The Deputy should read the next paragraph.

I thank all Deputies for their contributions. It has been a very useful debate. I have taken several notes and the officials and I will work to go through some of the thinking and some of the suggestions, particularly in the context of the upcoming budget. The programme for Government sets out the pathway for expanded access to healthcare. This is all with the singular purpose of achieving universal healthcare in our country. The measures being introduced in this legislation are intended to support access to care f…

I fully agree with the Deputy. This issue has been raised with me previously and we are working with the Department of Health on it. We do not have exact dates but it is being looked at very closely for the reasons the Deputy has quite rightly raised. I will ask the Department to revert to him with a note on it shortly.

The question of the correct ages for all our screening programmes is one the HSE keeps under regular review. There have been similar, reasonable and well-intentioned calls on BreastCheck and CervicalCheck. The current ages across the various screening programmes are based on the current best clinical opinion of the HSE. The Deputy has raised an important question and I am more than happy to raise it again with the clinical teams in the HSE to ensure the age we have set provides the best possible outcomes. I am sure…

I would be more than happy to meet all of the Deputies in the constituency. The Minister of State, Deputy Feighan, and I met on this yesterday to see what could be done. We are aware that the mobile unit, which I am advised is not for interventional cardiology but for angiograms, is now gone. I was speaking with hospital management just yesterday on this exact issue and it has proposals in place for a cath lab, be it for diagnostics, intervention or both. Clinical views are required on that and we are waiting on th…

I thank the Deputy and acknowledge his ongoing representation on the issue. As he said, I have met the families involved. I have stated publicly at committee and am happy to restate that families whose loved ones passed away in nursing homes in some cases, including Dealgan House, have very legitimate questions and they must be given answers to those questions. We are trying to find a process whereby we can give them the answers they want without having to create a mechanism like a statutory tribunal or inquiry. In…

I thank the Deputy for raising the case. It sounds awful and truly heartbreaking. Will the Deputy revert to me directly with the details? I will talk to the Department and the HSE and anything that can be done will be done. It does not mean they will be able to provide everything the family needs and in an ideal world would have, but we will look at it immediately and whatever can be done, we will act.

I move amendment No. 1: To delete all words after "Dáil Éireann" and substitute the following: "notes that: — the Health Service Executive (HSE) and clinicians in Our Lady's Hospital, Navan have clinical concerns about the safety of the Emergency Department (ED) in the hospital; — the North East Doctor on Call service has expressed concern regarding reports that the acute Medical Assessment Unit will only be accessible by means of a general practitioner (GP) referral, as they believe this will create further pressu…

In spite of that, Deputy Brady played politics and populism. Clearly, the truth hurts. That is what he did.

He misled-----

Deputy Brady was told the position he was taking was putting people at risk but he stuck with it and he perpetuates those falsehoods years later. It is an insult to the brilliant men and women who are working in Loughlinstown hospital. If he was to bother taking any time to talk to them about what the best successes in healthcare have been recently for the people he and I represent, they would point to Loughlinstown hospital. Sinn Féin and other Opposition Deputies have a choice. They can play politics and ignore t…

The situation, as the Deputy knows, starts and ends with patient safety. The Deputy and I heard directly at that meeting from national clinical directors and the clinical director for Navan. What they said to us is that a small number of people from Meath attend that hospital per day, perhaps as low as five, and because it is a small hospital with a small emergency department, those patients are at risk in a significant way. We all accept that those clinicians are giving us that advice only in consideration of pati…

I agree with everything the Deputy has said. The Minister of State, Deputy Feighan, is taking the lead in this area. Additional investment is going in and some important things are happening, including for example, the opening of additional rehabilitation beds for men and women around the country. Deputy Kenny is absolutely right that this matter will be looked at by the Citizen's Assembly. My view is that it needs to be primarily treated as a health issue rather than a criminal issue. Obviously there is a criminal…

I acknowledge Deputy's Cronin's comments on the service. The midwifery-led service from the Coombe Hospital has been a huge success. I know it was valued greatly locally. We are in the middle of a very significant expansion of maternity services through the 2016 national maternity strategy. I will seek an update from the Department and the HSE about the ongoing provision of community-based care, which does form an essential part of the agreed new model of maternity care.

Decisions like this are made locally and they are based on a variety of factors. Some involve local outbreaks among healthcare workers or residents and some will factor in the prevalence of the virus at the time so different hospitals in different regions adjust accordingly. We have to try to get the balance right between infection prevention and control, and compassion, particularly when people are sick or near the end of life. If the Deputy has specific areas or nursing homes that his constituents are making him …

If the Deputy wants to talk to me about it further I will get him a note on it.

I will, of course, get the Deputy a detailed note on this matter. I can tell her that the national maternity strategy has been fully implemented last year and this year. The full €9 million required for new development was allocated in 2021 and this year. I have met the maternity team in University Hospital Galway. There are several things going on. The maternity strategy in Galway is being implemented and there is more midwifery-led care. I will get the Deputy a note on that.

It did not. However, I saw during my visit that one of the new ambulatory gynaecology clinics has been set up and, as the Deputy will be aware, a new regional fertility clinic has opened in Galway. The new perinatal mental health team is also in place. There has been a very significant expansion in women's health services, including maternity services, in Galway in the past two years. I will get the Deputy a note on the ward she referenced.

I agree the situation in University Hospital Limerick is not acceptable in terms of both the number of people waiting on trolleys and the patient experience times for those who may or may not be admitted. There is a very significant job of work going on. An expert team has gone in for four weeks, as the Deputy said, and it is expecting to finish its work towards the end of next week. I will then be engaging directly with the HSE on the matter. I have asked for very specific actions that can be taken to reduce the n…

I am very familiar with this issue. We need to get our language right here. There has been no delay and no one has been locked out of anything. It is a new use for the drug. It was approved by the EMA in January. An application came in for the first group of children some time ago. That was processed and approved very quickly by the HSE. The application in respect of the new group of children the Deputy mentioned only came into the HSE six weeks ago. It is going through exactly the same process. The HSE needs to lo…