I am afraid this will be a very short interaction on my side; I apologise. I looked into this in detail and asked the HSE to come back with more but at the moment all I can tell the Deputy is that there is a proposal, as of course she will be aware, for an externally contracted satellite haemodialysis unit for Ennis. It is under review and that is really all I have. I am sorry; I am not trying to avoid the question at all. The answer at this point is short. It is under review, it is being looked at. There is no new…

I can certainly look into the timing of when this was initially flagged locally. All I can tell the Deputy is that it was not part of the considerations for new development funding for this year. However, it is a good idea. It would make a big difference for west Clare as well as north Clare, as she quite rightly said. I have witnessed the impact of home dialysis. We all know people, as the Deputy said, who are going for dialysis three times a week and it is a significant burden on them. If we can provide more loca…

I am not aware of the HSE board approval requirement. It is a clinical service and the HSE board agrees the national service plan. Any capital investment above €10,000 has to go to the board, but that is not what this is, so I am not sure what approval is being referred to. I join the Deputy's acknowledgement of the Irish Kidney Association and many other organisations such as the Irish Heart Foundation. We had a lovely milestone yesterday. The President signed the Human Tissue (Transplantation, Post-Mortem, Anatom…

I thank the Deputy for the question. Our overall ambition in government is to use technology to the fullest extent possible to keep everybody well and provide them with support in their homes where they need healthcare support. Our ambition is also to utilise it fully in community and hospital care. Several really good programmes are in place, the chronic disease management, CDM, programme being one of the best examples. Technology is playing a role in supporting people with chronic diseases at home through the CDM…

The question was on general rural GPs but I had a sneaking suspicion we would end up talking about Swanlinbar. I acknowledge the engagement and advocacy of Deputy Smith, other Deputies and Senators on this. The matter has been much ventilated. As the Deputy will be aware, the GP who provided the service has retired. I believe it was in 2020. The HSE advertised to fill the position on five separate occasions but, unfortunately, it received no application in each case. It then initiated a new measure, under the GP ag…

I agree that the State needs to step in and I suggest it has done so in a significant way. We have increased the number of training places from 120 to 350 and we are supporting the ICGP in what it is doing. I am open to having directly employed GPs. In fact, in Swanlinbar, which has been referenced, there is a locum GP who is paid by the HSE to provide those services. In areas that are struggling to find GPs, I am open to having directly employed GPs. With the significant increase in the numbers of GPs we are now b…

I thank all colleagues for their contributions. It is a timely debate in the Seanad today. I want to acknowledge the support broadly across the Seanad. Obviously, there are those who disagree with the legislation, and I fully respect that, but there is broad support for it in the Seanad and the Dáil. The Bill has passed all Stages in the Dáil, and we are now here on Committee Stage in the Seanad. It is timely that we are having this debate today. I had the great pleasure of being able to bring a memorandum on women…

I do, please, Acting Chairperson. It did not take very long for the veil to drop and to dispense with any concept of mutual respect, did it? I find it extraordinary that Senator Mullen stood up and suggested that we need to be able to debate in here without insulting people. He has insulted every woman in Ireland.

He has insulted every GP, he has insulted every nurse, he has insulted everyone who works in the healthcare services. I do not mind him insulting the Government; that is fine, it is part of what we do in here. To suggest, however, that we should debate without insulting people and then stand up-----

-----and insult every woman in this country, as he has, it really does take some neck. I will address two of the points he raised. Can someone commit an offence inadvertently? No. It is very clear in the Bill that is the point of the Garda warning. Now, of course, we come to your claim that none of this is happening, women are not being intimidated. This country has a dark history when it comes to women's healthcare. It has a dark, disgraceful history when it comes to women's reproductive health and the decades of …

-----an Ireland where anyone would turn to women and say, "We do not believe you; you must be lying." It is a disgrace. Those kinds of accusations have no place in today's Ireland. We have a dark history in this country, and we need to be cognisant of that when we talk about safe access to healthcare for women because, by God, we did not have it for a very long time throughout our history. Now, let us talk about your insistence on being right up in women's faces in the universities when they want to access health s…

They are confused, are they?

The doctors are confused, are they?

Are the GPs confused?

Really? Doctors are not-----

Thank you, Acting Chair.

I will not be accepting these amendments. The core policy tenet is that we would not be highlighting specific service sites where termination of pregnancy services are provided. I would allow them to continue in relative anonymity. To accept this amendment would undermine that principle and therefore I am rejecting it.

I move: "That the Bill be now read a Second Time."

Except for us, a Cheann Comhairle. I am very pleased to introduce the Health (Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill 2024 to the Dáil. The legislation has three main aims. First, it will provide for an exemption of rent-a-room income of up to €14,000 per annum to be disregarded from the medical card and the GP visit card income assessment process. Second, it amends current legislation to clarify regulatory powers concerning the supply and administration of medicinal products. Third, it will provide for the establishment of…

The Deputy has strayed nowhere near the Bill, which I am not complaining about. He has raised an issue that is causing a lot of concern. I know we are about to adjourn the debate, but if it were possible to stretch the order to respond to that point, it would be very helpful because there is a lot of worry around the country based on incorrect information.