I am reminded of a session I was at a few years ago in the audiovisual room where this was brought up. Parents of children gave testimony. They had been through awful things. One mother said she had been asked whether her child still had autism. We all understand that is not an appropriate question. It is quite a ridiculous question to ask. My understanding is that some of this arises when a child transitions to adult schemes. When the child turns 16, there is another process regarding adult payments and supports. …

I propose to take Questions Nos. 88 and 92 together. I thank Deputy Kenny for raising the issue. Like the Deputy, I respect and acknowledge the huge work the medical scientists have done and continue to do. Following the strike action on 18 May and 24 May, health management and the MLSA attended an exploratory engagement at the Labour Court on 25 May for the court to establish whether or how it might assist the parties in finding a resolution to the matters in dispute. Following engagement at the Labour Court, the …

There were various parts to this. An assessment was done in regard to the grade and the following year that was changed as part of benchmarking which led to one of the anomalies. Another anomaly relates to medical laboratory aids. The medical laboratory aids were uplifted from band 2 to band 1 under a job evaluation scheme. This led to an anomaly whereby they were paid more than medical scientists in year 1, even though they are on a different level. In year 2 the anomaly rectifies itself. The medical scientists ea…

There is a pressing need to hire a substantial number of additional medical scientists. The workforce stands at a little over 2,100 whole-time equivalents. However, the HSE has done an analysis of the numbers that need to be hired and projected a requirement to recruit nearly 400 this year because many replacement posts need to be filled. The HSE is estimating a need to hire 400 this year and 160 every year after that. The chief clinical officer, Dr. Henry, is leading a piece of work looking at the future direction…

I assure the Deputy that no plans have been presented to me and there has been no discussion with me about any considerations to downgrade any of the services currently in operation at the Midland Regional Hospital Portlaoise, including the emergency department. Since 2014, the focus has been on supporting the hospital to develop and enhance management capability, implement change required to address clinical service issues and incorporate the hospital into the governance structures of the Dublin Midlands Hospital …

I give the Deputy the assurance in regard to Portlaoise that nothing has been brought to me and there has been no conversation with me in the past two years about anything in Portlaoise hospital other than ongoing investment. I am fully committed to investing in the services for the people in the area, investing in staff and investing in infrastructure. As we said, more than €20 million in capital spend has gone in over the past two to three years. I acknowledge the Deputy’s advocacy. I have had many conversations …

On top of what I have already said, we can point to additional investment in the emergency department. For example, the nursing complement in the emergency department in Portlaoise, from post-pandemic to now, has increased from 28.5 whole-time equivalents to 36.5 whole-time equivalents, so not only is the service not being downgraded and not only have I had no conversations about that, in fact, if we look at the hard figures, what we see is that money is going in and services, including in the emergency department,…

I fully accept that. There is an emergency department plan being put in place for every hospital. There are pressures all over the country. The influx that has been caused by Covid is immense. As we were discussing earlier, May of this year is the highest year on record for attendances to emergency departments, and I emphasise that is in May. We are planning for the winter now.

I move amendment No. 1: “In page 3, line 12, after “Act” to insert “(other than section 5)”.” Amendment No. 1 is a consequential amendment required as a result of the amendment inserting the contraception provisions. Amendment No. 2 is a drafting clarification in relation to how the Health Act 1970 is referenced within the Bill. Amendment No. 3 provides that the new section, section 53C(9)(bb) of the Health Act 1970, which gives effect to the exemption from charges for acute inpatient services for children under 16…

I thank colleagues for their contributions. I believe we are in agreement that this is a landmark policy change and that it is broadly supported, notwithstanding the concerns that have been raised today. I visited the Irish Family Planning Association team in Parnell Street recently. That was set up decades ago specifically in response to women's healthcare needs because of the ban on contraception. The team members were very enthusiastic about the fact that this is happening now and has political support. I will c…

That is not who we get legal advice from.

I thank the Deputy. I see no issue in coming back to the committee before the end of October. The officials are working on how we move below the age of 17. I agree with the Deputy's point on the anomaly. I am putting forward similar arguments. That is my view on it. The reason we have chosen the 17 to 25 age group has nothing to do with any legalities. The reason we have started with the 17 to 25 age group is that we received expert advice to that effect. It is based on an expert recommendation to have the biggest …

I move amendment No. 2: In page 3, between lines 17 and 18, to insert the following: “ Definition 2. In this Act, “Act of 1970” means the Health Act 1970.”.

I move amendment No. 3: In page 3, between lines 19 and 20, to insert the following: “ Amendment of section 47A of Act of 1970 3. Section 47A of the Act of 1970 is amended by the insertion of “53C(9)(bb)” after “45A, 46,”.”.

I move amendment No. 4: In page 3, line 21, to delete “Health Act 1970” and substitute “Act of 1970”.

I move amendment No. 5: In page 4, after line 6, to insert the following: “PART 3 PROVISION OF CONTRACEPTION SERVICES FOR CERTAIN WOMEN Amendment of section 47A of Act of 1970 3. Section 47A of the Act of 1970 is amended by the substitution of “58B, 58D, 62A or 67E” for “58B, 58D or 62A”.”.

I move amendment No. 6: In page 4, after line 6, to insert the following: “ Contraception services for certain women 4. The Act of 1970 is amended by the insertion of the following section after section 67D: “ 67E. (1) The Health Service Executive shall make available without charge contraception services for women who are ordinarily resident in the State— (a) who have attained the age of 17 years but not yet attained the age of 26 years, or (b) who are within such class or classes of ages as may be prescribed by t…

I move amendment No. 7: In page 4, after line 6, to insert the following: “ Amendment of Health (Pricing and Supply of Medical Goods) Act 2013 5. The Health (Pricing and Supply of Medical Goods) Act 2013 is amended— (a) in section 20— (i) in subsection (1), by the substitution of “section 59, 62A or 67E” for “section 59 or 62A”, (ii) in subsection (2), by the substitution of “section 59, 62A or 67E” for “section 59 or 62A”, and (iii) in subsection (3), by the substitution of “section 59, 62A or 67E” for “section 59…

I am not in a position to accept the amendments within the Bill. However, I am very happy to discuss the matter with the Deputy and with members of the Joint Oireachtas Committee on Health before the budget, if that works. Amendment No. 8 relates specifically to inpatient charges for cancer patients. We looked at the issue in respect of the provision of medical cards. Some asked whether cancer patients should be provided with medical cards. A good piece of work was done on the issue, which I am sure the Deputy is f…

I move: "That the Bill be now read a Second Time." I am pleased to introduce the Health (Miscellaneous Provisions) (No. 2) Bill 2022 to the Dáil. First, I acknowledge that the Title has changed in recent days. This is reflective of the core purpose of the Bill being expanded from solely abolishing inpatient charges for children. Subject to my bringing a Committee Stage amendment next week, it will also encompass provisions relating to the introduction of a free contraception scheme, which will have a very real impa…