I move: That leave be granted to introduce a Bill entitled an Act to amend the Health (Pricing and Supply of Medical Goods) Act 2013 to establish specific criteria applicable for orphan medicinal products for the purposes of the Health Service Executive making a relevant decision regarding adding an item to the Reimbursement List. Before I begin, I want to acknowledge the work of former Deputy John Brassil in regard to the introduction of this Bill, which, in essence, is a reintroduction of the work he undertook a …

I move: "That the Bill be taken in Private Members' time."

Government approval was granted recently for the drafting of a Bill on assisted human reproduction. This comprehensive and far-reaching legislation encompasses the regulation for the first time in Ireland of a variety of practices, including domestic surrogacy. The publication of the Bill has been highlighted as a priority and the programme for Government commits to its enactment. Provisions outlined within the general scheme will ensure that assisted human reproduction practices are standardised and will have the …

I raise the issue of special education provision in Cork. The Taoiseach has a long history of delivering for special education provision as a previous Minister with responsibility for education. Cork City Council has identified a site in the Glanmire area that is suitable for a school for special education provision. I urge the Taoiseach, given we have such challenges in Cork, to look upon that site favourably and progress it as expeditiously as possible.

I am after listening to this debate for the past hour and a half and, like many fair-minded people, I try to digest it and listen to the facts and the counter-arguments being made. However, there is a lie being perpetuated here by many people on the Opposition benches tonight and in recent months. The lie is that these caps on affordable houses are actual prices. In my case, the cap will be €450,000 in Cork city and €400,000 the county. I have listened to Opposition Members over recent months perpetuate this lie. O…

In September 2018, the National Council for Special Education, NCSE, was requested to develop policy advice on the educational provision that should be in place for students educated in special schools and classes and to make recommendations on what is required to enable them to achieve better outcomes. When does the Minister expect the NCSE to complete and submit its policy advice on education provision in special classes and schools?

I welcome the comments of the Minister of State, particularly in respect of the report being published by the end of the year, which will be most welcome. I note that the former Minister, Deputy McHugh, stated that each child should be educated with his or her mainstream peers wherever feasible. That is very much reflected in what the NCSE has stated in its progress report. The former Minister also stated that the decision on whether to move towards greater inclusion of all students in mainstream schools requires v…

I welcome the comments of the Minister of State but several issues and challenges would be ahead of us if there were to be any shift in terms of delivering for special needs students. The challenges I highlight are that it would be a phased process if it needed to happen. The number of students about whom we are speaking reflects approximately 2% of the school community. It is a small minority but they are the minority who have the greatest need. The questions we need to ask ourselves include whether a four-year-ol…

I would like to raise the issue of rare diseases and orphan drugs. This is an issue which the Taoiseach would have a lot of experience of, having served as Minister for Health and given his engagement with the Orkambi case. Today, Senator Malcolm Byrne, Senator Fiona O'Loughlin and I launched our Health (Pricing and Supply of Medical Goods) (Amendment) Bill 2021, which is essentially a replication of former Deputy John Brassil’s work in the previous Dáil. The Taoiseach is well aware of the issue that, on average, p…

I have never been offered 11 minutes of speaking time for anything here. I will use as much as I can.

Yes. I am aware that this is not a question-and-answer session but I would appreciate it if the Minister or the Minister of State could respond to some of these issues when replying. Like every other Deputy present, I welcome this morning's announcement regarding vaccine portals being opened up for those aged 18 to 34. This is something for which I have called repeatedly. It gives young people an opportunity to register in advance of returning to college in September. It will also be of benefit to those undertaking…

My question is whether it will be possible to open schools as recreational facilities to be used for community purposes.

I thank the Minister. I read the document on the guidance on the use of school buildings outside of school hours to which the Minister referred. It considers the issues surrounding insurance, risk assessments, health and safety, security and those types of situations. I am talking about opening schools for full community use. Nothing has the potential to bring people together more effectively than our schools. We know that communities benefit from strong schools and students benefit from strong communities. Schools…

I understand the concerns school management may have regarding security, insurance, the risk of damage to property and all of those issues that are discussed in the document the Minister referenced. I am talking about schools with state-of-the-art AstroTurf pitches, swimming pools, tennis courts, sports halls, meeting rooms, libraries, gyms and so on. All of those amenities should be made available. The Department should open up schools. Many buildings are on public land and most are publicly funded. They should al…

I see that Deputy Pat Buckley is here this morning. The two of us fought in the trenches when the boundary transition between Cork city and county was undertaken in 2017. Will any assessment be undertaken now or at some stage in the future to scrutinise the successes and failures of the expansion of the Cork City Council boundary? The purpose of the question is not to reignite the debate, which goes back to 2016, but is motivated by a genuine desire to undertake an analysis of how the boundary transition has worked…

I thank the Minister of State. This is not an attempt to rehash the boundary argument that we had four or five years ago. I welcome the Minister of State's comment that responsibility for settling outstanding issues resides with the two local authorities. At the same time, it is subject to the guidance and supervision of the oversight committee to ensure compliance with the implementation plan. The Minister of State has identified a number of problems, although they are described as a small number of outstanding pr…

I welcome the recent publication of the national economic recovery plan, which outlines how the Government will spend almost €1 billion in funding that it has received from the EU. Specifically referring to my own constituency of Cork North-Central and the north side of Cork city, we have a number of investments that we are looking forward to over the coming years. I refer in particular to the urban regeneration and development fund announcement on the docklands, the recent Irish Rail announcement of €184 million, …

I am sharing time with Deputy Christopher O'Sullivan. I disagree with the previous speaker. I listened to the speech of the Minister of State and I do not think it was self-congratulatory in any way. I think it was an acknowledgement of the resources that have been put in throughout the pandemic. Most of those contributing to this debate come from an educational background or have worked in the health services and we acknowledge that there will never be enough money to deal with some of the issues we are discussing…

I welcome the Taoiseach's comments that the Cabinet sub-committee on education has met to discuss special education in particular. I have spoken repeatedly with the Taoiseach and with the Minister, Deputy Foley, about this issue over the past months. Following on from what the previous speakers have said, I have a genuine concern about provision for ASD students nationwide. I acknowledge that a lot of resources have been pumped in over the past 12 months but it also needs to be acknowledged that more children than …

I apologise for being delayed. I ask the Minister about the status of plans to enable credit unions to become involved in financing housing projects.