David Cullinane

Hear, hear.

The way children with disabilities and their families are treated in this State is an absolute disgrace. We are here not just every year, talking about school places and appropriate school places for children with disabilities. We have tabled countless motions on a range of issues from school places to assessments of need to therapies children are being deprived of and are not getting. We do not s…

115. Deputy David Cullinane asked the Minister for Health the steps she will take to avert industrial action among ambulance workers, the steps she is taking to meet the ambition of the ambulance service's strategic workforce plan and if she will make a statement on the matter. [28517/26]

My question concerns potential industrial action by ambulance paramedics, particularly pre-hospital care professionals, which would include emergency medical technicians, EMTs, paramedics and others. They voted overwhelmingly to take industrial action, as the Minister knows, on 12, 19 and 26 May. I imagine that the last thing paramedics and EMTs want is to be on strike. A number of votes were take…

The problem is that the National Ambulance Service is massively understaffed. I put down a parliamentary question to which the Minister's office responded a number of weeks ago. In 2025, the HSE target was to have 4,162 whole-time-equivalent paramedics working in the National Ambulance Service. The number for this year is 2,657. By 2026, the target was to have 4,780. The number is estimated to be …

The paramedics that I have spoken to, and I have spoken to many, are all in favour of reform, but they also want to know that the Government has their backs and is putting in place the capacity. The Minister is right to say there has been an increase in the number of paramedics, but the objective was to double the number of paramedics over a five- to six-year period because that is what was estima…

117. Deputy David Cullinane asked the Minister for Health the model that the Sláintecare programme board will operate on following the appointment of a new HSE CEO and a new Secretary General at her Department; the reason her Sláintecare implementation plan for 2025-plus does not have year-to-year measurable actions for 2026 onwards; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [28518/26]

I am seeking an update, if I can, on the Sláintecare programme board and how that will operate, given that we have a new CEO of the HSE and, indeed, a new Secretary General in the Minister's Department. I wish to take the opportunity to thank Mr. Bernard Gloster and Mr. Robert Watt for their many years of service, two people I have worked closely with and have a very high regard for. I also want t…

I welcome some of what the Minister said but the problem is there are not clear deliverables and timeframes in the current Sláintecare action plan. That is something that has to change. I want to see, for example, changes to the medical card and GP card thresholds. There have not really been any substantial changes to medical card eligibility in a long time. The big reform that the health service …

I know the Minister is. When she is pushing forward those reforms, I will be supporting them, as I did with the public-only consultant contract because we needed it. We have to get bang for our buck. I agree that we need reforms and efficiencies but we also need capacity. If we do not have the diagnostic capacity, the bed capacity and the staff in our hospitals, then it is more difficult to reach …

I could not agree more. I have been saying this for a long time. I am a big supporter of the surgical hubs. There is one coming in my own constituency adjacent to University Hospital Waterford, so I know the difference that will make. I fully agree that we have to look at how to take pressure away from our acute and major hospitals, for example, more off-site rooms for outpatient activity where we…

119. Deputy David Cullinane asked the Minister for Health to provide an update on the delivery of new outpatient mental health capacity and mental health beds, as previously announced in the HSE capital plan for Waterford and the south east; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [28519/26]

I am looking for an update on the replacement of the existing adult mental health 44-bed unit at University Hospital Waterford with a 50-bed single bed unit. I acknowledge the work of the Minister of State, Deputy Butler, in making sure this was on the current capital plan recently. I was criticised in one local newspaper for doing so.

I think the criticism was because there was frustration that developments can be glacial and it takes a long time for these projects to get over the line. There are other projects I want to talk about, which I will later. On this particular project, it is important to have timeframes as to how quickly we can expect this development might be delivered, which I think we all accept would be massive a…

I very much hope that the new adult mental health unit will progress as quickly as possible. I agree with the location and I want to see it developed as fast as it can be. There was also a promise for a 96-bed ward block over five storeys at University Hospital Waterford, and a multi-storey car park. The Minister of State issued a press statement a number of years ago where she said there was a pr…

I raise these issues to illustrate the point that when announcements are made, people expect things to be delivered and then ask how quickly they will get them. If there is an announcement regarding additional health capacity, that is really good news. It is exciting, and people want it. When people hear about the announcement of an additional 60-bed ward block over five storeys at University Hosp…

The Irish Coast Guard is launching an enhanced aviation service from Waterford Airport today. I fully support and welcome it because it is a really important service. We all know that the search and rescue service has huge support right across the State, but particularly in the south east. Unfortunately, there were tragedies in the past and colleagues were lost, but it is great to see an enhanced …

I do not know of any farmer, business or individual who could take a 900% increase in rent. This really is an injustice. I met with the hill farmers in question, as did Deputy McGuinness. In fact, we were there a number of weeks ago when "Prime Time" was interviewing some of them. The sense of injustice that they have relates to the fact that their ancestors, their parents, grandparents and great-…

There are sometimes cases where there is a grey area but I think this one is black and white. The people whom I have spoken to, including the hill farmers but also people in the wider west Waterford area and in Waterford city, are outraged that a British absentee landlord who goes by the name of the Duke of Devonshire, who owns tens of thousands of acres of land and is a billionaire as far as I ca…

Or in energy arrears.

Record rents.

People cannot pay their bills.

You are so out of touch.

Clapping yourself on the back when people cannot pay bills. This is outrageous.

It is all our fault, is it?