Jennifer Carroll MacNeill

We have improved our cancer treatment enormously. We have more people living with and beyond cancer. The vaccination, like all vaccinations, is a life-saving medical intervention that protects people all over the world. We will not be doing that. I will discuss the Deputy's suggestion and comments with the Irish Cancer Society.

I thank the Deputy for raising this issue. I will come back to him on the specifics of the maternity services in Limerick, which I do not have to hand - forgive me - but there has been a very considerable increase in staff. The recent questions around staffing, posts unfunded or changes are something of a surprise to me in that context. I will clarify the issue both for the Deputy and for his cons…

I thank Deputy McGreehan for the opportunity to discuss this very practical issue, which is of huge importance to the people of Louth and wider north-east region. As she stated, minor injury units are a really practical response to an identified need to deal with small injuries away from hospital settings. This is a key part of Sláintecare. As the Deputy also stated, these units are particularly …

I am delighted. I again thank Deputy McGreehan for raising this matter. Deputy Paula Butterly also raised it with me but in a different way. I just want to compliment the region in general and the hospital management in Louth, particularly Priya Madhu, who is the hospital manager there and who has done so much. Our Lady of Lourdes Hospital in Drogheda, which the minor injury unit supports, has don…

I am so glad to have the opportunity to discuss this matter with the Deputy. I want to compliment the work of Dr. Deirdre Jones and that of the hospital manager, Marie Doorly, who has transformed Roscommon University Hospital into an enormously important part of the infrastructure of the north west. The hospital is doing great work, and we want to see it doing more great work. Roscommon is a leve…

I had the opportunity to see that for myself when Marie Doorly came to our regional meeting for the north west and presented on behalf of Roscommon hospital. It was clear to me. I have huge respect for Roscommon hospital and the role it is playing in the health architecture in the north west. As the Deputy knows, the local injury unit is highly regarded, with people coming from all over the north …

I appreciate the Deputy raising this matter. I feel as though I may be operating in something of a vacuum here. I might follow up with the Deputy in order to discover who exactly are the people who signed that letter. It is not a letter I have seen. It may have been sent to my Department, but I have not seen it yet. I certainly want to discover who they are and see the issue they are raising. Due …

Sure. What I would point out is that the south west has a more than ample number of ample staff at the moment. It has recruited 617 people this year alone, which is a nearly quarter of all the people who have been hired by the HSE this year. The HSE has recruited 2,700 people overall. As stated, 617 of them have been appointed in the south west, which is one of six regions. Those in the south west…

I could not agree more.

I certainly will, and I could not agree with the Deputy more regarding the importance of resolving and identifying the issue and of making sure that children are getting the diagnostic scans they need. I could also not agree more with him regarding the importance of investing in paediatric care outside of Dublin. That is very important, and it is important to articulate it here this morning. I am …

I thank the Deputy. He is right. Not only is an early access programme a commitment in the programme for Government but my officials are already working on designing it and it will be implemented by the HSE. I also acknowledge the role of the NCPE and the independence that is important to preserve and protect. I appreciate radio interviews are one thing but we will strike a balance between protect…

I have not seen that individual representation. The Deputy might give me the name on my way out of the House, and I will take care of it this afternoon. The Deputy is right. We have a programme for a two-year intervention in HSE dental services to make sure that the broad child catch-up programme is happening in schools. Of equal importance is the specialist dental service, particularly for childr…

We are trying to focus on stepdown facilities and community nursing units, and we will be opening units in Letterkenny and Sligo later in the year. I would push back on the situation in the south west at the moment. I notice there were people on trolleys in Cork University Hospital in recent days while there were vacant beds in Mallow. We have made a very significant investment to increase that fr…

I am so glad the Deputy referenced the improvement in stroke care rising from the stroke strategy. We need to continue to drive on with that. It is also important to note the number of step-down beds that are necessary to help stroke patients step out of acute hospitals. I was recently in Blarney with Deputy Colm Burke and others where there is a step-down facility for neurorehabilitation and stro…

I begin not with policy, but with people. I acknowledge with sincerity and respect the people across Ireland who are living with a rare disease and the parents, partners, children, siblings, carers, families and friends who walk that journey with them every single day. The Government is committed to improving the lives of people living with rare diseases. That means working to support earlier diag…

That is just not true.

It is available, since yesterday.

That is just not true.

It is important to say that I do not have that power.

I thank Deputy Ward for raising this issue. This is something I have been working on with families for over a year now, since this drug was approved by the European Medicines Agency. I have met many of those families. I met them when they were here last week, before they had their audiovisual room briefing, I have met them four, five or six times online and I met them past year in person - I have …

It was Úna Ennis who coined the phrase "time is muscle". I am grateful to her for her engagement and advocacy all the way through. The first thing is that we are trying to get the drug physically into the country. My officials have been working on that for some time in anticipation of what we hoped would be a positive response. Of course, it is not just a decision whether to give the drug or not. …

I compliment the management of Tullamore hospital, who have managed demand better than most hospitals in the country and consistently achieve very few people on trolleys. We do that through a number of different ways, including purchasing private beds where necessary. That is part of what every hospital and region does. We need to standardise the cost in relation to that but we do use off-site cap…

I have already intervened with the HSE on two fronts. We will be producing a dental-specific plan. It is important to reference what the Deputy said about long waits, particularly for children. A specific intervention programme will last about two years. The Irish Dental Association has been involved with that. Let us not give the speaking points of private representative bodies either. I was at i…

No, resourcing is not an issue. First, I want to go and see Clare myself to understand that better, and ask for a plan for the region for the development of services in Clare and Tipperary - Ennis and Nenagh - and not just Limerick. Overwhelmingly the focus in the mid-west has been on Limerick, which I understand. However, proper community care and proper integrated care requires a focus on Nenagh…

I begin by acknowledging the women who have had truly heartbreaking personal circumstances in pregnancy and whom I know are the motivation behind this Bill by the Social Democrats. Many Deputies in all parties, both in government and in opposition, know people who have struggled with the worst news in pregnancy. I think of all of those women who inspired the Bill, the Social Democrats' work on it …