It is taking far too long. The Social Democrats have concerns about the financialisation of elder care. In 2020, at the height of Covid, Simon Harris and Leo Varadkar said the model of care for older people had to change. Since then, the very large-scale commercial nursing home model has increased despite the fact it was deemed to be no longer fit for purpose. Ireland, alongside England, now has the most privatised nursing home system in Europe, with 81% of all nursing home beds in the State being privately run. Of…

I also congratulate the students on winning the debating championship. I welcome the emerging preferred route for the Cork Luas, but major questions remain. We do not know how much the Government intends to invest in this crucial project. We do not know if a second north-south route is planned. Crucially, we do not know when the Cork Luas will open. This project cannot be left like the Dublin metro, which has been delayed now by 25 years. There is a history of announcements of key infrastructure projects in Cork th…

I thank Deputy Cummins for her work on the motion and also over many years on this issue and wider education issues. The pace of change is far too slow. We heard during the week in the audiovisual room from a parent who said, “I wonder if I am doing this for my children or my grandchildren.” That is how frustrated parents are about the pace of change. Across County Cork, there are 350 Catholic schools but only 13 multidenominational schools. There is no real choice or option for parents when there is that level of …

I welcome this important debate. As others have said, this is a serious issue. I have concerns about Government backbenchers trivialising it by talking about victories in camogie matches. That is perhaps something for them to reflect on. It is not appropriate. There are serious issues in the operation of Children's Health Ireland. We need to understand how we got here, the impact of the scandals on children and their families and where we go from here. I will touch on a few issues. I want to look at the pre-CHI his…

I thank Sinn Féin for bringing forward this motion, which provides Members with another opportunity to raise our concerns about the yet-to-be published audit into hip surgeries at CHI as well as the long-standing failures in the organisation. I first raised the issue of hip surgeries with the Taoiseach on 1 March yet almost two months later we still have no more information. Were it not for the reports in The Ditch we would still be in the dark about the latest scandal at Children’s Health Ireland. Last July The Di…

Where is the promised amendment to the Health (Assisted Human Reproduction) Bill? In July of last year, the Dáil passed the first assisted human reproduction Bill, which has still not been commenced. A second Bill, to close the gaps in the law, was promised within weeks, but we still have no sight of it. Two days before the election, the then Minister for Health, Stephen Donnelly, wrote to campaigners to say that the legislation would be commenced on 1 June. That is two months from today, yet we still do not have a…

I start by acknowledging that we live in very turbulent and troubling times. The Russian invasion of Ukraine, Israel's destruction of Gaza and Trump's threats of a trade war are examples of this. As a result, foreign policy debates like this are increasingly important. We need these discussions and debates on Ireland's role in the world, what it means to be neutral today and how we prepare for a less certain tomorrow. It is also important to acknowledge from the off that these are complicated and complex policy are…

From today, the crisis in our health service will deepen. This morning, 6,500 psychiatric nurses began industrial action in a dispute over unsustainable staffing levels. On Monday, a further 80,000 healthcare workers are planning to start a strict work to rule. At the core of this dispute is the pay and numbers strategy, a strategy which none of us has seen. This so-called strategy is just a recruitment embargo by another name. It has led to the introduction of severe recruitment caps, the abolition of thousands of…

I am deeply concerned about the rise of homophobia both at home and abroad. The decision of the Hungarian Government to ban Pride events is the latest example of the full-frontal attack on LGBT human rights and fundamental freedoms. Banning Pride is a violation of the right to self-expression, peaceful assembly and freedom from discrimination. It is also stands in sharp contrast to our European values of human dignity, democracy and equality. Will the Government raise this issue at this weekend’s European Council m…

There is currently no active sexual health strategy for Ireland. The previous strategy was launched a decade ago by Leo Varadkar when he was Minister for Health. We have long been promised a new strategy but it has not been delivered. For the third year we are lacking a comprehensive strategy or vision for sexual health. The sexual health services are thin on the ground and starved of resources. Will the Minister of State commit to prioritising sexual health? When will this long overdue strategy be published?

It is welcome to hear that this strategy is to be launched but this is not the first time it has been promised. As the Minister of State knows, there was a review in 2023. The Minister of State, Deputy Naughton, promised a strategy in 2024 and the then the Minister of State, Deputy Colm Burke, followed up by promising a strategy in Q1 of 2025. I welcome that progress has been made but it is urgently needed. As the Minister of State said, sexual health infections have increased by 31% and the incidence of gonorrhoea…

In her opening response the Minister of State mentioned PrEP, which could be a game-changer for HIV. The same is true for PEP and rapid testing. It can take 18 months for someone to be seen in a PrEP clinic in this country. In Dublin, over 1,000 people are waiting for an appointment at one of the PrEP clinics. It took a year and a half to replace the nurse specialist in the South Infirmary in Cork. At the same time, the UK has same-day walk-in clinics and screenings. We can talk about increased funding but the serv…

At the outset, we need to acknowledge that we still live in a very unequal society. There is lots to be done to deliver true equality for women in Ireland. From Cabinet to boards, women are still underrepresented in positions of power. This needs to change. In particular, we need to address the inequality faced by women from minority and disadvantaged communities such as Traveller, disabled, migrant, black, lesbian, trans and older women and those from other disadvantaged backgrounds. I wish to mention health-relat…

It has come to light, thanks to The Ditch , that an audit has taken place into the hip surgeries on children in three hospitals. This follows serious concerns from a whistleblower that needless surgeries were taking place. The report, published by The Ditch , shows that, in the leaked report, in Cappagh, 79% of the surgeries did not meet the required threshold, in Temple Street, it was 60%, and in Crumlin, it was 2%. Will the Taoiseach publish this report? Will he confirm the contents of the report? Will the Taoise…

I too congratulate the Ministers on their appointments. I welcome this debate on the Housing Commission report. I read through the recommendations in the report and I welcome some of them. The overview at the start of the report, in particular, jumped out at me where the Commission states: Arising from its wide-ranging enquiry, the Housing Commission has identified over several decades, there has been a range of interventions to do with housing. However, these interventions have not resolved the failures that are f…

I congratulate the Minister and Minister of State on their new roles. I will begin by flagging a general concern I have. This is the second week in a row we have had general statements on healthcare. Last week we spent two and a half hours on statements on mental health. As a new TD I found it a very frustrating experience. Not a single question posed during the session was addressed in the closing statement by the Minister of State. I asked whether the new Government would commit to providing 10% of the overall he…

It is concerning that children are currently excluded from the draft regulations of home care support services. This is despite the fact that more than 650 children with complex needs are receiving these services. In the case of baby Luke, as highlighted in a report from the Ombudsman for Children today, multiple serious issues with home care services were documented. These include routine cover being cancelled at short notice and an overnight nurse falling asleep. These children deserve a right to be cared for at …

I find it really hard to listen to the Government's rhetoric on housing. The Minister comes in here and talks about the progress the Government has made but homelessness has hit an all-time high. How is that in any sense progress? Rents and house prices are soaring, and schemes such as the help-to-buy scheme are just driving up house prices. The Government is failing people in this country every single day, yet its members come into the Dáil and state they are doing more than ever before. It is clearly not working.…

Branding the houses as affordable increases the level of hopelessness among young people. They feel the houses are just more out of reach for them. I believe we should rename the Act the Unaffordable Housing Act because unaffordable housing is genuinely what it is delivering. We need a radical reset of housing policy. The answers to this crisis are not found in the failed policies of the past. We need the State to be more involved in the direct delivery of affordable homes, and we need the Government to start liste…

We learned today that the potential cost of the national children's hospital has soared by €100 million in just a matter of months. It now stands at nearly €2.5 billion, although no one believes this will be the final cost. It is outrageous that after all this time, nobody in this House knows for sure how much this project will ultimately cost or when it will start treating patients. There is a completion date for June. We have missed many completion dates already. How confident is the Government that this hospital…