-----which should give the Tánaiste a sense of the scale of the crisis there. For the first time, newly qualified paramedics are not being offered permanent contracts. Instead, this cohort of graduates are only being offered short contract extensions and the opportunity to reapply and compete for their own jobs. Up until now, paramedics who successfully completed the training programme transitioned directly into permanent contracts. In December, this cohort of graduates was given the same assurance that permanent c…

I welcome the updates on the inquiries and the opportunity to discuss scoliosis and spina bifida. Yesterday, I spoke to parents and advocates and they had three key asks. The first was the independent statutory inquiry, the second was the publication of all existing reports and background information and the third was action now on existing waiting lists for children who are still on waiting lists. What really struck me from that conversation was that I had a conversation with them just after the election and the t…

I want to voice my objection to the process here. It is poor form. We had it repeated last week, and again this week, in terms of the Government taking Committee Stage of legislation in the Dáil as opposed to at committee. As Chair of the health committee, I received a letter essentially telling me that my committee was too busy to even consider this issue, without any real engagement with the committee about our schedule or willingness to take this at committee. We would have been willing to take this at committee…

I move amendment No. 1: In page 6, to delete lines 5 to 8 and substitute the following: " "single-use vape" means a vape that is not designed or intended to be re-used and includes any vape that is neither refillable nor rechargeable.". The purpose of this amendment is to ensure that the definition of "single-use vape" is watertight and that fake disposables do not make it through. I continue to have a concern, which I raised on Second Stage, about the use of "or" in the definition of "single-use vape" and the poss…

If the Minister of State is telling me the definition is the same as the one in the UK, then I am even more concerned. Reports from the UK indicate they are getting around the definition there. We have been hearing this from the vaping lobbying, Responsible Vaping Ireland. It is saying that in the UK, where a ban on single-use vapes has already been introduced, there are reports that some unscrupulous suppliers are modifying cheap, disposable devices by adding non-operable charging ports or including token, removab…

I will be pressing the amendment.

I ask the Minister of State and her officials to look at this again. I understand the Bill has not been in the Seanad yet. Perhaps she will look at what has happened in the UK in advance of the Bill going to the Seanad.

We might discuss it with our Seanad colleagues before then. I ask the Minister of State to look at what has happened in the UK and ensure the definition is watertight because we want to ban single-use vapes. I am happy to withdraw the amendment.

Deputy Ward makes a very good point about legislation more generally. A citizen should be able to pick up a Bill, read it, understand it and see what is an offence and what is not an offence. It is a basic tenet of the rule of law that people should be to understand the laws they are expected to abide by. Even if it is the case that we have to go belt and braces, put these definitions in and spell things out in each section, we should do it. We should be able to pick up a Bill, read it and understand each section. …

Amendments that I or other Opposition Deputies have table have not been accepted.

Okay, but every single amendment tabled in respect of this Bill has been refused. In the context of previous legislation, all the amendment that I and others have tabled have been rejected out of hand. We need to work together on this to ensure that we get the best legislation possible. We all support the Bill, and we are trying to get the best legislation possible. If there was greater willingness to engage on amendments in a more constructive way, it would ensure that we would have better legislation. Historicall…

I welcome the announcement of the second vaping Bill, in particular the piece around prohibiting the sale of nicotine-consumption products such as pouches to under-18s and the piece around advertising. It is targeted at children. The bubblegum flavours and advertising target children in an aggressive way. I support limiting the flavours as well. As I said earlier, I was talking to some teenagers and they spoke of the use of vapes among fourth, fifth and sixth class students in primary schools. In a secondary school…

I move: That Dáil Éireann: recognises that: — access to timely General Practitioner (GP) care is a fundamental pillar of a safe, effective and equitable health service; — GPs play a vital role in our health service, managing the majority of people's medical care needs, and acting as the first point of medical contact for most patients; — GPs provide a core leadership role in delivering care outside of the hospital setting, and are central to the provision of Sláintecare's new model of integrated, multidisciplinary …

I thank Deputies from across the House for their support for the motion. GP services need more than a quick fix; they need an overhaul. This morning's debate makes that clear. I also thank those we engaged with on this motion: Deep End Ireland, the IMO, the Irish General Practice Nurses Educational Association and Doctors for Universal Healthcare, all of whom we met to discuss these proposals. I also thank the Rural, Island and Dispensing Doctors and the Irish College of GPs, whose research has informed the plan we…

Successive Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael Governments have been talking about reforming GP services for years but have failed to deliver. The Government's strategic review of GP services, first promised in 2019, still has not been completed. During that time GP fees have risen to as high as €90 in some areas, and that is just to get in the door. Price, however, is not the only barrier. An increasing number of GP practices are oversubscribed and understaffed. We know there are no quick fixes. That is why the Social Democ…

To under-eights.

Last night's "RTÉ Investigates" made for harrowing viewing. We saw people with severe and enduring mental health difficulties being subjected to degrading treatment and even dying in custody. Such was the tragic case of Ivan Rosney. These vulnerable people require care and compassion, not cold prison cells. Last October, I visited Cork Prison. As a result of what I saw, I started asking questions. At the end of January, figures provided to me showed that 38 people are being held in prison waiting to be transferred …

Fifty beds.

This weekend the Social Democrats will hold our party conference in Cork, which is a city starved of Government investment. The people of Cork have been long promised light rail but not a single penny has been provided under the new transport plan. However, that is not the only broken promise. We have no BusConnects; no new dental school; no business school; no safe injection facility; no new homeless hub; and no new library. The most notorious example is the failure to build the Cork events centre. Ten years ago, …

It was not used.