The membership of the commission has yet to be determined. We are working on it now and had a meeting on it yesterday. It is envisaged that in line with the commission's approved remit, its members will collectively provide expertise across the areas of geriatrics, gerontology, health economics, health policy and management, health ethics, health technologies and ageing and disability. Stakeholder engagement, including with the public, will be central to the work of the commission. As I said, it will be established…

The Deputy is quite right. The first two modules of this work will focus on the provision of health and social care services and supports for older people. We know, for example, that we have 323 day centres operational. We also have an additional 52 dementia-specific day centres, which are really important for people who have a dementia diagnosis but still want to be able to live in their own homes. Today, more than 56,000 people will receive home care in their homes. It is hugely important to be able to support pe…

I thank the Deputy for raising this really important issue. I do understand how important this service is. I have spoken to those using the service and those involved in setting it up. Colleagues of the Deputy had a meeting with the Minister, Deputy McConalogue, yesterday as well. I was also in contact with Dermot Monaghan, who is the chief officer in the area. When I spoke yesterday I had not received the briefing in this regard. Where we are now is that a meeting has been scheduled by the HSE to review the reques…

I thank the Deputy for raising this extremely serious issue. The review of the neonatal subgaleal haemorrhages in 2022 was undertaken because the management team in University Hospital Galway maternity services observed through the clinical governance processes that there had been an increase in the incidence of this type of haemorrhage in newborn babies from previous years. While this increase was well within the reported range in the international literature, the management team in UHG decided to undertake an aud…

I thank the Deputy for raising this important issue. I am not over the details of it. If he sends them on, I will speak to the Minister of State, Deputy Rabbitte, about it. As the Deputy is aware, the Government is committed to enhancing services for people with disabilities. The Deputy referred to the fact that the Irish Wheelchair Association stated there were difficulties with recruitment and retention. That may be the reason for the 40% service cut. Services are so important for people with disabilities. If the…

As I stated, the Government is committed to enhancing services for children with disabilities. In budget 2024, €8.5 million additional investment was allocated to improve children's services, including the recruitment of additional therapy positions, the procurement of assessments from the private sector and increasing third level places. As regards the Deputy's specific question, the 2022 CDNT staff census notes an average vacancy rate of 34% across CHOs. An overall analysis of the data from 2021 and 2022 demonstr…

Hear, hear.

I thank the Deputy for the question. I became aware of the impending challenges in Donegal through the Raphoe diocesan pastoral services and of the impact its closure could have. I understand it is an excellent service. It crosses through mental health, primary care, social inclusion and Tusla. I spoke with the assistant national director for services in regard to this issue this morning. I also spoke with a former Leas-Cheann Comhairle, Pat the Cope Gallagher, who was instrumental in setting up the service many ye…

I thank Deputy Crowe for his question. We have explored that issue previously. It was in the programme for Government to explore the NTPF being used for such therapies. The NTPF works really well for stand-alone operations such as cataract removals or hip replacements. Children have to go for appointments and do not know whether it will be four, six or eight appointments. We did look at it and it would prove very problematic. We would also have to change the legislation, which can be done. I had a meeting this morn…

Very important issues were raised by Family Carers Ireland. I will answer both the Deputy's questions. In budget 2024, €1.4 million was secured for the commission on care. We are just working through the final details now, but it will be set up in January next year. There will be three different modules. The first module will be six months, there will be a second module of six months, and then a 12-month module. A huge amount of work will be done on the commission on care for older people. The next piece of the jig…

I thank the Deputy for the question. I have engaged with her on this issue. The most recent update I have, and my office may have got back to her, is that she will have to request the information from the HSE in person.

It is an internal document but I was able to facilitate the Deputy with the details for her area of Galway, which the Minister, Deputy Stephen Donnelly, just told me. I know the reason she wants the document. It is a very important document. We want to continue to make sure that we have HSE beds open. We do not want to see any more of them closed. The reason for the closures at present relates to safe staffing issues, but we are pushing the whole time to have any HSE beds open.

I welcome the opportunity to address the Chamber on the important issues raised by the Irish Women’s Parliamentary Caucus in their motion on delivery of a rights-based care economy. I acknowledge the work of the chair, Senator Fiona O'Loughlin, and deputy chair, Deputy Bacik, who put many hours of their time into driving on the caucus, and have done so for many years. I thank them for that. The Government is committed to ensuring the rights of everybody with care needs are upheld in accordance with their needs and …

I thank the Deputy on behalf of the Department of Education for the question and for giving me the opportunity to provide the House with an outline of the home tuition scheme, which is an important resource for a small number of children who require this particular support. The home tuition scheme is one of the many ways in which the Department of Education and the National Council for Special Education continue to support children with special educational needs. I stress that enabling students with additional need…

I thank the Senator for raising this really important issue. As we know, diabetes is a complex and pervasive condition that can require management across the healthcare service. This includes care delivered by general practice and community specialists, hospital inpatient specialist care, as well as self-management support. As we know, many people can live very well with diabetes and can self-manage it. The increasing prevalence of diabetes poses a challenge to our health service, with increasing costs driven prima…

I accept the thrust of the Deputy’s question. It probably does not only sit, as he said, with the Department of Education. It is an example of it. The Department of Social Protection has determined home tutors are engaged under a contract for service and are therefore self-employed and subject to PRSI class 7. The Department of Education continues to keep all these issues under review in light of any legal decisions or changes in legislation. The Department will continue to work with education stakeholders on these…

I would like to see it earlier than 2025. In September 2019, Sláintecare integration funding was allocated to the HSE to design and procure a national diabetes registry and develop a full specification plan for a national diabetes registry. It was intended that the registry would be in place in 2021, but the project was paused, as we can all understand, because of Covid-19. As I said, funding was allocated as part of budget 2023. There is also a funding allocation in budget 2024. With us all working together and ke…

The latest report on waste statistics for 2021 from the EPA showed a concerning trend. To be honest, many people were disappointed because, as the Senator said, we would have assumed we were the best in class for packaging recycling because we were for a long time. The concerning trend showed that recycling rates did not keep pace with increasing levels of waste generation. Before I read the script, which I am delivering on behalf of the Minister, Deputy Ryan, who, as the Senator will know, is at COP28, I must say …

The Senator hit the nail on the head when she said we are talking to those who want to do more but there are some people who do not want to do anything or very little. I think it starts in the schools with the green flag initiative. I was delighted when my local school, Portlaw National School, recently acquired its 12th green flag. Many generations of kids in the school have gone through this important initiative. Illegal dumping is a huge issue in Dublin, Waterford, Galway and everywhere else. It is a huge issue.…

As a mother who always depended on school transport, I can hear the frustration in Senator O’Reilly’s voice. It depends where you live. People in large towns and cities do not realise how important school transport is until their children need it. For 18 years, I have been putting my youngsters on a school bus. They would not have secondary school only for that. I understand where the Senator is coming from. Before I address the specific issues raised on the Galway Educate Together National School in Newcastle, I w…