I will take it back. As we have said, we require a sufficient number of appropriately trained oral healthcare professionals, including dentists, hygienists, clinical dental technicians, orthodontic therapists, dental nurses and other supporting oral healthcare workers. The Senator mentioned employment rules and flexibility. The HSE national oral health office works with the HSE national HR, recruitment reform and resourcing programme on identifying and resourcing challenges that may be experienced by the dental and…

I thank the Senator for raising this issue and for his contribution. Both the Minister, Deputy Harris, and the Minister of State, Deputy Collins, are in the Dáil Chamber this morning for oral questions and have asked me to take this matter on their behalf. The University of Limerick advised the Department of Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science that the university's new governing authority took office on 1 October in compliance with the Higher Education Authority Act 2022. The university f…

I thank the Senator for raising this matter. In accordance with legislative provisions, it is a matter for the University of Limerick to appoint its chancellor. That is not the main issue the Senator is raising. The requirement for a majority vote of at least two thirds of the members of the governing authority to elect the chairperson is not new. It has been in place since 1997 under the Universities Act, with no previous issues identified. The legislation also sets out that a governing authority shall regulate, b…

I am very pleased to comment on the investment in health by the Government. I will focus on the areas of older persons and mental health services. Ensuring adequate and appropriate supports for older persons' health and well-being has been a priority for me since I took office. There should be no doubt that investment in social care older persons' services has been a major priority for this Government. The budget has risen from €1.97 billion in 2020 to just over €2.6 billion next year. According to the World Health…

It is not----

I met the group.

I thank Senator Pauline O'Reilly for tabling this motion and allowing me and others the opportunity to discuss this important issue today, on World Menopause Day. As Senator Fitzpatrick has said, I have lived experience of the issue and can stand here and speak about the menopause with authority. I often have the opportunity to respond to a debate in the Dáil and Seanad and find myself speaking about something I do not have lived experience of but I can tick this box.

The Government has rightly decided not to oppose this Private Members' motion. The Minister, Deputy Stephen Donnelly, was in touch with the Senator earlier in that regard. This decision was made in light of the strong support of the Minister for Health and the Government for improving the health experience and outcomes for women and girls in Ireland. It is fair to say that, as has been acknowledged here, progressing women’s healthcare has been a key priority for the Minister, Deputy Donnelly, the Department and the…

Put manners on them.

Is Deputy Doherty putting manners on us?

Is the Deputy putting manners on us?

That is shocking.

I thank the Senator for raising this important issue. I am taking this Commencement matter on behalf of the Minister for Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science, Deputy Harris. I am happy to provide an update on the funding of higher education. I accept that the Senator acknowledged the funding that was provided yesterday in budget 2024. Since the formation of the Department of Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science by this Government, there has been a significant impr…

I cannot answer for the Minister, but I am sure if Senator Clonan writes to his office such a meeting would be considered. He is correct that Trinity College Dublin rose in two major world rankings published this year from 161st to 134th in the Times Higher Education, THE, rankings and, quite rightly, from 98th to 81st in the QS World University Rankings, which is very significant. After being outside the top 100 in the QS rankings from 2018- 22, it is very significant that, as Senator Clonan says, it re-entered th…

I thank Senator McGreehan for the passion with which she delivered her opening speech on farms having a balance sheet of carbon sequestration. I have learned a lot in the past four minutes. At the outset, it is the responsibility of the Environmental Protection Agency, EPA, to report emissions and removals associated with land use activities on an annual basis to the EU and the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, UNFCCC. However, the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine is working with …

As the Senator is aware, carbon sequestration is only one part of our overall approach. The Signpost programme currently has 119 Signpost farms whose performance is being assessed using data gathered by Teagasc and analysed to calculate greenhouse gas emissions. The reduction of soil-based emissions is very important to deliver the reductions in the overall carbon balance and we have delivered several projects to address knowledge deficits in this area. One of the tools developed to assess these Signpost farms and …

I thank the Senator for raising this really important issue. He is right to raise it now because it comes around very quickly. All credit to both the Minister for Education and the Minister of State with responsibility for special education as they have done phenomenal work to improve access to this programme. The needs of children with complex special educational needs and children at most risk of educational disadvantage continue to be a huge priority for Government. There has been significant progress in the sum…

In fairness to both Ministers, there has been improvement this year but there is always more to do. Preparation has already started for the 2024 summer programme. This will involve engagement with education partners, parents, schools, advocacy groups and other stakeholders. I will take the Senator's point back to the Minister as some people did not know the portal was there. The portal did simplify things because we heard previously that it was onerous to go through the system. On foot of this engagement, the terms…

Go raibh maith agat Senator Lombard for raising this really important issue. I will answer on behalf of the Minister for Health, Deputy Donnelly, today. I am aware that the recruitment and retention of staff across community healthcare organisation, CH04, has been very challenging recently as considerable organisational and operational changes have been implemented. As the Senator knows, this is not only in podiatry. Indeed, as part of the enhanced community care programme there are several vacancies across Cork an…

I thank the Senator. The problem is that the demand for podiatry healthcare professionals is growing everywhere. It is not only in CHO 4. This is in part due to an ageing population, with people living longer, and the increased prevalence of chronic conditions like diabetes. Obviously, as Minister of State with responsibility for mental health and older people, I am proud of the fact that we have the highest life expectancy in the EU, as deemed by the World Health Organization, and support older people to age in pl…