I will bring the Deputy's concerns to the Minister but I have an update for her. A meeting was scheduled to take place this afternoon in Belmullet district hospital between personnel from HSE estates, the chief officer of community healthcare west and the head of services for older people services in order to review the infrastructural deficits within the district hospital and to assess and quantify the levels of work required to address these structural deficits. An action plan has been developed locally to addres…

I thank Deputies Cronin and Cairns for raising what I agree is a very important issue. I am a mother of three and I fully understand that the current position in maternity hospitals is a serious concern, which I acknowledge is presenting difficulties for expectant mothers and fathers. It is regrettable that in order to protect women, babies, staff and our maternity service as a whole, it has been necessary to reduce footfall in maternity hospitals, as both Deputies said. This has been achieved in part through the i…

We cannot forget that the virus is still with us. As I said, there were 307 cases yesterday. We must remain vigilant. Failing to do so will increase the exposure of our hospitals to an outbreak and, ultimately, increase the risk to service users and staff alike. Should an outbreak occur in one of our maternity hospitals, it would negatively impact our ability to provide safe, quality care to mothers and babies. It is important that we do everything in our power to protect mothers, babies and staff. Our maternity ho…

I thank Members for the opportunity to update them on developments in my area of responsibility, which covers mental health and services for older people. The protection of the vulnerable continues to be a priority for the Government, especially in these challenging times. We recognise that those with mental health issues and older people are often among the most vulnerable in society. While much has been achieved in mental health in recent years, largely due to a welcome and broad consensus both inside and outside…

I thank the Dáil again for the opportunity to conclude these statements and I thank everybody for their time and patience tonight. A huge amount of contributions have been made and they were all made in a positive vein, which I welcome. I will do my best to try to answer as many statements as possible if I can do so in the time allowed. I thank Deputy Ward for his constructive approach and I look forward to working with him. We met yesterday and I would like to continue in that vein. He raised the matter of childre…

It is clear from the debate this evening that right across this House, Members share a commitment and determination to ensure that patients with cancer receive the best care possible and that they and their families are supported to live well with and beyond cancer. I thank all those who have contributed here tonight and those who shared personal stories. I heard Deputy Cullinane from my office when he spoke at the start about his beloved mother whom he lost last year. My own father died 25 years ago from cancer. H…

As the Deputy quite rightly said, we have a new mental health policy called Sharing the Vision. It is a mental health policy for everyone. We must remember that is a ten-year policy that needs a whole-of-Government approach. It does not relate just to the Department of Health. There has to be a cross-sector approach relating to housing and social protection supports. What I like about this policy is that it envisages a mental health system that addresses the needs of the population through a focus on the requiremen…

I thank Deputy Niamh Smyth for her question. Jigsaw is the national centre for youth mental health. It reduces pressures on specialist child and adolescent mental health services. As we all know, early intervention is of key importance for anyone who has mental health challenges. Jigsaw provides supports for those between the ages of 12 and 25. One thing that I really like about Jigsaw is the fact that a young adult or teenager can refer himself or herself to the services. He or she does not have to be referred by …

This is my first time speaking since my appointment as Minister of State with responsibility for mental health and older people. I thank the Taoiseach for the opportunity afforded to me. I congratulate the Minister on his appointment. He and I have worked closely over the past two and a half years and we are continuing that relationship. We are well aware of the many challenges facing us. As Minister of State with responsibility for mental health and older people, I take this opportunity to warmly welcome the Bill,…

I congratulate the Minister, Deputy Stephen Donnelly, on his elevation to the Cabinet last Saturday. I have worked closely with him for the past two and a half years on the health portfolio and I look forward to working with him again. I wish to briefly raise one issue with the Minister that I know he is very familiar with. In Waterford and the south east, cardiac care is time-sensitive. It is now 6.15 p.m. in the Convention Centre in Dublin and if any of us were to suffer a cardiac attack or cardiac arrest we woul…

The next speaker will be Deputy Bríd Smith who, I believe will share time with Deputies Paul Murphy and Barry.

We will now move to the Regional Independent Group.

Before the impact of Covid-19 on our health service became apparent, significant additional capacity was required in all aspects of care to provide access to high-quality services and to meet the needs of our growing population. I have raised for the past four years the issues of late discharges of care and the number of bed days lost because we were slow in discharging people, albeit through no one's fault. A pilot project was undertaken at University Hospital Waterford this year. The managing director of the hosp…

I thank Deputy Cairns. We now move to Deputy Boyd Barrett who is sharing with Deputy Paul Murphy.

We now move on to the Rural Independent Group. I call Deputy Mattie McGrath, who is sharing time with Deputy O'Donoghue.

Go raibh maith agat.

I hope so.

I thank Deputy McGrath. I call Deputy O'Donoghue.

I want to return to the issue of nursing homes. As we are all aware, nursing, care and residential homes bore the brunt of deaths caused by the pandemic, with 62% of deaths occurring in that sector. As we prepare for a possible second surge of the pandemic, we must learn from the past three months. Test, trace and isolate is the mantra for success. I have called for and raised with the Minister recently the importance and necessity for regular testing in nursing and residential homes. Today, Dr. David Nabarro, the …

Deputy Gannon has ten minutes. I remind all Deputies that if they want to allow the Minister time to respond they will have to make it within their own timeframe because our time is limited due to the Covid-19 restrictions.