I thank our colleague, Deputy Pa Daly, for bringing forward this motion. While I welcome that the Minister will not oppose it and I accept that many tests have been completed, there is no denying that the waiting list is growing. Is the Minister saying he cannot step in and that this is all down to the RSA? We all know a driving licence is not a luxury; it is essential. Not being able to drive might mean missing out on work opportunities, education, family occasions and more. This is especially true outside of larg…

I thank the Leas-Cheann Comhairle and congratulate him on his position. There are no dedicated public inpatient beds for adults with anorexia or other eating disorders in the mid-west region. Nationally, only three public inpatient beds exist for these patients, all of which are located at St. Vincent’s hospital in Dublin, serving local catchment areas. The HSE introduced a national model of care for eating disorders in 2018. This included the appointments of 16 specialist teams and 23 adult inpatient beds across t…

While there has been a steady increase in the number of treatment hubs, there is still no funding for new inpatient beds. For people with eating disorders, it is usually for an extended period in an inpatient facility, which can be very difficult for the person. This treatment can be expensive and the process to get a bed can be so long that it means the person ends up needing more care. The HSE spent more than €4 million sending seven people with eating disorders abroad for treatment in 2023. We need to stop sendi…

I wish to discuss the ongoing decline in the dental scheme for medical card holders in County Clare. I have raised this issue time and again. The Irish Dental Association has also raised it and has made repeated calls for the scheme to be overhauled. The association states the scheme does not work either for dentists or patients and that a lot of lip service has been paid to it but nothing is happening. In November 2021, as a county councillor in Clare, I tabled a motion calling for the then Minister for Health to …

I welcome any news that will help to bring about an increase in the service. The key trends documentation for 2024 mentions that spending on health almost doubled between 2014 and 2023, and this is reflected in the enhanced availability of services throughout the country. Why, then, do we see only half the expected number of dentists participating in the scheme? The number is not reflected in the figures. If we increase the number of dentists in this scheme, it will have to be through contact and talks with the Iri…

I have been contacted by several parents who are left in a void, having to fight for places in schools for their children with complex needs. Dawn Bennett, one such parent, relocated her family from Limerick to Kilrush in County Clare to find a suitable place in a primary school for her son, Jamie, who has complex needs. Ms Bennett faces the same fight to try to find a place for Jamie in a secondary school. The nearest school that would have a place to suit Jamie is in Ennis, almost 43 km away. Fiona Gaffney in Sha…

As the Minister may be aware, the British and Irish Modern Music Institute is forcing lecturers into yellow-pack contracts. Potentially, 53 staff could be laid off. Workers are not permitted to be represented by their trade union representatives at the 30-day consultation. Given the strong links to Technological University Dublin, we have a moral and legal duty to ensure its partner institution upholds fair employment standards. The Minister has a role in this. He needs to engage and intervene so that the abuse of …

I am honoured to be here as the first TD from Shannon, County Clare. It would not have been possible if it were not for the people of Clare, my family, party activists and those who have gone before me. The number of patients on trolleys in University Hospital Limerick continues to consistently be the highest in the State. Last year, more than 6,000 patients left UHL's emergency department before completing treatment. The number of patients on trolleys for January of this year is 2,234. That is an increase of 161 o…