HSE representatives attended a meeting of the Joint Committee on Disability Matters in May to discuss the progressing disability services model. They stated that all 91 children's disabilities network teams were to be established by the end of quarter 2, that is, the end of June. We are now nearing the end of quarter 3 and they are not all established. How many of them have been established and what is the proposed date for getting the remainder up and running? In some of the teams that are up and running, there is…

I commend my colleague, Deputy Eoin Ó Broin, on bringing forward the Bill. I welcome the fact the Government is not opposing the motion. The Minister says he is going to review it and I hope that will lead to action. The most common issue among my constituents is housing or, I should say, lack of housing, and I know that is the same for practically every Member of this House. Housing prices are continuing to rise and rents are rising in tandem, and both are happening due to the lack of housing supply. The solution …

I support the motion. The legislation to allow indoor hospitality to resume is indiscriminate in nature and unenforceable. It discriminates in particular against young people aged between 18 and 35 who have not received the vaccine. It discriminates against those who do not wish to receive the vaccine, as is their right. Some people are concerned about reactions they had to vaccines in the past. They may have had a near-death experience, do not wish to go through that again and do not wish to get a vaccine. There a…

A total of 732 children in the State are currently in receipt of the home tuition grant. In most cases, this comes down to the inadequate number of school places for children with additional needs. Many children with additional needs have also experienced a reduction in their school timetables. While expulsions are rare in primary schools, with about 30 each year, they are excessively high in special schools or schools with special classes, according to figures compiled by Tusla. Pupils in special settings make up …

When will the Department of Health's capacity review of disability services be published?

I am delighted to hear that. This report was completed last November. Many parliamentary questions on the matter have been tabled to the Minister of State by members of the Joint Committee on Disability Matters and other Deputies. The committee itself, various organisations, including the Irish Wheelchair Association, and the Oireachtas disability group and the organisations it represents have all queried the matter with her. The Minister of State knows better than I that there is a deficit in the area of disabilit…

I welcome and acknowledge the work that has been done. There have been significant moves towards a social model of care and away from the health model of care, which is the right way to go. The Minister of State is doing tremendous work in that field. There are, however, some very stark statistics regarding disability. We have the lowest employment rate for people with disabilities in the EU and one of the highest poverty rates. It is certainly higher than average and we are one of the worst five countries in that …

We in this State commend ourselves on actions we have taken to curtail the spread of the Covid-19 virus. However, the stark truth is that we have failed as a nation to protect the residents of nursing homes who are the most vulnerable people in our society. Residents of nursing homes have accounted for over 40% of all Covid-related deaths. The fact that over 2,000 people in nursing homes contracted the virus and died as a result is a damning indictment on the health service of this country. Many staff in nursing ho…

My question is about the vaccine roll-out through the pharmacies. While it is welcome and the interest in uptake by young people aged between 18 and 34 is encouraging, no pharmacies in west Cavan are administering the vaccine. This is not because they are not interested; it is because they have been told by the HSE that it will not facilitate them joining the scheme. I would love to know why that is and what the situation is there. There is also no centralised booking system, so people can book onto several waiting…

There are actions that, if taken, would have significant outcomes in tackling sexual, domestic and gender-based violence. It is reassuring that there is increased awareness of what domestic abuse is. Many people, including me, once believed that domestic violence was only where physical violence occurred and that physical violence alone was the only reason a barring order or protection order could be obtained. It is reassuring that people are becoming more aware that it is not just physical violence that constitute…

What steps is the Minister taking in regard to assessing the childcare needs of parents in County Cavan, where many service providers are indicating they are no longer taking children under two years of age? They are claiming that this is due to the financial strain of meeting early years services regulations under the Child Care Act 1991. What consideration is being given to forward planning for childcare places and service provision in County Cavan and at national level?

Constituents have been contacting me. One lady told me that when her maternity leave finished and she tried to find a place for her little baby, she could not because no crèches in her area would take a child under one. She ended up being forced to take 16 weeks of additional unpaid maternity leave even though this had not been her intention and was not what she wanted to do. She was worried about what she would do when she had to return to work because she was finding it extremely difficult. She had even tried to …

That is welcome and the sooner it is done, the better. The situation is at a crucial point at the moment. There is a lack of availability and affordability. It is difficult to retain staff and fees for parents are increasing. All of these things need to be dealt with. This applies in Cavan but I know it also applies elsewhere. There is a severe lack of crèche places in Cavan. I am also hearing about a severe lack of community crèche places. Many in the workforce can afford to pay these fees, which are quite high, b…

I am very happy to support this Bill to give pensioners a greater say in how their pension benefits, to which they paid into while working, are determined. Many workers have contributed to pension funds while working and from which their pensions are now paid. However, as soon as they retire or, at the most, six months thereafter, they no longer have any say in the terms and conditions around their pensions. Changes can be made with very little warning and no consultation with those in receipt of pensions. I commen…

A number of aspects of this Bill are commendable, but I am a little concerned about some other aspects of it, as I will outline. For example, the affordable dwelling purchase arrangement in Part 2 of the Bill seeks to facilitate the building of affordable housing on land owned by local authorities. However, no additional funding was made available in budget 2021 to pay for affordable purchase homes, and only 90 affordable purchase homes are to be delivered in 2021. That is nowhere near ambitious enough. Similarly, …

I am sharing time with Deputy Ward. AsIAm has published a report, entitled Every Child Counts. It was only sent to me yesterday and I do not know if the Minister of State has had chance to see it. It contains the results of a survey, which it is keen to indicate is just a snapshot of autism services and supports. It surveyed the parents of children with autism. The key findings were that two thirds of parents and guardians surveyed have had to wait two years or more to receive an autism diagnosis for their child. O…

The CAP budget is starting from a lower base than in previous years. CAP currently makes up only 30% of the overall EU budget as opposed to the 37% it made up in previous years. We know the emphasis, going forward, must be on making farming sustainable and delivering environmental benefits. However, if the CAP budget continues to decrease, it will mean farmers are being asked to do more for less money and that is not sustainable. I am aware there are ongoing discussions at EU level on the method of redistribution o…

The recommendations in HIQA's maternity overview report found a lack of clarity and national leadership within the HSE regarding the responsibility for implementing the national maternity strategy. This strategy provides a framework for a new and better maternity service that will improve choice for women and ensure that smaller maternity units in particular are better supported to provide sustainability, high quality and safe care. It recommended the expansion of community and home-based care to ensure greater acc…

Commitments made by the insurance industry that a reduction in insurance awards would result in a reduction in insurance costs for consumers are not being met. In fact, many motorists, homeowners and business people are seeing their premiums increase. When members of the insurance industry appeared before the Joint Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach, their call for the implementation of personal injury guidelines was made with the commitment that a reduction in the volume of claims w…

The backlog of applicants for the driver theory test has been raised by many Deputies in recent weeks and months. The answer given has been that the test would be going online, and I was delighted to see that it did go online on the Road Safety Authority, RSA, website yesterday. Several constituents have contacted me about this issue to say that when they attempted to register for the test that the results keep showing no availability. Is the system operational yet, or is this a glitch? I tried it myself and it did…