It said more too.

I am glad the Senator is after softening.

I thank the Deputy for raising this really important issue in regard to arrangements by section 39 organisations for healthcare assistants. First, I acknowledge the important role section 39 grant-funded organisations and staff play in our health sector, particularly the healthcare assistants working within those organisations. They have a key role in providing services to people with disabilities and older people in our communities. In the previous Dáil, as Minister of State with responsibility for older people, I…

I certainly will raise this issue with the Minister of State, Deputy O'Donnell, this morning. I am not sure whether he is in the building right now. I understand he is not, which is why I am here taking this Topical Issue. I appreciate that some groups, and these workers are not the only such group, are not covered by the WRC agreement and may be disappointed. However, the agreement reached covers only grant-funded organisations, which means it does not apply to those organisations that tender as against receiving …

The Minister for Health has asked me to thank the Deputy for raising this matter and for the opportunity to update the Dáil on this important issue. She is acutely aware of the role that primary care services, such as speech and language therapy, have in offering the opportunity for early and cost-effective interventions for children and young people. Nobody will disagree with the Deputy’s point that early intervention is key. There is nothing more worrying or frustrating for parents when their child needs an inter…

I acknowledge the Deputy’s continued advocacy on the provision of the myriad therapies that children, young people and adults need. It is important to recognise that overall activity within the eight core primary care therapies was significant in 2025, with approximately 1.24 million appointments provided across occupational therapy, physiotherapy, dietetics, psychology, speech and language therapy, audiology, ophthalmology and podiatry services to the end of November 2025. However, that is cold comfort to any fami…

I thank the Deputy for raising this really important issue in relation to suicides in our country. I welcome the opportunity to respond to him because we do not spend enough time speaking about suicide. It goes without saying that even one death by suicide is one too many. I offer my condolences to the family of Stephen McCarthy and the 14-year-old child the Deputy said will be buried this week. It is a really difficult time for their families. One death by suicide has a huge effect on families, the community, neig…

On the report, I do not have it yet but as soon as I get it, I will publish it.

Yes, but I do not have it and the Department does not have it either. I want to be clear on that. To revert to the issue at hand, I want to touch on something I did last September about which I am trying to get the word out as much as possible. In Ireland at the moment, four out of every five suicides are male. It is important to acknowledge that between 2000 and 2021 Ireland saw a 28% reduction in the suicide rate, falling from 12.9 per 100,000 in 2000 to 9.2 per 100,000 in 2021. Currently our figures are at nine …

I move: Tuesday's business shall be: - Motion re Appointment of Chairperson of Standards in Public Office Commission (without debate and any division claimed to be taken immediately) - Motion re Seventh Report of the Standing Committee of Selection (without debate and any division claimed to be taken immediately) - Public Health (Single-Use Vapes) Bill 2025 (Referral to Committee) (without debate and any division claimed to be taken immediately) - Health (Amendment) (Home Support Providers) Bill 2025 (Second Stage)…

I note all the various requests from the various Whips. There have been many requests in the past weeks here and before Christmas in relation to statements on water and on international developments. They are all being facilitated tomorrow. We have important legislation this week including the home support providers Bill, the Copyright and Related Rights (Amendment) Bill and the Criminal Law and Civil Law (Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill. We have a very busy schedule in place. It was discussed last Thursday and it w…

These amendments fix various typographical and smaller errors in the Bill. For example, amendment No. 45 adds a comma after the word "means" in section 11. Amendment No. 59 adds a comma after the word "person". Of consequence is Government amendment No. 58. This amendment changes "may" to "shall" in section 14(2) so that an authorised officer must request information on the circumstances and medical history of the person being examined that the person requesting the application may reasonably know. This amendment w…

Through the Chair, would Senator Boyhan mind if I make a brief comment?

I thank the Senators. We have already discussed amendment No. 47 with amendments Nos. 19, 21 and 22. This is the second session.

No, this is not a new section.

Okay. I apologise in that case. If it was not agreed, is it-----

When the amendments were submitted, amendments Nos. 19, 21, 22 and 47 were submitted as a grouping. I remember speaking at length on this particular part of the Bill. What I said about this particular amendment, which was also discussed in the Dáil, stands, and I will not be discussing it further.

I said I would not speak again on this amendment but as so many Senators have spoken on it, it would be rude of me not to touch on all that has been said. The criteria for involuntary admission are the result of extensive consultation over many years. That is the first point. The Bill broadly reflects the expert group's recommendations to revise the criteria for detention. It uncouples the criteria from the definition of mental disorder. On Senator Clonan's point, intellectual disability and dementia have been remo…

Amendments Nos. 48, 49, 114, 115, 133 and 134 relate to the criteria for involuntary admission and treatment in the absence of consent. They propose to remove the risk of harm to another person as grounds for detention. I have seen many amendments in my lifetime and believe the one before us is one of the most inappropriate I have ever seen. I actually cannot see the reason for it. If the amendments are carried, it will mean that for the very small number of people detained on grounds of risk and who represent an i…

Senator Black spoke about a person-centred approach. Where is that approach when the reality is that there is, and always will be, a subset of people who, due to their own mental disorder, may need to be involuntarily admitted because they pose an immediate and serious risk of harm to another person? If they are not involuntarily detained due to their mental disorder because they are a risk to other people, what happens if they leave the emergency department or the department of psychiatry and go outside on the str…