Jennifer Murnane O'Connor

I welcome the opportunity to speak on the Child Care (Amendment) Bill before the House today. This is very important and timely legislation. I commend my colleague the Minister, Deputy Norma Foley, for her work in bringing it forward. Her commitment to strengthening the child welfare and protection system has ensured this Bill reflects the realities of modern practice and the needs of children and…

First of all, I want to thank all the Deputies for their contributions on this important motion this evening. These are vitally important services, and the Government has taken action to reform, reorganise and invest in the services for people facing into a mental health crisis. There is still much work to do to build supports up to where we know they need to be today. As my colleague, the Minist…

I thank the Deputy for raising this really important topic. I am taking this on behalf of the Minister. The Government acknowledges many patients are waiting too long for care, but we are committed to improving access to hospital care and reducing waiting times for patients, including through the multi-annual action plan approach. Building on the progress made to date, we will continue to focus o…

I thank the Deputy for raising this important issue. I assure him the Government is committed to providing access to the best care for the people of Ireland. We are clear that no matter where the facilities are located, everyone should have access to adequate and appropriate care based on their needs. Through the delivery of this programme, we are increasing capacity to meet short- and long-term n…

I thank the Deputy for raising this matter in the House this evening. The Minister for Health shares his concerns about the protection of older adults against influenza. For those in recommended groups, the influenza vaccine reduces the risk of serious illness and death from flu. Ensuring high vaccine coverage is a priority in order to reduce severe illness from influenza, RSV and Covid-19 over th…

Certainly, I will get those answers for the Deputy. I am pleased to note that in this flu season, the uptake rate for the vaccine among adults aged 60 and older was 66%, and for fair deal residents it was 83%, which is high. This is very positive and has been a factor in ensuring hospital and trolley numbers for flu this year are lower than previous years. It is important that we protect ourselves…

I thank the Minister. We have challenges and we are very aware of that. Building houses is a priority for this Government. The more houses we deliver the better. This is about the families, communities and people who need housing. In my area of Carlow, for example, through our local authority, we are looking at land that has been serviced. We need to look at serviced sites. That is really importan…

I move amendment No. 1: To delete all words after "That" and substitute the following: "Dáil Éireann resolves that the Sale of Nitrous Oxide and Related Products Bill 2025 be deemed to be read a second time this day nine months.". Following on from my colleague, the Minister, Deputy Jim O'Callaghan's earlier remarks, I too commend the Deputies on their Bill, which attempts to address the scourg…

I thank the Members of the House for their contributions to the debate today and I look forward to their support as this Bill is further considered on Committee Stage. The range of measures that we have developed to address the problems caused by vaping are the result of thorough consideration. This Bill has one purpose, which is to ban single-use vapes, but we are soon bringing in the legislatio…

On behalf of the Minister, Deputy Carroll MacNeill, I thank Deputy O'Hara for the opportunity to respond on the topic of a 24-hour NAS rapid response vehicle at Tuam ambulance base. I assure Deputies the Government remains absolutely committed to investing in increasing capacity in our National Ambulance Service. The NAS allocation for 2025 includes €8 million for new service developments to provi…

I was looking back through the Deputy's parliamentary questions and, in fairness, he is working with ambulance paramedics on the great work they do. I know the Deputy will be committed to doing this. This will be looked at in 2026. I thank the Deputy for highlighting it. It is important we recognise the work ambulance paramedics do around the country. They do great work. The Government remains com…

I move: "That the Bill be now read a Second Time." I am delighted to be here to introduce the Public Health (Single-Use Vapes) Bill to this House. This is a short Bill with a single purpose. That purpose is to ban the sale of disposable electronic cigarettes or vapes. Like all public representatives, I regularly hear from parents, teachers and coaches who are concerned about the impact that vapes…

I thank all the Deputies for their contributions today, particularly Deputy Toole for her knowledge. What she spoke of was very informative for me. I know some pharmacists in my own area of Carlow and I can only say their work and commitment to the people in the area is brilliant. First, I thank Deputies again. I know that the Minister, Deputy Carroll MacNeill, has outlined that the proposed chan…

I thank the Deputy for bringing this to the House and raising such an important matter. It gives me the opportunity to acknowledge the extraordinary role our healthcare workers played during the pandemic. They went far beyond the call of duty, working on the front line, treating Covid-positive patients and doing so in those early days when the protections we now take for granted were not yet in pl…

I will go back to the Minister, Deputy Carroll MacNeill, with the Deputy's concerns. It is so important that we acknowledge the extraordinary services of healthcare workers during the pandemic. They did a marvellous job and their work was incredible. They would have seen people dying during their work and, as the Deputy said, that probably has affected them. It is important that we work together o…

I thank the Deputy. The Minister thanks Deputy Cahill for raising this important issue and for offering her the opportunity to respond. Respite is a vital support for families and service users and potentially helps prevent out-of-home full-time residential placements, preserves the family unit and supports family stability. In regard to respite services within Kerry, the situation is as follows. …

I can see and hear the passion. The Deputy is right that respite is absolutely crucial for families, whether it is children or adults. I thank him for raising this and can assure him the Government is committed to the continued expansion and development of respite services as set out in the programme for Government and the new National Human Rights Strategy for Disabled People 2025-2030. To suppor…

I thank the Deputy from my neighbouring county for raising this important matter. It is a key priority for the Minister of State, Deputy Butler, who, unfortunately, cannot take this Topical Issue, and for the Government that people experiencing mental health difficulties receive the appropriate level of care they require in the most suitable location in the community that best meets their needs. A…

I thank the Deputy again for bringing this important issue up. I assure the House that I understand, as the Deputy said, how important it is for all persons with mental health difficulties to have the relevant mental health services in place from the HSE in the location that best suits their needs. The Deputy mentioned the four centres and that they should be based in different areas. I will check…

I welcome the publication of the action plan on housing and the target to deliver 300,000 homes through a whole-of-government approach. It is ambitious but appropriate. We need ambition. Housing affects everyone in society, whether someone waiting on a local authority housing list, a young person hoping to buy or older people looking for more suitable housing. This issue is urgent. In my area of …

I thank the Deputy for a very important question. As he knows, the independent evaluation of the national drugs strategy, Reducing Harm, Supporting Recovery, assisted with the expansion of harm reduction in a significant way. Our new drugs strategy will be launched next year, hopefully. That is very important to us. We have found that the harm reduction initiatives were a central component of the …

Everything is being assessed. The evaluation of what is happening with drugs around the country is being looked at. As I said at the meeting the other day, we have 610 services around the country. We are very mindful of that and that all have equal access to services. We are assessing every opportunity here, working within the Department, the HSE and, as the Deputy knows, our drugs task forces, wh…

Absolutely. All the Deputy's concerns are very important. We are talking about lives, and it is very important that we remember that one life lost is one too many. We have to do what we can to save lives and make sure we work with what we have and the services we have. We have to make sure that we deliver the services we can deliver and that people who want to access them can do so. We also have t…

I thank the Deputy. I am taking this question on behalf of the Minister of State, Deputy Mary Butler, who unfortunately cannot be here today. The total allocation for mental health services in 2026 is almost €1.6 billion, the sixth year in a row in which the mental health budget has increased. This increase in funding for mental health services will enable continued policy implementation and servi…

I absolutely agree. The Minister of State, Deputy Butler, is very passionate about this and has been working very hard on it. There are three new crisis resolution services, that is, crisis cafés, to support people in distress. They are located in Donegal, Kerry and Tullamore in the midlands. An allocation of €4 million has been given for this. Funding of €1 million has been provided for 12 additi…