The Mater hospital is a good example of how this can be done. The Deputy is absolutely correct that it is a congested site but we opened the Rock wing there recently. It is a state-of-the-art facility. Some rapid-build technology was used and the process was very efficient. Those responsible probably got the wing built several years quicker than a similar project might have been built in the past. They deserve great credit for it. At the right-hand side of the Rock wing, a very big build is intended for the regiona…

I thank the Deputy for the question and her support of the national maternity strategy. It is making a big difference. As she will be aware, I have set the progression of women’s healthcare services as a top priority of the Government. We have seen unprecedented investment in women’s healthcare and know this funding is making a big difference in gynaecology, endometriosis, screening and menopause services. We have invested in women’s mental health services, including perinatal mental health teams, as part of the na…

The allocation of resources for next year is not at the same level that it was at for this year or 2022. The focus is on building capacity across the system. For example, I know the Deputy and her party are signed up to the safe nurse staffing framework. That is fully funded to roll out to every ward in every hospital around the country. It is to finish rolling out; a lot of work has been done. Additional capacity is opening up with acute beds, community beds, surgical hubs and other areas. Essentially in many of t…

I fully agree, which is why we put such a focus in women's health services on the gynaecological waiting lists and rolling out this new national network of the see-and-treat gynaecology clinics. The clinics that are fully up and running are having it really important effect on the long waiting lists, as the Deputy mentioned, in hospitals such as the Rotunda, Letterkenny and many others around the country. I can confirm that the budget contains new development funding gynaecological services through the waiting list…

The RCSI Hospital Group contains model 2, model 3 and model 4 hospitals with one specialist hospital, the Rotunda Maternity Hospital. The hospitals in the main serve populations in five counties – Dublin, Meath, Louth, Cavan and Monaghan. The budget for the hospitals in the group increased by 11% between 2019 and last year. There has also been very significant capital support. At Beaumont, the €6 million breast care centre opened in last year, and this will benefit approximately 10,000 women every year. Phase 2 of …

I agree that in recent years the hospital in Dundalk has done well in dealing with discharged patients. The hospital team outlined to me that, exactly as the Deputy said, it has good relations and good connections in place. It is a clinically appropriate setting for patients to be discharged to. Broadly, we know we need to increase community beds. The Minister of State, Deputy Butler, has taken the lead on a massive increase in the number of home care packages and home care hours, with well in excess of 3.6 million…

If the Deputy wants to send me a note on that, I will get back to him with detailed points on it. We are very much aware of the long waiting lists for orthodontics. It is one of the areas that is funded in the waiting list action plan. Good progress has been made, as he said, for the children most in need of the most urgent care. I would like to see the waiting list action plan expanded next year. Waiting list initiatives have funding next year of in excess of €400 million. If the Deputy wants to send me a note spe…

I thank the Deputy for his question and join him in acknowledging the work that Tipperary University Hospital does. The hospital has gone from strength to strength in serving the needs of the population. There has been, as he will be aware, a very big increase in the amount going into the hospital from the Government, and rightly so. In fact, the budget has gone up nearly 30% since 2019. That has helped the hospital to hire an additional 270 healthcare professionals, who are making a big difference in the care bein…

Any projects working their way through the process will be assessed on a project-by-project basis, as they always have been. When we look at Tipperary, Clonmel, the hospital there and the county as a whole, what we see in terms of health services is a story of more and better services being provided. We have gone through the very big increase in funding, staff and services for Tipperary hospital. We have talked about the extra beds and the big difference they will make. As the Deputy will be aware, at the same time…

I certainly will look into it. The Deputy can give the details to me or the Minister of State, Deputy Butler, and we will certainly take a look. The Minister of State and I are very much aware that while there are millions more home care hours being delivered and they are providing an awful lot of support to individuals and families right across the country,l a little more than 3,000 people have been approved for funding and are waiting. The Minister of State led a really important new contract that has been taken …

I think we could do with a live fact checker for Deputy Doherty's contributions to the Dáil. He said I refused to come in here; the Minister of State, Deputy Butler came in.

He said I refused to meet the GPs.

In fact, I wrote back to the GPs immediately and on the basis of their concerns and the urgency they raised, I said that on a Dáil sitting day I could meet them here or we would do a video conference call. They declined that offer. The offer stands. My understanding is that the issues raised are serious. What we have done is we have immediately sent an expert team into Letterkenny hospital because we need to have an evidence-based conversation. The Deputy will be aware and the people of Donegal will be aware that t…

I move amendment No.1: In page 7, to delete line 13 and substitute the following: “the carrying out of post-mortem examinations in hospitals and other non-hospital settings and the regulation of such activity;”. We are making amendments to some of the terminology in the definitions in the Bill. This is to ensure consistency of terminology and definitions across the legislation and to assist with interpretation. Most of these amendments relate to Part 2, which deals with post mortems, providing consistency of termin…

I move amendment No. 2: In page 12, to delete lines 31 to 33 and substitute the following: “(iii) the seeking and obtaining of post-mortem consent in relation to any proposed post-mortem activity in respect of a relevant person in accordance with Part 3 .”.

I move amendment No. 3: In page 13, to delete lines 3 to 5 and substitute the following: “(iii) seeking and obtaining of post-mortem consent in relation to any proposed post-mortem activity in respect of a relevant person in accordance with Part 3 ,”.

I move amendment No. 4: In page 15, line 35, to delete “2005),” and substitute “2005), or”. These are technical amendments to correct a number of errors in the text. They have no material impact on the provisions of the Bill.

Yes.

I move amendment No. 6: In page 24, between lines 23 and 24, to insert the following: “Review of operation of Relevant Organ Donation Opt-Out Register 17. (1) The Minister shall, not later than 3 years after the commencement of this section, carry out a review of the operation of the Relevant Organ Donation Opt-Out Register. (2) In carrying out a review under subsection (1) , the Minister may consult with such and so many persons and he or she considers appropriate.”. We are inserting a new section 17 which will pr…

I thank the Deputy. I do not think anyone knows what is the right thing to do here. I know the committee discussed it at length and we discussed it on Committee Stage. I had a very useful discussion on this recently with the Irish Kidney Association as well. As we are all aware, it would like to see an opt-in as well as an opt-out register. What I am proposing to do is to stick with the opt-out register, the reason being that we want real clarity here. We will have very significant public communications on this as …