 March, assuming that is when the construction industry resumes working. Jigsaw is going through the required procurement procedures to get that work under way and concluded as soon as possible. The first members of the t…

I thank the Deputy for his questions. I have met Family Carers Ireland and healthcare workers. We must consider the situation as it stands. Approximately 300,000 vaccine doses have entered the country and we had allocated 272,000 of them as of last night. We must keep a small buffer of approximately 20,000 every week so that the person who needs a second dose within 28 days can get it. If the supply was distorted for a week, we would need that buffer. Unfortunately, 4,036 people have lost their lives, of whom 93% w…

I thank the Deputy for her question, as she has demonstrated a concentrated effort over many years in dealing with youth mental health matters. As we know, Jigsaw provides services for young people between the ages of 12 and 25. We are currently in a level 5 lockdown but Jigsaw supports are available to everyone online. Young people can use those services through Facebook, Instagram, Twitter or by logging on to www.jigsaw.ie . Those supports are there for everybody, regardless of where they live. I will continue to…

Some of the Deputy's comments fall outside my remit but I agree wholeheartedly with her comments on how so many young children have regressed and are finding it very difficult. It is very important that young children return to school. The Deputy knows the Minister for Education, Deputy Foley, and the Minister of State at the Department, Deputy Josepha Madigan, have been working really hard over the past two to three weeks with the educational partners, the schools and unions to try to facilitate a safe return to s…

I thank the Cathaoirleach for the warm welcome and Senator Casey for the very important issue he has raised. He is quite right; it was raised several times yesterday in the Dáil when Minister for Health, Deputy Donnelly, and I were answering questions on the Covid-19 vaccine. The only limit to the vaccine is supply. That is where our main issue is. For example, we got 21,600 doses of the AstraZeneca vaccine this week. Those are being distributed to front-line workers because a decision was taken that it was not sui…

I thank Senator Casey for advocating on behalf of kidney and dialysis patients, and highlighting the challenges they face. As he said quite rightly, this will be determined from a scientific, medical, and clinical point of view. That is the only way we can look at this issue. On the decision by the Government, the national immunisation advisory committee, NIAC, and the National Public Health Emergency Team, NPHET, to immunise those in nursing home settings first, we must be conscious of the fact that in the first w…

I welcome the Acting Chairperson, Senator Hoey, to the Cathaoirleach's chair and congratulate her. I thank Senator Mullen for his question. The Senator raised many valid points. It is an issue I have been working closely on for the past couple of weeks and it is great to get the opportunity to speak to it and provide an update. We are now almost 50 days into the roll-out of the largest vaccination programme in the history of the State. Ireland is progressing well with our programme and our vaccination figures compa…

It is not so much about playing catch-up. I looked into this situation to see why some religious orders were registered with HIQA and others were not. They took that decision themselves. My understanding is that this situation dates to 1992 when nursing homes were first regulated. I am open to correction on that but there was an opportunity then. Some religious orders that operate nursing homes are registered with HIQA and others chose not to be. Regarding the supply of PPE supports, 23 Covid teams are on the groun…

I will respond to this on behalf of the Minister for Health, Deputy Donnelly. I welcome the opportunity to address the House on this issue and I thank Senator Buttimer for raising it. I express my sincere gratitude to our public health doctors, who have been at the forefront of our response to the pandemic and have made an enormous contribution to the protection of everyone living in Ireland. The Government has already shown it is committed to investment in our public health workforce. The Minister has already comm…

My understanding was that I would only have seven minutes at the end to wrap up and that I would not be making an opening statement. That was what my office was told.