I move: "That the Bill be now read a Second Time." I am very pleased to introduce the Health (Amendment) (Home Support Providers) Bill 2025 to the House. I look forward to hearing the contributions of Deputies today, and to working with all Members of Dáil Éireann and Seanad Éireann to progress this important legislation through both Houses. Home support is a vital service that is delivered to thousands of people nationwide every day. It provides a very important service to individuals of every age and their famili…

It is three or fewer.

Write to us on that.

I will work on that.

Three or less.

I thank the Members for their contributions. There were 27 contributors in total and they spoke on a range of aspects of this issue. I welcome the general support for the Bill in terms of regulation. To recap, the objective of the proposed legislation is to improve the safety and quality of support services by ensuring that registered home support providers do not operate below the standards set by ministerial regulations and that those regulations are provided in a consistent and systematic way. Before getting a r…

I move: That the Bill be referred to the Select Committee on Health pursuant to Standing Orders 103 and 188.

I thank the Deputy. He did not mention the specific county. I presume he is talking about Sligo-Leitrim.

He was not specific but I am taking it to be there. The HSE is continually recruiting. If particular issues have been brought to the Deputy's attention, he might come back to me on them and I can follow up with the HSE in the region.

I wish everyone in the Seanad a good Christmas and a peaceful and successful new year. I see we have cross-party Members here today. I wish them all well. I thank Senator McCarthy for raising this issue. I am taking this matter on behalf of the Minister of State with responsibility for public health, well-being and the national drugs strategy, Deputy Jennifer Murnane O’Connor. I welcome the opportunity to update the House on funding for the DRIVE project and the support provided by the Minister of State with respon…

I suppose it is interagency.

I stated previously that I want to thank Senator McCarthy for bringing this matter forward. I am taking this matter on behalf of the Minister of State with responsibility for public health, well-being and the national drugs strategy, Deputy Jennifer Murnane O’Connor. DRIVE embodies the holistic, health-led approach to drug use, based on interagency collaboration. By working collaboratively, DRIVE can make a practical difference to people and families affected by drug-related intimidation and drugs in communities. T…

Like everyone else, I wish the Ceann Comhairle, the staff and our colleagues, Deputy Hearne and my colleague here, the Minister of State, Deputy Richmond, all the best and a good Christmas. Everyone needs a break. I wish everyone a peaceful, productive and robust new year. I wish to thank Deputy Hearne for raising this matter and for the opportunity to update the Dáil on tenant in situ acquisitions. I am taking this matter on behalf of James Browne, Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage. Acquisitions …

Once again, I thank Deputy Hearne for raising this matter, which I am taking behalf of the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage, Deputy Browne. I urge the Deputy to provide those details on behalf of his constituents to the Minister and the Department. Supporting households at risk of experiencing homelessness remains a priority for the Government. The tenant in situ scheme is a key measure in this regard. There was scope available within the original €325 million to support all acquisitions that cou…

I thank Deputies Cullinane and Ward for raising this important issue. I welcome the opportunity to discuss the Health (Waiting Lists) Bill 2024, which the Deputies have put forward. I recognise the worthwhile intentions and aims of the Deputies in tabling this Bill. I am taking this matter on behalf of Minister for Health, Deputy Jennifer Carroll MacNeill. Specifically, the Bill seeks to introduce requirements for setting priorities and maximum waiting time performance targets for services across hospital and commu…

I thank Deputies Cullinane and Ward for tabling this Bill and facilitating a discussion regarding the length of time people are waiting to access care in our health service. As stated previously, I am taking the debate on behalf of the Minister for Health, Jennifer Carroll MacNeill. I thank all the Deputies who contributed to the debate. As already stated, while recognising the worthwhile intentions and aims of the Deputies in tabling this Bill, the Government is opposing it on the basis that the proposed measures …

I thank the Senators for their forbearance. It looks like there will be a vote in the Dáil in approximately 20 minutes. I will stay to hear the rest of the Senators. I am taking this debate on behalf of the Minister for housing and local government, Deputy Browne. I thank Senators Black, Flynn, Ruane and Higgins for the opportunity to come before the House this evening for the Second Stage debate on this Bill, which seeks to provide administrative support to elected members of local authorities to assist them in th…

I thank all the contributors to what has been a wide-ranging debate. I want to touch on what the Government is doing generally on housing. The housing plan, Delivering Homes, Building Communities, is one of a number of items. The first was the national planning framework, which has been revised and updated to deal with the increase in population. We want local authorities to look at their development plans and to cater for that increased population. One of the points that came up earlier related to local authoritie…

I thank all the Deputies for their valued contributions on Second Stage. The amendments in this Bill, as outlined earlier by the Minister once again clearly illustrate the Government's commitment to continuing to support homeowners in counties affected by defective concrete blocks as they work to remediate their homes and move on with their lives. I understand how difficult it is for people. Limerick is a county where people have dealt with pyrite and defective concrete blocks. Taking up the point that Deputy Ó Mur…

I appreciate the opportunity to present the Finance Bill to the Seanad and participate in this debate on behalf of the Tánaiste and Minister for Finance, Simon Harris, who is participating in the proceedings of today’s state visit by President Zelenskyy but who will of course be engaging with Senators as the Bill completes its passage through the Seanad. As Senators are aware, the annual Finance Bill provides a legislative basis for the provisions introduced in the budget as well as some further changes to the tax …