Search the record

must transition. We are setting targets and deadlines but the reality on the ground is that the system is simply not ready. The public EV charging infrastructure in this country is not fit for purpose; it is far from it. It is too complicated. There are too many … expected to download app after app just to charge their car. When they finally arrive at a charging point, it is out of service, blocked or so slow it is practically useless. That is happening every day across the country. Then we ask why people are reluctant

train nurses and midwives, have vacancies in our hospitals and community services and then leave graduates who want to work in public health services waiting for contracts. They have been loud about this. The Ministers know about this. Separately in Cork, the CEO of Cork University Hospital … needed to look after our population. In practice, this means a long-term plan for our health service and taking immediate action this year. That includes 80,000 new medical cards, 400 additional acute hospital beds and ramping up investment in GP, primary care, community services, ambulances, mental

country and what the Government is doing to help this sector and provide the key public service. It is a huge public service and a service we depend on. It is important, particularly for our rural post offices, which have always played an important role in connecting people … They really do an excellent job. The Government understands the essential service our post offices are providing day in, day out. The Minister spoke about the €15 million. This is about sustainable national post office services, the post office network, the support it provides, and the infrastructure around

cover existing costs. In reality, the Government showed no understanding of the real struggles resulting from rising bills, poorly funded public services and creaking public infrastructure at a time when the cost-of-living crisis leaves so many households running just to stand still. Inflation is running … five children is living in poverty while many of their parents who have what used to be known as good public sector jobs are finding that is no longer a guarantee of a good life or even a basic quality of life. Something has to give. Yesterday

Skerries has increased by over €400 per annum. The cost for children using public transport has increased by 300%. I welcome that the NTA will look at bringing in a capped card but I can tell the Minister of State and ask him to pass … alleviate the pressure on the rail network, such as on the coast where I live, it is important we have reliable bus services. I attended a meeting in Lusk recently with people from Rush, Lusk, Skerries and Balbriggan. Their concern is BusConnects will not enhance the bus service

this process will involve publishing the next stage of the advertisement to eTenders before the end of this month. I await the publication of the e-tenders because a bundle of primary care centres is included, one being in Lismore, in my area. I have … shortage of GPs in north Wexford and south Wicklow, under the GMS scheme the HSE contracts GPs to provide medical services without charge to medical card and GP visit card holders. Where a vacancy arises in a practice with a GMS contract, the HSE becomes actively involved

daunting and a real challenge, while GPs are at the same time trying to provide services. That is why the notion of a public GP contract is important and needs to be taken up. We called for this strongly during the election campaign. It was in the health … supported and, as I said, I am an advocate for them. For those who want to work in the public system and simply want to be GPs, however, public contracts should be provided. This is all the more relevant when it comes to the cost

services for our citizens. Obviously, the Minister of State present cannot disagree with that. It makes a lot of sense. The Minister of State, Deputy Higgins, mentioned she had launched a public consultation in March to ensure all those with an interest in the future direction of public … card or a red card. In that context, I note the Construction Industry Federation has been charged with moving the procurement thing along. Last November, it produced its strategy document for the improved delivery of public infrastructure, Fair and Balanced Reform of Public Procurement in Ireland. Even though

afford private health insurance and who did not qualify for the medical card, but a lot of people qualify for doctor-only cards and have not applied for them. That is really important to say. I also want to say, as somebody who has been in the Department … such things on the record of the Dáil. I thank all those who work in our health services all over the country, whether they are public, private or voluntary. They do a huge amount of work. I fervently believe that every person who goes to work in healthcare

cards, where will this depot go? It can go to the other side of Kilcock, to Enfield. There are many opportunities for a park-and-ride service. I acknowledge that the delivery of this extension to Kilcock is dependent on the service and delivery of the DART+ West … option. While the private car remains the most popular mode of commuting in Kildare, we have seen an increase in the use of public transport between the most recent two census profiles. Much of that is down to the increase in provision of bus services and accessibility

people feel safe but there are pinch points and black spots. Those who do not use public transport, interestingly, have a worse perception of safety. It is stopping people from using public transport. People who do not use it have specific fears. We need more gardaí and visibility … Indra Sistemas since last year. It is complex; a new IT system is being built. The Leap card works well but we want that contactless system across all of the public transport network. The comprehensive governance model has been implemented to oversee the project. It is an important

almost two years, the South East remains without a publicly accessible PrEP service". That is an entire region without access to a public PrEP service in the south east. The Gay Health Network and others have tried to engage with the HSE on this. They have written … introduction of the common conditions service, which has certainly been a positive development. This service allows for pharmacists to assess symptoms and prescribe treatment for eight common conditions, including thrush, shingles and cold sores. However, my problem with this service is every patient must

country people cannot access their dentist. In parts of the country people with a medical card will not find a dentist. That is how bad the dental service scheme is. In relation to the school screening programme, according to the Government, every child is entitled … present, there are bottlenecks in the system. For example, a dental hygienist cannot be seen until a dentist refers a patient to the public system. The fact that someone cannot access a dentist means that, therefore, they cannot access a dental hygienist. That is a bottleneck that needs

fair share of cancer patients. Sadly, many people have passed on at a young age as a result of cancer. As a public representative, I come across more than my share of these patients from day to day. Kerry is lacking in many ways because of the distances … promised, in the grounds of University Hospital Kerry, UHK, oncology services. We are still waiting for those. Comfort for Chemo Kerry has done a lot of fundraising for this project, which the HSE has approved. These services would help a lot of people who are currently

Labour Party's vision to invest in public transport, to continue to progressively reduce the cost of public transport and to focus on increasing the reliability of our train services. In general, it is great to see the fare reductions and the expansion of the commuter zones that … families who are already struggling with food costs and utility bills. A father called me last night over his daughter, whose Leap card ran out of money. Her friends were able to sort her out but there was unnecessary stress and panic while they figured

cash in an attempt to buy votes last year, its message has suddenly changed. Now that an election is no longer on the cards, one-off payments are a bad idea. The Social Democrats told the Government that last year. We told it to invest in sustainable measures … Fine Gael likes to style itself as a party of fiscal probity, giving lectures to the public about the importance of counting pennies, but the reality is it has been throwing public money around like snuff at a wake. The Government's spending in a few short years

time will get a seat on a school bus service if a service is available. Children who are not eligible for school transport but who complete the application and pay or enter their medical card details on time will be considered for any spare seats available after eligible … pilot projects where they provide a valuable insight into the impact of increasing demand for the schemes and the potential for integrating public transport with the school transport system where it is possible, which is not always possible in rural areas. Rural areas do not have the public

Europeans. We have a huge shortage of dentists who are prepared to provide a service for public patients, yet they are providing treatment if you attend as a private patient. The number providing public care has dropped from 1,450 to 810. The latter is the most recent … first in the context of engagement with the Irish Dental Association and trying to get more dentists to take on public patients or people with medical cards. The second issue is training. We have got to dramatically increase the number of students who qualify each year

adult can go through. A modern healthcare system should make it a top priority. Instead, the Government parties have long abandoned affordable dental services. It is almost entirely privatised now, as my colleague has said, with the number of dentists directly employed by the HSE dwindling every year … implementation plan for that policy. Access to dental care for people with a medical card has collapsed, as other speakers have said. More than half the dentists have withdrawn from the medical card scheme, leaving thousands of patients without the care that they need and are entitled

protection accommodation system. This was published last week as part of the Comptroller and Auditor General’s Report on the Accounts of the Public Services 2024. All recommendations in the report have been accepted and implemented by the Department, with one recommendation to be implemented … already beginning to have a genuine impact. IPAS has put improved processes in place for appraisal, validation, contracting and payments. A new rate-card pricing structure is being applied to all new or renewing contracts, which has resulted in savings of over €52 million across 104 contracts since

footwear allowance. These measures are in addition to cross-government initiatives under way, such as free school meals, free schoolbooks, free GP visit cards and enhancements to the early childhood care and education schemes, including the development of our new DEIS strategy. This will include DEIS plus, which … multidimensional nature of child poverty and well-being, as alongside income supports, we are also advancing actions in housing, employment, childcare and public services. The Government’s new housing plan, Delivering Homes, Building Communities, recognises that homelessness is the single most pressing social issue that we face

examinations as having sight problems. These services continue until a child reaches 16 years of age. The community ophthalmic services scheme allows medical card holders and their dependent children aged 12 and over to access eye care from contracted ophthalmologists, optometrists or dispensing opticians. In relation … care services from hospital settings to the community. The HSE has been developing multidisciplinary integrated eye care teams in accordance with this model of care. These teams facilitate assessment, diagnoses and treatment, enabling most patients to be seen in their own locality. The service provided by the previous

Party, I highlighted the need for the Government to continue to provide funding for converting old schools and community buildings into community hubs, public libraries and remote working hubs, given the lack of vital infrastructure in some rural towns in south Kildare. As the Minister will be very … area, including farming communities, who are unable to get a one-off house for themselves. The issue of serviced sites has been raised already. Serviced sites could be a solution for many rural communities. They could sustain the schools. Today I dealt with two schools in County Kildare

years, until 31 December 2028. In line with the programme for Government, I am reducing the rate of VAT that applies to hairdressing services and the sale of food and certain drinks in the hospitality sector from 13.5% to 9% from 1 July 2026. This will help protect … smoking prevalence. This public health policy objective drives our tobacco tax: our annual rate changes are designed to raise the price in order to lower the level and uptake of smoking. Such a tax policy is promulgated by the World Health Organization for supporting public health

desperate mother from Mayo. For the past five years, my family has been unable to access any dental care through the medical card in our area. No one is accepting new patients, and despite endless phone calls, pleading, and searching, we’ve hit a brick wall over … have the money to go private, and yet the public system is impossible to access. That about sums it up. I do not know how many times last year I spoke on dental services and the lack of them in County Mayo. We were referred