Liam Quaide

It is increasingly baffling how utterly in limbo many east Cork residents are left over two years on from Storm Babet. I want to acknowledge the recent planning approval for a scheme that will protect Tir Cluain estate and some nearby properties in Midleton. I am conscious that the Midleton flood relief scheme is large-scale and very complex and is slowed down by the degree of engagement with land…

I want to ask the Minister of State why we are not maximising the potential for nature-based solutions along with engineering methods.

9. Deputy Liam Quaide asked the Taoiseach when the Cabinet committee that oversees agriculture will next meet. [7331/26]

33. Deputy Liam Quaide asked the Taoiseach when the Cabinet committee on children and education will next meet. [9560/26]

The International Protection Bill in its current form represents a profound shift in how the State treats people seeking refuge and asylum in this country. It does so in a way that weakens safeguards, compresses procedures and expands coercive powers without building the healthcare and protection capacity that even the existing system lacks. Human rights' organisations have warned that the Bill ri…

I met today with a group of healthcare workers who have been living with long Covid since the early stages of the pandemic. They are utterly distraught with how they have been treated by the Government after having their special Covid leave with pay cut on New Year's Eve. The Department of Social Protection will not recognise long Covid as an occupational injury for these workers because it says t…

That was already decided.

It had.

Their condition is-----

19. Deputy Liam Quaide asked the Taoiseach for an update on the programme for Government. [7328/26]

We are all conscious that parts of the country have been gripped with anxiety this week and last week in relation to heavy rainfall and risk of flooding. So far, east Cork has been spared this time around but what we are left with is an eerie calm because we know we may not be so fortunate next week, next month or next year. There is a commitment in the programme for Government to streamlining and…

The cost-of-living crisis is affecting people across society but disproportionately impacting disabled people. It has been long established that disabled people already face major additional financial burdens that result from living with a disability in a society that is so poorly adapted to their needs. These costs mount up daily in areas like healthcare, transport, energy, specialist equipment a…

Storm Chandra has once again exposed how vulnerable our country is in the face of extreme weather events and how poorly set up we are to adapt to climate turbulence, which is intensifying with the passage of time and which we know from science will intensify more and more into the future. There was major disruption in road transport across Dublin, Wicklow and Wexford yesterday, causing chaos and l…

Before I call on the Minister to open the debate, I remind Members that two separate motions are being debated in this slot, namely, the motion regarding the proposed approval by Dáil Éireann of the signing of the agreement between the European Union and the Swiss Confederation on the transfer of passenger name record, PNR, data; and the motion regarding the proposed approval by Dáil Éireann of th…

8. Deputy Liam Quaide asked the Taoiseach if he will report on his attendance at the G20 in South Africa. [5585/26]

17. Deputy Liam Quaide asked the Taoiseach for a report on his attendance at the EU-African Union summit. [5586/26]

I thank Sinn Féin for tabling this very important motion. I welcome the opportunity to speak on it because it goes to the heart of one of the most serious failings in our mental health system, namely how we treat people when they are in deepest crisis. The Mental Health Commission’s report on acute mental healthcare in hospital emergency departments painted a harrowing picture of adults and young…

2. Deputy Liam Quaide asked the Minister for Health the number of approved psychology posts, per population, in psychiatry of later life services across each health region; to indicate the integrated health areas that currently do not have approved psychology posts, in tabular form; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [5414/26]

I am asking for the number of approved psychology posts, per population, in older adult mental health teams across each health region and for the Minister to indicate whether there are integrated health areas that currently do not have approved psychology posts for older adult mental health teams. To be clear, I am not just asking about vacancies where there has been an attempt to recruit but wher…

I thank the Minister of State for following up that data. I do not doubt her bona fides in this area at all but it is not credible that the HSE would not have that data to hand. It is very basic. The importance of psychology as a core part of older adult mental health teams is long established Government policy. A Vision for Change in 2006 was explicit that older adult mental health services must …

The lack of adequate psychology staffing in older adult mental health teams represents a failure to meet the complexity of mental health needs of people in later life. It is also a failure by Government to meet wider obligations including under the UNCRPD, which emphasises access to appropriate mental health supports across the lifespan and the right to live in one's community with autonomy. Psych…

Thank you, Minister.

Thank you, Minister.

I will bring in Deputy Ó Muirí for a supplementary question.

I thank the Minister for that. We only have time for one further question. I ask that the question be asked and then there will be a two-minute reply. Unfortunately, that is all we have time for.