This falls under the remit of the Minister of State, Deputy Rabbitte, but I will certainly pass on what the Deputy has raised with regard to CDNTs. I reiterate what the Minister of State said on the floor of the Dáil yesterday. The recruitment moratorium does not affect disability services. The Minister of State sees an opportunity now, working with the HSE, to try to recruit as many people as possible into CDNTs. The Minister of State is funded for over 500 staff that are currently outstanding. Every effort is bei…

I was not in a position to attend the meeting the Deputy referenced but my adviser was there. I am meeting Dr. Cowley later this afternoon to discuss the concerns he raised regarding the situation in Mayo. In 2023, €1.4 billion will be provided to support 22,700 residents in the nursing home sector. That is more than what I am giving for mental health-----

If the Deputy gives me an opportunity to answer, I will try to do so. A total of €1.4 billion will be spent to support 22,700 residents in nursing home care this year. That is more than the amount allocated to mental health for the whole year. Regarding the value-for-money review the Deputy mentioned, the sample used was very small. It referred to five nursing homes and does not stand up.

I thank Senator Keogan for raising this important matter. As the recent Covid-19 pandemic has demonstrated, international co-operation is vital in the response to cross-border health threats. As such, Ireland strongly supports a multilateral approach to global health issues, with the World Health Organization in a central leadership role. The purpose and scope of the World Health Organization regulations is to prevent, protect against, control and provide a public health response to the international spread of dise…

The Department of Health is leading the co-ordination of Ireland’s position in respect of the proposals to amend the IHR. This work involves working with the relevant policy units in the Department, Government Departments, Ireland's permanent representation to the UN in Geneva, EU member states and EU partners on this matter. I would again like to reassure the Senator that Article 59 of the IHR will only be applicable once a final text has been agreed and adopted by the World Health Assembly, at which Ireland will …

I thank the Senator for raising this matter. I always look forward to coming to the Seanad and to any opportunity I can get to speak about mental health and the fact that recovery is possible. Lived experience and what patients go through is something we have to listen to and learn from. That is important. The answer that has been presented to me relates to crisis resolution services but I will speak in general first. One in four people, at some stage in their life, will have an issue with their mental health. Than…

I thank the Senator. She has a good point which many of her colleagues make every day in the Dáil and Seanad. The first port of call for anybody who is in distress should always be the GP. Always reach out to somebody in your family, if you can at all. So many people do not reach out. If the GP or an ambulance is called, you will be brought to the emergency department. It would be expected that, within a short space of time, you would be seen by somebody with a psychiatric background to conduct an assessment. That …

No.

I will look at that for the Deputy.

I thank all those who spoke on the motion for their views. First, I reiterate what the Minister, Deputy Donnelly, said regarding the value we must place on all staff working in the health service. They are the people working tirelessly on a daily basis to provide care to those most in need, whether in their own home or in an acute or residential setting. As highlighted by the Minister, recruitment across the HSE has been incredibly strong in 2023. The HSE workforce is at its highest level. To give some perspective …

It is true.

Actions, not words.

He is not.

There are a lot of questions there so I am going to ask for a written response to the Deputy. On the first issue the Deputy raised regarding the 80-year-old lady waiting an hour and 20 minutes, that is not good enough. Nobody could say that it was good enough because it certainly is not. I can only imagine the trauma which that poor person experienced, especially when she had broken bones. There is more investment into ambulance services. The Deputy might be familiar with the new service we are running across the c…

On the situation regarding Neart Le Chéile, I am not familiar with it. If the Deputy could copy me into the correspondence, I will speak to the Minister of State at the Department of Health, Deputy Hildegarde Naughton, as drugs strategy comes under her remit. We will see if we can get a response for the Deputy.

I thank the Deputy for raising the issue. Every day in Ireland, there are 30 new cases of dementia. There were 30 yesterday, there will be 30 today and there will be 30 tomorrow. We are seeing 4,000 people aged under 65 living with early-onset dementia. What we want to do is support people with dementia in being able to age in their own homes, which can be very difficult. For every person diagnosed with dementia, three people are directly affected and another half-dozen are indirectly affected within the person's f…

I thank the Deputy for his question. The annual capital plan sets out the planned health infrastructure investment within a given year throughout the country. Capital investment has a critical role to play in enabling and enhancing service provision and in driving the reforms set out in Sláintecare. A number of projects for MUH are included in the 2023 capital plan. Funding has been allocated in 2023 to progress these projects. I do not like having to say this, but it is fact that management and administrative grad…

I certainly will go back to the Minister and relay to him the concerns raised by Deputy Dillon. Departmental officials are considering all available opportunities to improve on the pace of delivery of capital health projects. This process is currently underway and includes consideration of the use of modern methods of construction to deliver rapid build. In March this year changes to the public spending code aimed at enhancing National Development Plan, NDP, delivery were introduced. These changes seek to streamlin…

I thank Deputy Tully for raising this really important issue. All of us in the House fully appreciate how devastating a diagnosis of a rare disease can be for patients, their families and carers. There is cross-party support for doing everything we possibly can to help patients who live with this awful condition on a daily basis. As Deputy Tully said, EB is a rare, life-long genetic condition which causes fragile, blistering skin. I fully recognise and appreciate the difficulties experienced by patients suffering f…

The Deputy has summed it up there. When one has a child living in pain every day, it is very difficult for parents. As stated, the care needs of people affected by EB are currently being treated on the basis of a two-centre approach delivered through Children's Health Ireland and St. James's Hospital. I take on board what the Deputy said in that the outreach nurse is available for Children's Health Ireland, but not for the adults. On the request for funding for a clinical psychologist, which is really important, th…