The increase was only €2 per week.

The increase was only €2 per week. Does the Taoiseach think that is adequate?

I have a serious concern about the high turnover of staff in the Department of Health in the past two years. In 2021, the number of staff leaving jumped considerably and it jumped again in 2022. I am concerned about the instability this will cause and is causing in the health service. What is the Minister doing about it and what exactly is going on in the Department of Health?

By any standard the level of turnover is exceptional. For example, overall last year, 155 staff left, which represents about 24%. Almost one quarter of all staff in the Department of Health left last year. That must create instability and there must be some underlying reason for it. It is exceptional and completely out of line with previous years. Let us consider who those people were. Two assistant secretaries, two deputy secretaries, 17 principal officers and 49 assistant principal officers left. They were all se…

I am asking about the turnover.

It is not helpful for the Minister to deny the situation exists. These are exceptional figures. Almost a quarter of staff in the Department of Health left last year, including a large number of senior people. They have walked out of the Department of Health. These are not retirements. These people chose to leave the Department of Health. Why did that happen and, more important, what is the Minister doing about it? He must recognise there is an issue. It does not seem to be a particularly healthy place to work. Larg…

The Minister should speak about the numbers.

The Minister should speak about the numbers. They do not lie.

No, the Minister has not.

I wish to share time with Deputy Whitmore.

There is no disputing that we are in the midst of an unprecedented energy crisis. It is the key driver of the soaring cost of living that continues to affect every household in Ireland. However, we know that its impact is not indiscriminate. Low- and middle-income households are disproportionately affected by the soaring cost of living, as they spend a higher proportion of their budget on energy, food, and housing. This is borne out in the latest figures, which show that 40% of households are now estimated to be li…

Two months have been lost on this and, hopefully, it was worth that delay. I want to welcome the fact that agreement was reached with the 221+ group last week around clarification on the notifications that would be provided to people to make them aware of the option of the Part 5 review. While that was provided for in the original legislation, it is good that there is additional clarity being brought to that about the points along the way when that information is to be provided to people who availed of the screenin…

The Minister in passing referred to the new lab at the Coombe Hospital. By all accounts, it is a very fine facility. The big issue with it was that there were no staff. Certainly up to recently there were not adequate staff to deal with CervicalCheck smears. I asked a parliamentary question on this in December. The response indicated only private work was being done there. We were told the CervicalCheck programme smears would be processed at this lab very shortly. Will the Minister update the House on where we are …

It is a planning issue.

I share that concern. It is not exactly clear. It may be in the small print but I cannot see where that power has been given to HIQA. In a general sense, I welcome the Minister's amendments relating to extending the powers of HIQA in certain respects. Of course, those powers will only be useful if the consequent resources are provided. What are the proposals to increase the resources of HIQA to enable it to carry out these additional duties? I will make a point in respect of a matter that arose during this morning'…

I move amendment No. 1 to amendment No. 19: In the first line of section 41(2), to delete "may" and substitute "shall".

I move amendment No. 2 to amendment No. 19: In the first line of section 51(1), to delete "may" and substitute "shall".

I move amendment No. 20: In page 49, between lines 5 and 6, to insert the following: “Amendment of section 48 of Act of 2004 40. Section 48 of the Act of 2004 is amended by the deletion of paragraph (b).”. This amendment arises out of the report by Dr. Scally. He was commissioned to carry out a number of reports on CervicalCheck. It does not make sense that the Minister is not taking on board Dr. Scally's recommendations and providing for them in law under the Bill. Amendment No. 20 relates to the need to amendment…

I do not accept what the Minister is saying. This is yet another long-fingering of a critical aspect of healthcare, namely, the duty of candour. We have talked about this for many years. It is absolutely central to so many of the cases we see resolved in the High Court, the Supreme Court or on the steps of the courts. Earlier, I referred to the two cases yesterday. We cannot continue to dodge this issue. In fairness, the Minister had plenty of notice of this. Dr. Scally has been absolutely clear about the importanc…

It does not stop a person being able to make a complaint to a professional body.