I thank Deputy Flaherty for raising this issue and for his comprehensive explanation. It is not a condition I am overly familiar with. I will first provide some background for our colleagues and then address his question. This medicine is used to treat polyneuropathy - nerve damage - caused by hATTR. The European Medicines Agency, EMA, granted marketing authorisation for this product in September 2022. As hATTR amyloidosis is a rare disease, the EMA has also designated this an orphan medicine. The company marketing…

I thank the Deputy very much. I will bring his comments to the attention of the Minister for Health. As I said, the State spent more than €3 billion on medicines last year, which is a new record. This is in the context of a total health budget of €22.5 billion, which is another record. At the same time, however, it is a person who needs that orphan drug, for example, and it will make a difference to that person's life. The Deputy said that in August 2023, the NCPE completed a rapid review of Vutrisiran, the factors…

Can the Deputy confirm what community healthcare organisation, CHO, she is in?

Okay, great. I thank the Deputy for raising this really important issue this evening. As she said, ADHD has long been recognised as one of the most common psychiatric disorders in children and it is now known to persist into adulthood. Core symptoms include inattention, hyperactivity and impulsivity. It can cause many issues in areas such as personal and social relations, education and occupation, managing money and organising life in general. There is also an increased risk of having other mental health difficulti…

I thank the Deputy again. I am conscious that Rebecca and her mam might be actually watching tonight so I will say it again. ADHD does not stop when you turn 18. In 2021, one of the first clinical programmes I launched was in respect of ADHD for adults and I have visited a number of the teams already. The teams are separate to the general adult mental health services. It is a separate team. As I said, the reason we were able to put the teams in place so quickly was because it only takes five to make up the team, wh…

I thank Deputy Connolly for raising this really important matter. She referred to how she learned the news about the hospital. I learned from the Deputy's question and from a media query I got today. I am not happy with that at all. I would expect to be informed of any decision to close a ward or a hospital. I begin by acknowledging, as the Deputy has, the vital healthcare role that Clifden District Hospital plays and the excellent level of care and support which it provides to patients and their families in the Cl…

I feel the Deputy's frustration because I feel it as well. The situation is that when those seven respite beds were opened over the last 12 months, the staffing for those seven beds were funded. I do not see any reason they were not funded last week. My understanding is that they are funded and this is the reason they were looking for agency staff to support that. As I said, I will request a meeting tomorrow to discuss this. When Deputy Connolly asked her question and when there was a media query, I was slightly at…

I thank the Deputy for this important question. The Government is committed to the delivery of health and social care services that enable older people to live and age well in their homes and communities. The enhanced community care programme aims to implement an end-to-end care pathway that will care for people at home and, over time, prevent referrals and admissions to acute hospitals where it is safe and appropriate to do so. The integrated care programme for older persons, ICPOP, which the Deputy will know well…

Last summer, the Minister, Deputy Donnelly, initiated our new approach to urgent and emergency care planning. This plan focused on improving primary measures, two of the most important being 8 a.m. trolley numbers and improving patient experience time for the over-75s as a priority patient cohort, and those most likely to require longer hospital stays. The last six months of 2023, compared to the same period in 2022, brought about a 22% reduction in the 8 a.m. trolley numbers and a 38% drop in the number of older p…

I agree with the Deputy, and what is really important here is hospital avoidance in the first place. We spoke about the teams going into the nursing homes. We now have a situation where if a resident in a nursing home, whether public, private or voluntary, needs an X-ray, the X-ray team is going in there. That is really important and it means that person will not have to be brought by ambulance to the emergency department. There is a dedicated focus in the HSE to do the very best we can to avoid having elderly peop…

I thank the Deputy for tabling this question. Officials in my Department sought an update from the HSE in relation to the specifics of the question that has been raised. The HSE has advised that four CAMHS teams are shared across the Meath and Louth area to address the population demands of County Meath, as well as the catchment area served by the team in Drogheda. These teams are based in Navan, Ashbourne, south Louth, east Meath and Trim. As part of the multidisciplinary make-up of each CAMHS team, each of the fo…

As I put on the record of the House on Tuesday, we have made progress on the CAMHS waiting list. At the end of 2023, there were 3,759 children on the list. This was a decrease of 480 children through the end of the year. It is still a very high number. I have a dedicated focus on it week on week, month on month. I welcome that reduction. It has to be noted in this context that CAMHS provides a multidisciplinary service, composed of psychiatry, psychology, nurse specialists and health and social care professionals. …

We currently have 820 people working in CAMHS, with 225,000 appointments issued last year. There were 12% more referrals last year and in 2021, there was 33% more referrals. By the end of 2024, there will be more than 900 people working in CAMHS. I have received that funding in the budget. As late as yesterday evening, I had a meeting about these posts being put in place. One of the issues we are examining is geographical spread. It is really important in respect of this postcode lottery that when we are recruiting…

It is an important question. I will not comment on the individual case, but it is important to state that nursing home residents, whether younger people or older adults with disabilities, should enjoy the same level of support and access to services for which they are eligible as when they lived in their own homes. It is acknowledged that the reason they require 24-hour support is their level of dependency, which, in turn, may cause them to require access to clinical services, including hospital and other healthcar…

If the Deputy sends me the details of that case, I will have it looked into because it is not appropriate for the family of someone who is non-verbal, living in a nursing home and dependent on disability allowance and the fair deal scheme to be sent a bill of €2,500. As she said, we need to bring more clarity to this area. I deal with it myself. Local Link has been helpful, especially for people who need wheelchair accessible vehicles to transfer them. It is not always possible for people with disabilities to sit i…

The response, which the Deputy will get a copy of, states that under the Social Welfare Consolidation Act 2005, an exceptional needs payment can be made, but that is not always appropriate for a person who may not have family backup and may not be able to communicate. It can be used in some instances, but we need a stronger solution to support people. The CEO of the HSE, Bernard Gloster, has been clear about this, as have the Minister, Deputy Donnelly, and I. Those living in nursing home care should be afforded the…

I wish to comment on computerisation, especially regarding home supports. There is currently a split in that the 22 million home support hours last year were delivered between private, public and voluntary services. Approximately 55% of all the home support last year was delivered by private sector services, which all use IT to deliver their supports. Unfortunately, the HSE is lagging but we are trying to address this. I also want to talk to the Deputy about a pilot project we are now running in CHO 5 with HaloCare…

We did actually pilot an IT system for homecare in former CHO area 3, which I think it is now called the Limerick–midwest region. It is hard to keep up with the changes in names. The staff are continuing to use the system. It makes a significant difference because, where a person in receipt of homecare has a fall, has been moved to hospital or has gone on holidays, there can be challenges for those delivering the care. Issues can arise over whether the carer who turns up should be recompensed for doing so and, ther…

It was time for the Labour Minister to do it.

I am pleased to have the opportunity to discuss child and youth mental health services and highlight the work that has been ongoing over the lifetime of this Government to bring improvements to mental health services. I assure the House that the Government is fully committed to the delivery of modern, high-quality, person-centred, recovery-orientated mental health services. As Minister of State with responsibility for mental health, it is very important to me that parents, guardians, children and young adults have …