Micheál Martin

-----fertility hubs and specialist menopause services. All that helps to gain greater access for patients.

We can see from the Deputy's demeanour that he is doing very well.

I again thank the Deputy for raising this issue. The biggest movement in the past couple of years has been the GP access card, the GP visit card, more than the medical card. I acknowledge that point. We have, however, reduced the drug threshold payment as well. We are also building up the public health system as per Sláintecare and Government decisions-----

-----which I think are, in many respects, extremely important in terms of the diagnostic hubs and the community-based model that has been evolving over the past number of years. It actually gives people very ready access to diagnostics and treatments in terms of not having to access the acute hospital system all the time. On growing college and training places, which the Deputy referenced earlier…

We have had a particularly significant investment in more GP places in our colleges and clinical placements thereafter.

I thank Deputy Lowry for raising a fundamental issue insofar as it affects the livelihoods of our citizens across the country, workers, those on pensions and so on. We rarely get opportunities to discuss the wider economy in this House. I was struck that earlier this week we had a significant investment by Intel of up to €5 billion in its site in Leixlip, and there was not a whisper in this House …

I appreciate the point. This is a pro-enterprise Government. That matters. I believe in nurturing and supporting companies and people who start their own businesses. Those people take great risks. In many instances, for the first ten years of a new company, they have to work 24-7. An issue we discuss with Enterprise Ireland is how to enable those companies to have capital to scale up. Part of our …

We put a comprehensive plan together in terms of the broader area of special education. We also issued a circular and so on. That was an agreement with the trade union Fórsa at the time. The matter went to ballot, and the result was not positive. Government always stands ready to engage with the trade union representatives in respect of the broader picture. The investment in SNAs has been huge. It…

We can, but I am not clear about the direction in which the Deputy is heading on that. Is she saying that we should shut them down or put them out of use-----

------with all the implications that-----

------would have for users of technology? The hosepipe ban is important but trying to juxtapose, having the big baddie over here and saying we should not have a hosepipe ban because------

I just do not think that is a valid juxtaposition.

I thank the Deputy for raising this matter, which I dealt with extensively earlier in reply to Deputy Cullinane. The Minister is doing everything she can to expedite the convening of the rare disease technology group, to which the matter has been referred. This is very serious and urgent for all concerned. Some countries do reimburse it and others do not. The health technology assessment relating …

I take the Deputy's point. The Minister for Health has sought a comprehensive report from Children's Health Ireland on one of the issues that concerns me, namely injuries to children arising as a result of e-scooter accidents. I refer, in particular, to head injuries, brain damage and so on. We have to assess that report when we get it as a factor in how we deal with this issue. The Minister of St…

I thank the Deputy for raising the situation and how it personally impacts on Emma O'Shea from west Cork. Well over 200 families are impacted by this rare condition. It is particularly high in Ireland in comparison with other locations. I accept fully the impact and trauma on Emma's and other families. The Minister is doing everything possible to progress the issue and get the group established. …

-----as per the exiting process that is laid down in legislation. However, I take the Deputy's overall point.

I thank the Deputy very much for raising the issue. He said that there had been engagement but the responses had not been effective or impactful. I will take the matter up with Uisce Éireann. It has established a unit on the effectiveness of communications with public representatives. I have brought this to the attention of Uisce Éireann, as has the Minister, and it has undertaken a review of enga…

First of all, the school transport scheme is a very extensive scheme. About 180,000 students are now carried on the school bus transport system. Costs have been increasing on a yearly basis, as has investment in the programme. There are limits to what we can do. We cannot do everything in one year. However, we continue to work on it. The Minister of State with responsibility for special education…

The Deputy's endorsement of the competence of the Minister of State, Deputy Dooley, is duly noted. I hope it will not come back to haunt him some day in subsequent events. The Minister of State, Deputy Dooley, is an effective Minister of State with responsibility for the marine and has a great rapport with the industry. I appreciate the Deputy saying that. Deputy Heydon, of course, is the senior …

Is it that the Deputy wants the State to subsidise general summer camps?

We are providing enormous funding for the summer education programme and so on. There have to be limits to Government expenditure. Local authorities have been supporting summer camps on a local basis. I think that, in Cork city, it has been going on for 40-odd years that we have allocated funding to local summer camps organised by community associations and so on. There are limits to what the Stat…

I thank Deputy McGrath. I acknowledge and accept that there are very serious issues across south Tipperary in respect of water outages and boil water notices. I will raise the issue with Uisce Éireann. We have allocated very substantial equity and investment to Uisce Éireann, particularly in the context of the national development plan. I will get an update for the Deputy.

First of all, the Government wants to secure a pay deal with the public sector workers and their representatives. That has been very clear in recent meetings and engagements. In my view, we reached an agreement, which has now expired. What normally happens is that engagement takes place, there are informal soundings and so on, and formal talks then begin. My sense is that there was never an expect…

May I first of all say that these are reforms that the Minister for justice has brought in? He sought Government approval for these reforms. I do not know what the Deputy's position is on the reforms per se but it is without question that the system needed reform. I hope the Deputy accepts that. Perhaps he could articulate that at some stage.

There has been engagement.