Martin Daly

My question relates to the annual cost of the disability allowance and invalidity pension schemes. These payments are essential supports for people living with long-term illness or disability. They represent a significant and growing component of the Government's budget and also that of the Department. I am seeking clarity around the current annual expenditure, the trends over recent years and the…

I appreciate the figures the Minister outlined and the reference to the growing caseload and broader demographic change. While expenditure is rising, so too are the challenges faced by those depending on supports. Is the Department examining any reforms, either administrative or structural, that would protect recipients while ensuring that schemes remain sustainable? If we are moving towards a cos…

As a result of being on the disability committee and having witnesses come before it over the past 11 months, I am struck by the quite variable needs of some people in terms of their disability. I am concerned that if we sometimes provide supports that are too thin to too many people, we need to have some nuance in order that we support people, especially those who have considerable needs that are…

I am taking question No. 78 on behalf of Deputy Ardagh. She has been called to another meeting in her constituency. I want to raise the issue of the high rejection rates for the domiciliary care allowance, DCA, applications. Families caring for children with disabilities are under immense pressure and when these applications are refused, it adds enormous emotional and financial strain. Almost on…

Between 2020 and 2024, 52,541 applications were made, with 35,234 granted. Out of the 17,695 that were not allowed, 11,087 were appealed, with 60% of the appeals seeing the original decisions overturned and DCA allowed. Out of 67 cases that were taken for judicial review, 50 were won. I absolutely accept the Minister and the Department's bona fides in this regard and that we must have a robust sys…

I thank the Minister for the tone of his reply. It was really important because this is about compassion, fairness and efficiency. The fact that such a high proportion of decisions are overturned on appeal suggests that the initial assessment process is not working as it might. It does create unnecessary stress and pressure on parents who are already under additional pressure. I also want to recog…

Science Week celebrates its 30th anniversary this year, marking three decades of encouraging curiosity, innovation and public engagement with science. However, Science Week is more than a calendar of events. It is a reminder that science underpins almost every aspect of modern life, including health, the climate change response, the economy, infrastructure and the daily choices we make as individu…

21. Deputy Martin Daly asked the Taoiseach when the Cabinet committee on disability will next meet. [46853/25]

I am following on from what my colleague Deputies have already said about the care of the offspring of people who are getting older and have no certainty around what is going to happen when they are not here any more. It is a major challenge within the community. It seems like a cliff edge. When you die, you get a residency. That is not good enough. There has got to be planning around that, and it…

Ireland has always been shaped by movement. For much of our history, we were a people who were forced to leave to seek opportunity abroad. However, in recent decades, as our economy has flourished and our society modernised, it has become a place where others come seeking safety, work, opportunity and hope. I want to speak on this issue from personal experience. I am the son of an immigrant. My …

I acknowledge Deputy O'Reilly's loss and the issue she raised as well.

I want to discuss a matter of profound importance for women and families across the west, namely the ongoing failure to fully implement the recommendations of the 2018 Walker report into maternity services at Portiuncula University Hospital. I acknowledge the families who have suffered devastating outcomes. Their experiences must be acknowledged. I also recognise that the midwives, doctors, nurses…

I thank the Minister of State for her answer. I will deal quickly with the transfer. On the transfer of high-risk cases, there was already a pre-existing system for women who had underlying medical conditions to be transferred either to Galway or to Dublin. The initial suggestion was that all women with diabetes, gestational diabetes or pre-existing diabetes would be transferred. That is not happe…

I raise the issue of Scoil an Chroí Naofa National School in Ballinasloe, which serves one of the most deprived populations in the country. Some 300 children go to the school. The older school is from 1937 and the newer school is from 1973. When I had an occasion to visit in January, it was colder inside the school than it was outside. The difficulty we have now is that the school cannot take in a…

I am pleased to contribute to the statements on men's health. As a GP, I have seen the reality of men's health in practice. We have come a long way in recent years since the publication of the national men's health policy in 2009 but Movember's "The Real Face of Men's Health" report shows that many challenges remain. I do not want to rehash some of the figures already put out here but we know abou…

7. Deputy Martin Daly asked the Minister for Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science given the value he places on clusters of third level institutions and innovation hubs, if there are clear pathways and supports in place for establishing and expanding such hubs in the west of Ireland; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [56014/25]

I ask the Minister to state, given the value placed on clusters of third level institutions and innovation hubs, whether there are clear pathways and supports in place for establishing and expanding such hubs, especially in the west. I raise that in the context of a very successful urological-surgical innovation hub based at Atlantic Technological University, ATU, in Galway, in collaboration with …

I thank the Cathaoirleach Gníomhach. I was unsure. I thank the Minister. In this model with the University of Illinois Chicago, extending into other areas of medicine is talked about. Urology is the template they have used in ATU. It provides expertise based on research and innovation. It has developed a venture studio model, which draws on the experience of world-class entrepreneurs and scientis…

I thank the Minister. When speaking to the group of people involved in this project in Galway, one of the points they made was that there are many institutions in the United States which, in the current climate, are looking for bases in the European Union. Ireland has this opportunity. We talk about the threat of tariffs and the difficulties in getting new industry here. We will hold our existing …

I want to raise the issue of the maternity unit at Portiuncula University Hospital. During his time as Minister for Health, the Tánaiste would have been very aware of the Walker report in 2018. There is a problem in the maternity unit in Portiuncula Hospital. I had an exchange with the Minister for Health a couple of weeks ago. The narrative being sold by HSE West North West is that this unit has…

Tomorrow marks World Mental Health Day, a moment to pause and reflect on our nation’s mental well-being. I welcome the Government’s sustained commitment to improving mental health services right across the country. Next year, the total allocation for mental health will reach €1.6 billion, representing an increase of more than 50% since 2020. This is a remarkable achievement and a reflection of con…

81. Deputy Martin Daly asked the Minister for Health the reason the recommendations of the Walker report have not been implemented; the current status of their implementation; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [52819/25]

I acknowledge the Minister's bona fides in the matter of the maternity unit in Portiuncula hospital. She has acted at all times on advice in what she felt is the best interest of the safety of mothers and babies in the region. However, I want to ask her why the Walker report of 2018 was not implemented and if she will make a statement on the matter.

I acknowledge the mothers and babies who have experienced, at birth, sometimes catastrophic events. It is a small number of women but that makes it no less. I worked with the Minister on Portiuncula maternity unit on the premise that the Walker report had been delivered, but it manifestly has not been delivered. I do not believe the HIQA report. Last week, at the health committee, the CEO of the H…

We are not in a good space because the maternity unit in Portiuncula hospital is in trouble. For example, it was recommended by the Walker report that there be seven consultant obstetricians. It never happened. There were five at the most: three full-time, one on managed leave and one on managed sick leave. There was never a full complement. Someone second-guessed the Walker report, so it was neve…