Pádraig Rice

I fundamentally believe that the new model of care must be in line with the WHO guidelines. It must use an informed consent model and be delivered in the community, which is crucial. There are models in place in other countries that we can look to, including in Australia, New Zealand, Iceland, Malta, Canada and parts of the United States. They are already operating this model of care. That is wher…

118. Deputy Pádraig Rice asked the Minister for Health the date on which she will publish the new national sexual health strategy; the reason for the continued delay in doing so; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [24091/25]

It is ten years since the first sexual health strategy was published. That strategy expired three years ago and has still not been replaced. I raised this issue two months ago in the Dáil and was told it would be launched quite soon. Is the strategy still at design stage or has it been submitted to the Government for approval?

It is great news that the strategy will be launched. I am looking forward to engaging with it and seeing the detail. When I raised this issue last time, the Minister of State talked about how stigma is a big issue and I agree with her on that. Services are also really important, however, and I think we can reduce stigma by having better services and supports for people. We need to make sexual heal…

We have huge innovations in the area of HIV - on PrEP, PEP and rapid testing - but I think we are not seizing the moment here. We could potentially end HIV transmissions in this country if we massively invested in this. People are waiting far too long to get access to PrEP clinics. There is a real chance here to have a game-changing moment, and I urge the Minister of State to seize that and increa…

123. Deputy Pádraig Rice asked the Minister for Health to provide an update on the programme for Government commitment to design a statutory home care scheme, the timeline she is working towards, and if she will make a statement on the matter. [24093/25]

My question concerns the statutory right to home care. In 2017, the then Minister for Health, Deputy Simon Harris, said home care needed to be placed on a statutory footing. The same year, the then Minister of State with responsibility for older people, Deputy Helen McEntee, said a statutory right to home care and necessary regulations would be delivered in two to three years. Eight years on, they…

It has been a year since the Minister of State, Deputy Butler, told the Oireachtas Committee on Health that the delay was due to the funding model. At the time, the Minister of State said the nut had not been cracked on financing the scheme. In February 2025, the Minister for Health told me no final decision on future funding had been made and that further research was under way to enhance the evi…

I know that.

It is taking far too long. The Social Democrats have concerns about the financialisation of elder care. In 2020, at the height of Covid, Simon Harris and Leo Varadkar said the model of care for older people had to change. Since then, the very large-scale commercial nursing home model has increased despite the fact it was deemed to be no longer fit for purpose. Ireland, alongside England, now has t…

I also congratulate the students on winning the debating championship. I welcome the emerging preferred route for the Cork Luas, but major questions remain. We do not know how much the Government intends to invest in this crucial project. We do not know if a second north-south route is planned. Crucially, we do not know when the Cork Luas will open. This project cannot be left like the Dublin met…

I thank Deputy Cummins for her work on the motion and also over many years on this issue and wider education issues. The pace of change is far too slow. We heard during the week in the audiovisual room from a parent who said, “I wonder if I am doing this for my children or my grandchildren.” That is how frustrated parents are about the pace of change. Across County Cork, there are 350 Catholic sch…

I welcome this important debate. As others have said, this is a serious issue. I have concerns about Government backbenchers trivialising it by talking about victories in camogie matches. That is perhaps something for them to reflect on. It is not appropriate. There are serious issues in the operation of Children's Health Ireland. We need to understand how we got here, the impact of the scandals …

I thank Sinn Féin for bringing forward this motion, which provides Members with another opportunity to raise our concerns about the yet-to-be published audit into hip surgeries at CHI as well as the long-standing failures in the organisation. I first raised the issue of hip surgeries with the Taoiseach on 1 March yet almost two months later we still have no more information. Were it not for the r…

Where is the promised amendment to the Health (Assisted Human Reproduction) Bill? In July of last year, the Dáil passed the first assisted human reproduction Bill, which has still not been commenced. A second Bill, to close the gaps in the law, was promised within weeks, but we still have no sight of it. Two days before the election, the then Minister for Health, Stephen Donnelly, wrote to campai…

I start by acknowledging that we live in very turbulent and troubling times. The Russian invasion of Ukraine, Israel's destruction of Gaza and Trump's threats of a trade war are examples of this. As a result, foreign policy debates like this are increasingly important. We need these discussions and debates on Ireland's role in the world, what it means to be neutral today and how we prepare for a l…

From today, the crisis in our health service will deepen. This morning, 6,500 psychiatric nurses began industrial action in a dispute over unsustainable staffing levels. On Monday, a further 80,000 healthcare workers are planning to start a strict work to rule. At the core of this dispute is the pay and numbers strategy, a strategy which none of us has seen. This so-called strategy is just a recru…

I am deeply concerned about the rise of homophobia both at home and abroad. The decision of the Hungarian Government to ban Pride events is the latest example of the full-frontal attack on LGBT human rights and fundamental freedoms. Banning Pride is a violation of the right to self-expression, peaceful assembly and freedom from discrimination. It is also stands in sharp contrast to our European va…

67. Deputy Pádraig Rice asked the Minister for Health the reason the new national sexual health strategy has still not been published; her plans to address rising rates of sexually transmitted infections and increase capacity in sexual health services; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [10514/25]

There is currently no active sexual health strategy for Ireland. The previous strategy was launched a decade ago by Leo Varadkar when he was Minister for Health. We have long been promised a new strategy but it has not been delivered. For the third year we are lacking a comprehensive strategy or vision for sexual health. The sexual health services are thin on the ground and starved of resources. W…

It is welcome to hear that this strategy is to be launched but this is not the first time it has been promised. As the Minister of State knows, there was a review in 2023. The Minister of State, Deputy Naughton, promised a strategy in 2024 and the then the Minister of State, Deputy Colm Burke, followed up by promising a strategy in Q1 of 2025. I welcome that progress has been made but it is urgent…

In her opening response the Minister of State mentioned PrEP, which could be a game-changer for HIV. The same is true for PEP and rapid testing. It can take 18 months for someone to be seen in a PrEP clinic in this country. In Dublin, over 1,000 people are waiting for an appointment at one of the PrEP clinics. It took a year and a half to replace the nurse specialist in the South Infirmary in Cork…

At the outset, we need to acknowledge that we still live in a very unequal society. There is lots to be done to deliver true equality for women in Ireland. From Cabinet to boards, women are still underrepresented in positions of power. This needs to change. In particular, we need to address the inequality faced by women from minority and disadvantaged communities such as Traveller, disabled, migra…

It has come to light, thanks to The Ditch, that an audit has taken place into the hip surgeries on children in three hospitals. This follows serious concerns from a whistleblower that needless surgeries were taking place. The report, published by The Ditch, shows that, in the leaked report, in Cappagh, 79% of the surgeries did not meet the required threshold, in Temple Street, it was 60%, and in C…

I too congratulate the Ministers on their appointments. I welcome this debate on the Housing Commission report. I read through the recommendations in the report and I welcome some of them. The overview at the start of the report, in particular, jumped out at me where the Commission states: Arising from its wide-ranging enquiry, the Housing Commission has identified over several decades, there has…