As the Deputy said, the day service is open. My understanding is that the submission we received was not sufficient at the time to enhance the residential element of the service. That is still being worked on, as I said, between social inclusion, the HSE and the Department of Health. I expect the mental health unit within the Department to take the lead on this. We are driving it on. That is where it should sit. We are working in partnership with social inclusion and with CHO 9. I am delighted that there will be €1…

Hear, hear.

It is appalling.

I am pleased to update the House on a very positive budget for mental health and older people. The total allocation for mental health services for 2025 is just under €1.5 billion, which represents an increase for the fifth year in a row. I have secured additional funding of €127.5 million in order that our services can grow and meet demand, and €16 million for new developments on which I will now give more detail. I have allocated an additional €2.1 million for 45 whole-time equivalents to open the remaining 18 bed…

Talk about today's budget. Let us hear what the Deputy thinks of today's budget.

I thank the Senator and acknowledge his persistent advocacy in all health matters. I have come before him in this House many times. I join him in acknowledging and marking the fact that September is cardiovascular month. It is very important we continue to put a focus on that. I am taking this question on behalf of the Minister, Deputy Donnelly. The national review of cardiac services was established to recommend the best service configuration, clinical governance and performance requirements for national cardiac s…

I will agree with Senator Conway on screening, which is very important. This is an early detection and population-based screening programme for early detection of cardiovascular disease. The Minister for Health is fully committed to supporting our population screening programmes which are a valuable part of our health service. As the Senator may be aware, decisions on whether to introduce new screening programmes are made on the advice of the National Screening Advisory Committee. The committee is an independent, e…

I thank the Senator for her question and it is fair to say that the senior Minister, Deputy Donnelly, working with Bernard Gloster and Sandra Broderick, the new regional executive officer, REO, is trying to use every available lever in the area to improve the situation in University Hospital Limerick. It is also fair to acknowledge that a huge amount of great work is done in that hospital too with very many good people working there. The development of injury units, IUs, is a strategic initiative for this Governmen…

I understand exactly where the Senator is coming from. Based on the answer I provided, everyone has to acknowledge that more investment and staff have been put into University Hospital Limerick than in any other hospital in Ireland in the last four years. That is a fact. Unfortunately, there are issues that take a long time to deal with. There are cultural issues and the way things are managed. To take University Hospital Waterford as an example, while I am not saying everything is perfect – it is not – it never ha…

I thank Senator Ward for raising this important issue. The answer I have was prepared by the Office of the Minister for Health, Deputy Donnelly, but ADHD comes under my remit, as Minister of State with responsibility for mental health. Therefore, I will deal with it in two separate ways. I will speak first to the long-term illness scheme. Established in the 1970s, the scheme provides for the supply without charge of medicines and medical appliances to persons suffering from any of 16 prescribed conditions, includin…

To conclude, I do not have a medical background myself but one thing I have learned from speaking to clinicians is that 40% of young people who are in CAMHS have ADHD. Their condition can be dealt with very well with medication. Once they get that diagnosis and they are put on the correct medication in the correct dosage, they can do extremely well. The situation we had was that when they turned 18 there were no follow-on supports but we are rectifying that. I take on board the point the Senator has made about the …

I thank the Senator for raising this matter. When one is parked outside the school gate or one is walking to school, it really focuses the mind on the safety of children going to school. I am dealing with this matter on behalf of the Minister of State, Deputy Lawless, who has given me a comprehensive answer. As we all know, the Government is committed to achieving a modal shift in transport and increasing the number of active travel journeys over the coming years. This is evidenced in both the commitments made unde…

While there was an enthusiastic response to the initial call for applications under the programme in 2021, with approximately one quarter of schools in the country registering to apply, this naturally means that three quarters of schools were not enrolled in it. It should, however, be noted that because a school is not currently in the programme, that does not mean it will not receive any new or improved active travel infrastructure. While there are currently no plans for an additional call for schools to join the …

Certainly.

I thank all Deputies who contributed to this debate for their support and constructive engagement on this important legislation. I am certain that my colleague, the Minister, Deputy Chambers, looks forward to engagement with Deputies on Committee and Report Stages on the issues raised this evening. As the Minister, Deputy Chambers, stated, the purpose of the Finance (Provision of Access to Cash Infrastructure) Bill is to ensure sufficient and effective access to cash is available in the State, and to put in place a…

I move: That the Bill be referred to the Select Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform and Taoiseach pursuant to Standing Orders 95(3)( a ) and 181(1).

I thank Deputy Troy for raising this issue. I am taking this on behalf of the Minister, Deputy Chambers, who had a Cabinet meeting this afternoon and so is not in a position to attend. The Central Bank has put in place a range of measures to protect consumers who take out or have a mortgage or other loan. This consumer protection framework seeks to ensure all Central Bank-regulated entities are transparent and fair in all their dealings with borrowers and borrowers are protected from the beginning to the end of the…

I will bring back to the Minister what the Deputy has said, and I understand his passion. I do not think there is any Deputy in the House who has not engaged with people who have found themselves in the same predicament. I put on the record of the House that the overall level of mortgage arrears continues to decline and, as per statistics recently published by the Central Bank, the number of primary dwelling accounts in arrears is now below 46,000. The number of accounts in long-term arrears also continues to decli…

On behalf of my colleague, the Minister of State, Deputy Rabitte, who has responsibility for disabilities, I thank Deputy Durkan for raising this important issue and for offering us the opportunity to respond. The Government and the HSE are fully committed to delivering real and tangible solutions to enhance services to better support children with disabilities in Ireland. The progressing disability services roadmap 2023 to 2026 focuses on the ongoing development of children's disability network team services to me…

I was watching the programme that night. Once again, I thank the Deputy for raising this important issue, which the Minister, Deputy O’Gorman, and the Minister of State, Deputy Rabbitte, are extremely involved with. Indeed, the whole of the Government is highly conscious of the need to address the situation. It is important to reiterate that, as part of the CDNT model of service, a child does not require an assessment of need or a diagnosis to access health services. I acknowledge that CDNTs are currently providing…