I thank the Deputy for raising this issue. We were all shocked at the potential impact of such a disastrous fire in one of our major acute hospitals. If you stand back and think about what the implications could have been, it is clear we owe an extraordinary debt of gratitude to all of the essential services involved, especially the fire service and Civil Defence personnel who got there quickly and marshalled their resources expertly to reduce the impact of the fire, but also everybody working in the hospital and t…

First, I take the points that the Deputy has made in good faith, of course. On the earlier point the Deputy made, it is worth reflecting that the Health Service Executive, which comes in for criticism from time to time, in the context of Covid, the cyberattack and now this, has responded in a coherent, effective way to real emergencies. These have been three that we can identify. That needs to be put on the record. I thank all of the HSE staff, from the leadership down, for the magnificent manner in which they have…

In terms of this opportunity, by which I mean we are building now anew and fresh, we should examine how we deal with the future needs of the hospital in Wexford. That is my view. Obviously, the Cabinet will discuss this. There are opportunities. Also, it is an emergency. We have to look at the planning situation and see what we can do to expedite the return of permanent facilities here. In the interim, we have to allow the HSE do the assessment. Following that assessment, it can plan out the programme of interventi…

Hopefully, yes, but we might discuss that. We want to give those at the coalface the opportunity to get the main work done first and, of course, to come back to us then.

I thank Deputy Howlin for raising the issue. The Deputy is personally committed to Wexford Hospital, as he has been for all of his political life, as indeed all of his colleagues representing the county have as well. Deputy Howlin is correct. A disaster, on one level, has been averted in the sense of no loss of life and injury. It is quite incredible to comprehend the degree to which the fire services, the first responders and the ambulance service all got together so quickly to prevent disaster from unfolding in t…

-----sorry, 96 - the additional capacity as committed - because the population is growing. One of the big issues in terms of public services more generally over the past decade has been the growth in population. As we configure our services into the future, we have to think about that increased population. It is growing fast now and will continue to. I trust the clinicians and those at the coalface to map out for us in government their recommended pathways and approaches to deal with an emergency situation of this …

As I said, the Government will respond with clarity, commitment and resources to do everything we can to make sure we look after the patients who have been discommoded significantly as a result of this tragedy and meet the broader health needs of those served by the hospital, the consultants, the various clinics and so on. We expect that an assessment will be made quickly, both physically and in terms of what programmes and services we can get back more quickly. That is the approach I envisage and anticipate.

We must have a multidisciplinary approach and examine what can be done without patients and what can be done with various different services. We should allow the experts at the coalface to come back to us. The Government will respond to say what we think is the best way to deal with oncology, diagnostics and outpatient appointments, for example. That is immediate-----

We have said that and there is no issue around that. No one anticipated that what happened last night would happen; it was quite shocking. As we have all agreed, when you think about it the implications could have been horrendous. We cannot get around that; it is just incredible that our services worked so well and that is the relief I take from it. Our response has to match that; I agree on that point.

I thank the Deputy for raising this important issue. Tá an ceart aige arís; caithimid gach aon rud gur féidir linn a dhéanamh ó thaobh na daoine is aosta agus is sinsire sa tír seo a chabhrú ó thaobh cúrsaí tithíochta de. Tá an Rialtas ag díriú air seo agus táimid ag cur níos mó áiseanna ar fáil do na bardais aitiúla ar fud na tíre. We have allocated substantial resources to housing and housing need more generally. I am familiar with many of these grant schemes and I think they have been effective. Many people have…

We adhere to and support the UN human rights aspect the Deputy articulated. There has been progressive decongregation over the years, which has sometimes been controversial, as we seek to ensure people with disabilities can live in their communities and homes. It is extremely important that we continue with that, although we must do it sensitively and in full consultation with families. Over the past two decades, there has been substantial de-institutionalisation in the entire disability sector. Into the future, th…

I thank the Deputy for raising a range of issues under the umbrella of CAMHS and the availability of therapies and disabilities. Will he send me details of the individual child he mentioned?

The specific assertion relating this case that a child had to have a blood test sent to England causes me great concern. It could be for specific reasons. I presume our labs cannot pick up the particular condition. That no one has contacted the family for ten months after the blood test being sent should not happen because we have primary care services. We need to get to get to bottom of that quickly. Will the Deputy send me the details of that case? It calls for clarity and a response. On the other main point rega…

Under the waiting list initiative, there is funding in that envelope for access to private care in the context of long waiting lists for access to therapy services. This was provided for. Perhaps the Minister can engage with Deputy Fitzmaurice on how best to utilise the provision in the waiting list funding overall. The fundamental response ultimately has to be recruitment and retention on one level and working through the model to make sure it is fit for purpose in responding to the needs of the children in the fi…

To be fair there is no doubt about the impact of the energy crisis on people's bills and the challenges it presents. There will be an energy credit in the March and April period of up to €200. There is also the doubling of the free fuel allowance and various payments. We have an additional payment for pensioners over and above the energy credit. There will be a payment in April of a further €200. When we look at the overall picture, approximately 3.5% of GNI, which is more than €9.5 billion, plus the measures we to…

No. No one has to turn off the lights and Deputy Doherty knows this.

No one in those situations will be disconnected and Deputy Doherty knows that. Let us not put fear among people unnecessarily.

Significant intervention has been made in respect of early childhood development and early childcare services. We have different types of services in different localities and communities. What Deputy Bacik has outlined suggests that significant resources have been allocated to the club.

These resources have been allocated by the Government.

I ask Deputy Bacik to forward to me the context, the nature of the group, who it works with and what umbrella it works under, we can certainly examine what we can do.