The first speaking slot is taken up by Deputies Mattie McGrath, Michael Healy-Rae and Danny Healy-Rae. They have 20 minutes between them.
Health (Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill 2024: Second Stage (Resumed)
Question again proposed: "That the Bill be now read a Second Time."
Níl aon Healy-Rae anseo so tógfaidh mé an t-am go léir, or I will do my best to anyway. Tá siad i gContae Chiarraí. I am delighted to speak on this Bill. The rent a room scheme, which the Bill tries to enable or help, is a very imaginative scheme. It has been a success but there are unintended consequences to every scheme and provision we make. The scheme should be expanded to ensure people are not disallowed medical cards as a result of exceeding the income threshold. As we know, the scheme is a tax-free initiative. The Bill needs to understand that. The medical card rates are difficult to traverse anyway. It can be very harsh for people who get an increase or some other form of income that puts them barely over the threshold, making it difficult to obtain a medical card. The medical card is worth a great deal to many people. The peace of mind it offers is probably the biggest thing. They know they can get the prescribed medication they need without facing enormous costs. I welcome the changes to be brought about in that regard.
Staying within the scope of the Bill and with the permission of the Cathaoirleach Gníomhach, as the Minister of State, Deputy Butler, is here, I will ask her about St. Brigid's Hospital in Carrick-on-Suir.
It was closed during Covid. First of all it was seconded for Covid and then it was not used for Covid in the middle of it all. It is not reopened to inpatients in spite of the fact that the Minister for Health, Deputy Donnelly, assured Councillor Kieran Bourke of Carrick-on-Suir and Deputy Cahill that it would be returned to use as a hospital. This is a much-loved hospital. I was down there at a rally on St. Brigid's Day, hence the name St. Brigid's Hospital. The three hospice suites have disappeared and we have not had the other step-down facilities. It came before the petitions committee and they looked at it and examined it but there has not been any progress. We had a meeting with an official from the HSE whose name eludes me now. He was the only person who came and looked at the hospital. He said he was doing a detailed examination and he would report back to the people in Carrick-on-Suir and to the subcommittee there. It is very important because this hospital is such a lifeline, and especially now there are such problems in University Hospital Limerick, UHL. There is also pressure on South Tipperary General Hospital and University Hospital Waterford because the step-down facilities are not as available as they were.
There is a lot of dysfunction in the HSE. The Minister of State, Deputy Butler, is aware of this. I heard the Minister, Deputy Donnelly, say last night that he had directed officials to change a decision they had made recently. That is his job and that is what he should do. A new nursing home, St. Conlon's in Nenagh, is finished but it has not opened as there are no staff. Surely when we were deciding this, building it, kitting it out and so on - I am told it is in pristine condition - it would have been anticipated that staff would be needed. Where is the joined-up thinking? They have a state-of-the-art building now, at a huge cost, but it is not available because no staff have been recruited for it. It is the same across many areas. This situation is untenable, especially given the pressures on UHL.
As part of the amalgamation within the UHL hospitals group - they called it a "reconfiguration" - accident and emergency departments were closed in Nenagh, St. John's and Ennis hospitals. We were supposed to have so many beds in UHL but the number of beds we were promised has never materialised while the population has grown. There was a set ratio of beds per head of population but this has been vastly exceeded. There is complete and absolute bedlam there as we speak. Last week was horrific because 150 people were waiting on trolleys in corridors on one day. This is unsustainable. While we feel for every person on a trolley or a chair with the bedlam in the corridors, we must also feel for the staff with the fatigue and the stress. The inhumanity of it all being allowed to go on is shocking. We have been told by the Minister for Health that the trolley numbers are falling. They certainly are not falling in our region. The numbers beggar belief. A lot of it has to be down to bad management. The management must be held accountable. They are unable to manage. We must question the employment of some of these managers, and what experience they have. Is it a case of who you know and not what you know? It is shocking that this can be allowed to happen.
This morning I raised a mental health issue that I believe comes under the area of the Minister of State, Deputy Butler, or that of the Minister of State, Deputy Rabbitte. Many people are languishing on CAMHS waiting lists, and many young people are forced to be incarcerated in adult psychiatric institutions. It is unbelievable. I cannot understand how we can accept that. The figures are plain to see. We saw what happened with CAMHS in south Kerry. There is also a shocking situation in our area of south Tipperary. Reports have been commissioned that have called it out. The HSE has been given a D or an E mark, which is pretty bad, not an A, a B or a C. How could it have been given a higher a mark because of the situation regarding young children being incarcerated?
Can we also consider the new children's hospital? That situation is unthinkable. First of all, it was the wrong site. It is now a costly mistake. I refer to experts such as the late Jonathan Irwin, who was so passionate in the Jack and Jill Foundation. Fuair sé bás cúpla mí ó shin. I want to pay a warm tribute to Mr. Irwin for the sterling work he did alongside his wife, former Senator Mary Ann O'Brien. They did great work with the Jack and Jill Foundation and its nurses. Mr. Irwin came to the Oireachtas Joint Committee on Health with Dr. Finn Breathnach, Ms Aisling McNiffe, Dr. Jimmy Sheehan and others who had built hospitals. They had built the Beacon and Blackrock hospitals and the Connolly clinical hospital and had experience and expertise. I organised a group and a briefing in the audiovisual room in Leinster House to talk to Senators and Deputies, all of whom were invited. A big crowd of up to 70 people came, which was one of the biggest groups ever, and the speakers laid it bare. Former Deputy Mick Wallace asked the speakers to set out, notwithstanding all the talk, how long it would take to build the hospital if they had a site on the M50 and how much it would cost. Dúirt an Dr. Ó Síocháin, Dr. Jimmy Sheehan, that if he got the site with planning, if it was cordoned off and if they were left to go about their business with ease of access and everything else, they would build it in 11 to 13 months and it would cost between €900 million and €1.1 billion. The project is now well over €2 billion and growing, and no sign of the hospital. Mick Wallace is gone out of here a long time. He is in Brussels now this long time. There has been sheer mismanagement and sheer bad contracting. Former Deputy Wallace understood contracting as he was used to dealing with it as a construction person. It was a dual-model contract. I remember at the time that BAM International expressed fears that BAM Ireland had gone in way too low. BAM Ireland has a habit of doing this. They go in at an all-time low and the morning after they get the contract, they send in forensic solicitors and forensic quantity surveyors and extras. Indeed there are also unquantifiable claims in there for the hospital. If it is finished, these will go on. There is a trick of the loop going on. The final costs were announced recently and the costs of those claims were not dealt with at all. It is a no-man's land because it is down to the courts, arbitration, cases and everything else. When I visited the site with my colleagues in the Rural Independent Group two or three years ago, we saw where the neighbouring houses' backyards were falling into the hospital. This is an appalling vista.
Dr. Sheehan also said at that time that his group's proposal would provide three helipads, if necessary, outside on a flat level site. There is no such helipad on this hospital. I believe there is one small helipad on a third floor at the side of the building. Think about that when children are trying to get therapy and recover inside with the noise of a helicopter landing. I have been told the windows are of such a massive standard that they will not hear the noise.
We have huge issues with the lack of accountability and lack of proper contracts and expertise in dealing with it. I am tired of repeating this. I was told by Bertie Ahern and Brian Cowen on different occasions when each was Taoiseach that they were going to disband the HSE, but it has continued. Deputy Catherine Connolly is in the Chamber. She is forever raising the situation in Galway. We are all raising such situations all over the country. It is bad management. When I joined here after the election - I am thankful to have been elected - I believed the budget for the new hospital was to be €750 million. Now it is more than €2 billion and growing, and we are getting less accountability.
There are lots of good things going on. As I said, people get lots of treatments, but there is mismanagement in other areas. There is sheer waste, which we also saw during Covid with the waste of money on buying excess equipment, poor standard equipment, and sometimes duplicate equipment for some of the stuff they got in to deal with Covid measures. It was a waste of time. I got emails from a doctor in the west of Ireland begging me to ask the HSE to stop sending lots of couriers with this stuff to him. He had a garage full of it, as well as what was at his practice, but it kept coming. Contracts are fired out and there is no accountability, yet we can see some people waiting for a wheelchair for several months. Deputy Verona Murphy brought a buachaill óg up here from Loch Garman some time ago. The Minister of State, Deputy Butler, may have met him out on the plinth. That little boy had outgrown his wheelchair and had to come up here to make his case to get such a simple thing as a wheelchair.
There was a group of young and not so young people in the Chamber Déardaoin or Dé Céadaoin last week. Bhí siad sa Ghailearaí. Scoliosis sufferers had to come here to make their case outside the gates and come in to the Gallery. We had a debate on it. There was a vote on it last night and the Government won that vote. They suffer on. We have the EU cross-border directive scheme. It works both ways. We are doing operations here in our hospitals that are paid for by the countries that send people here. We get access to hospitals abroad. Deputy Michael Collins and others are sending busloads to Belfast for all kinds. I sent them myself for hips, knees and cataracts. It beggars belief. It is a simple cataract operation. Our volunteer doctors and surgeons go out to field camps in Third World countries to perform these operations for people and we have people here languishing on waiting lists for four or five years and they have to go to Belfast to get it done or go abroad. Why have we no bit of humanity so that scoliosis patients do not have this suffering? Why can they not be sent abroad for these operations? I know it is difficult for them to travel but at least they should be examined and that should be explored.
Last week I mentioned the case of Clodagh from Fethard, who had a little child, Keri, born with severe difficulties. She was injured at birth. That child lived to be 16 years of age. Her mother fought a battle with the HSE all the way along. When the child developed scoliosis, she was refused permission to go abroad for treatment after the operation that had been carried out was a misfit and did not work. It happens with a lot of operations. The children grow and the steel tube that is put in is no longer suitable.
I heard this morning on the radio that Dr. Tony Holohan, who was before us all and in everyone's kitchen during Covid, has been appointed to some cancer research group with a salary of €220,000. I only heard this on the radio.
It is not in the Bill.
No, it is not in the Bill but it is with regard to mismanagement. I appreciate that. It is total mismanagement and two fingers on both hands to every taxpayer out there. The job that was created for him in Trinity went horribly wrong, and rightly so, when the academics objected, and rightly so. Why would a man with no expertise in this area be brought in? Now they found a home for him in cancer research that is funded by the HSE. I do not have the exact details but it has to do with cancer research. When we think back to Vicky Phelan and the other ladies who had misdiagnoses and delays with cervical smears that Dr. Holohan oversaw. Now he has been appointed to cancer research.
These are the facts. The facts are there and the court cases that all those people had to go through. Cian O'Carroll is-----
I just want to tell the Deputy it is not permissible. There is no sense whatsoever. It is not permissible to raise in this fashion the fact that he or anybody is allegedly responsible when he was not directly responsible.
He was the CMO.
He was the CMO.
It is to be dissuaded.
If we think of the smears and people who died.
Can I object? Deputy McGrath is not saying anything in relation to the Bill-----
You are actually hearing about the Bill.
That person is not here to defend themselves.
I dissociate myself from the comments.
You can all you like but the facts are the facts
Part 2 of the Bill amends the Health Act 1970 and it is a very wide area. There are also the rent a room provisions.
They are very necessary.
And I welcome them.
There are rent a room taxation provisions which are necessary.
There is the Irish Medicines Board Act 1995 which is very important and necessary legislation. I ask Deputy McGrath to try to stick to the Bill.
Déanfaidh mé mo dhícheall but I am just saying I am not dissociating myself from anything I said. This is what is happening and what is going on in front of our eyes. Yes, the extension to the medical card is very welcome, as are the changes to the 1995 Act's provisions, but we will have questions and no answers and around the house and mind the dresser. All these things are going on in the HSE. It is back to mismanagement and a lack of accountability. The Minister for Health is at variance with what is going on. For taxpayers and the families of those children and women who lost their lives, it is a shocking indictment on the House. It is a shocking indictment on the Department of Health and on all of us who allowed it to go on. Mar fhocal scoir I repeat this.
Why do we not deal with the issues we should be dealing with? This is special legislation to deal with an issue. Every piece of legislation or statutory instrument should have an automatic review of its impact. There are unforeseen consequences. Nobody can see ahead to what might happen. We should have the capacity to be able to review all legislation after it beds in. There should be an automatic three-month or six-month review. It should be analysed to see whether pieces of it need to be tweaked or whether there are parts that disallow people access to a scheme. For example, there are people who want to use the rent a room scheme, but if they do, they will lose out in so many other areas. There should be some way to review all legislation. We should not have to come back with more legislation. I thank the Cathaoirleach Gníomhach for his indulgence.
A number of issues were raised there that were not in the Bill. Accusations were made about people who did not have direct responsibility at that particular time or since.
The CMO.
It is unfair to them.
The Chief Medical Officer.
There is also the fact that the Minister of State is here to hear submissions on the Bill itself.
Fáiltím roimh an mBille seo. Is Bille dearfach é an Bille Sláinte (Forálacha Ilghnéitheacha), 2024. Tá an Bille ag díriú isteach ar dhá rud ach go háirithe: fáil réidh leis an tástáil maoine i leith ioncam ó sheomra atá curtha ar cíos agus tuilleadh cumhachtaí a thabhairt do phoitigéirí na tíre. Is maith an rud é sin. Gabhaim buíochas arís leis an leabharlann as ucht an iris eolais a chuir sé ar fáil. Tá sé an-suimiúil agus cuireann sé gach rud i gcomhthéacs. Gabhaim buíochas leis an leabharlann as sin. I will not repeat what I just said in Irish. I welcome the Bill. It is short and to the point. There will be no means testing for the medical card, which is very welcome, for those who want to rent out a room. I will come back to some of this. Although we are not speaking about a housing crisis, I will speak about it because it is mentioned in the digest to give context as to why it is so important to make renting a room as accessible as possible for people to avail of the scheme and not be penalised. It is very welcome.
It is also welcome that we are extending the powers of pharmacists based on recommendations of the task force. I should say I am not sure about the regulation of this or who will oversee it. Any of us run to the chemist and beg them to renew a prescription and put pressure on them to do so. It is something we want but we want it under supervision. We want to ensure, particularly with regard to mental health, that prescriptions are not renewed without proper supervision or monitoring. I know a review is promised. I did not see it in the legislation and perhaps I missed it. I am not sure whether it is listed in the legislation or whether it is something that will happen automatically.
Safeguards.
I worry about this. I do not know whether the Minister of State heard me but earlier today I raised the Act that was introduced in 2017 ostensibly to protect sex workers. Written into that legislation was that a review would take place after three years. This has not happened even though we are now in 2024. This is an example of where a review was written into a Bill, so I am very worried about this Bill. I know the provision in the Bill comes from the pharmacists and the task force, that there was an interim report and a final report, and that suggestions are ongoing. The next step will see pharmacists prescribing for minor injuries, which is not the case at present. I am open to any of this as long as there is openness, accountability and monitoring. I am a little concerned about an example given of extending the administration of vaccines to other therapists, in that they would be given the power to administer vaccines. This will probably be done by regulation at some stage.
The example cited was that of physiotherapists, occupational therapists or podiatrists. I would have certain concerns about that. I will be running back into the Chair, but if the Minister of State has the chance to respond, I will hear her reply. The list includes dentists, nurses, midwives, opticians, physiotherapists, podiatrists, radiographers and pre-emergency care professionals. I have no problem with some of these, but I would be concerned about some others. Provision is also made for alternative medicines. Some of that is already in place, but it will be extended. I have no problem with any of that.
Making it easier for people to rent out a room is good news. This measure has been underused. We are all remiss in not asking questions about the rent a room scheme and we have not held to account how it has operated. The only question I could find on it was submitted by Deputy Bruton in October. The answer went through the number of households renting a room from 2016 to 2021. It started at 7,350 taxpayer units, as they are called, and increased to 10,730 in 2021. The reply set out the cost to the State. It was increasing all the time. At its highest, it reached €26.8 million for 10,730 taxpayer units. Clearly, there is a need for a cost-benefit analysis of this revenue forgone. I am all for the rent a room scheme, but I would like to see an analysis and figures.
The scheme permits rental income of up to €14,000 tax free, which is welcome, but I am concerned that we might be setting a target for what households might aspire to take in. It seems off the deep end to talk about €14,000 for a room, and I am sure that is not happening, but I would love to know the facts. This is outside the Minister of State’s area, but it relates to the reason we are changing the law. That change is good, but we are making it without having to hand a breakdown of the rent a room scheme nationally, for example, who is availing of it, whether a number of rooms are being let per house and whether those are taken into account when calculating the €14,000. My understanding is that someone could rent two or three rooms and the income from them would not be taken into account as long as it does not exceed €14,000. Interestingly, if it does exceed €14,000, then the household is taxed on all of it. I would love to see a breakdown of the scheme.
On a related note, I am unsure as to whether those in local authority housing can rent out a room without the income being taken into account in their rent assessments. I believe that was being done by the Minister for housing, although I am not sure. I take some of the blame for that, as colleagues and I should be asking questions regularly to find out the details. Sometimes, though, it is difficult to keep asking questions and put the information together.
Stark figures show that the average weekly rent in private rental accommodation increased by 37% between 2016 and 2022, but I will not go into the details. Consider what is available to rent. I will leave this for a housing debate, but I wish to highlight the number of tenancies. The Residential Tenancies Board cites a figure of 246,453 registered tenancies. The CSO cites a different figure. It has been suggested that the disparity is accounted for by some people saying they are renting when they are actually in student accommodation or other types of accommodation that are not registered. There was an interesting comment by Dr. Michael Byrne, associate professor at the department of social policy in UCD. He has more titles than that. He suggested to the Oireachtas joint committee that, rather than it being a case of landlords leaving the sector in their droves, which is often put forward in this House, they may actually be fleeing regulation. We are waiting to see something from the CSO, which has committed to carrying out a six-month investigation into the significant difference in the number of registered tenancies.
It will mostly be students availing of the rent a room scheme in digs. There are almost 200,000 students in Ireland. To be precise, I am told there are 199,000. This number is expected to grow to 239,000. Of them, 19% are in digs, which is a large proportion. The scheme is not specific to students, but it is often them availing of it. In addition to digs is specific student accommodation. No matter what measures we take, we are keeping rent prices-----
High.
-----high. While I welcome this initiative, we are keeping prices extraordinarily high no matter and almost setting a target to which people aspire. The affordability of student accommodation has been repeatedly highlighted as an issue for students. According to a study by the University of Galway, one of the most controversial aspects – this is relevant to the Minister, Deputy Harris – of purpose-built student accommodation is the level of rent charged. Rents are getting higher even though the accommodation is purpose built. We are providing a large amount of public money. That is good, but I do not know what the guarantee for the State is. Are we funding entities, be they universities or others, with no return for the State and no guarantee that there will be extra public property for us that will lead to prices decreasing in future?
I welcome that the medical card will not be taken into account. Interestingly, 30.8% of the population has a medical card. That seems a significant proportion, but it has actually decreased ten percentage points since 2012. The number of GP-visit cards has increased, which is welcome. It is good that people have medical cards and that we are progressing Sláintecare, but as TDs, we are repeatedly told those with medical cards are being charged for services, in particular, blood tests. The Minister of State is familiar with this matter. According to a reply I received to a parliamentary question, medical card holders should not be charged for blood tests. Within that answer, though, there was room for discretion and the Minister referred to various discussions he had had with the appropriate organisation about whether there should be charges. Just today, níos luaithe inniu, bhí ceannteideal ar Raidió na Gaeltachta. Bhí duine ag gearán ar son an chosmhuintir ar an talamh. Dúirt sé go raibh na daoine sin ag teacht chuige ag rá go raibh orthu íoc as tástáil fola. Ba cheannteideal é seo inniu. That is difficult.
I have already mentioned pharmacists. The issues of monitoring and mental health are crucial.
Deputy Mattie McGrath referred to me raising a certain matter. All of that discussion is taking place within the context of a hospital in Galway that is constantly at breaking point. It is not me saying that. I have with me a HIQA report from just a year ago. HIQA attended the hospital in Galway and said it was grossly overcrowded. At that stage, the number of people on trolleys numbered in the 20s. This week, it is 50-something or 60-something. The hospital is continuously overcrowded, the staff are at their wits’ end and, most importantly, there is no dignity or privacy for patients. Progress was made on diverting children from its accident and emergency unit, but I understand that situation has slid back. HIQA referred to an absence of staff, including consultants, with significant impacts. A through-flow was not possible because of a severe deficit in the number of beds. I could not believe the figure – 220-something. This is not even to mention two horrible words – “delayed discharges” – which I will not use, yet there are patients who are ready to leave the hospital but have nowhere to go.
I am only mentioning some in the interests of brevity.
At the same time, tá leaba folamh i gcroílár na Gaeltachta in Áras Mhic Dara ar an gCeathrú Rua. Leis na blianta tá leaba folamh. Tá leaba folamh in Ospidéal Pháirc Mhuirlinne. I understand it has got worse since HIQA's report last year. It has employed more staff and consultants but still has not got its complement of staff. While there is pressure on the hospital, Merlin Park has empty beds in the unit for elderly people. Carraroe has empty beds. We get different answers about the absence of staff. It is very difficult. Of course, we have the district hospital in Clifden. They could all be used to take the pressure off the hospital.
I will finish on this point. All of these problems were recognised years ago by various taoisigh and high politicians, including the Tánaiste, who said that the emergency department in Galway was not fit for purpose. We thought we were making progress with an options appraisal which came and said to build a brand new hospital in Merlin Park. I foolishly relaxed. The next thing that came forward was a second options appraisal because there had been no answer from the Government and a lesser solution had been decided, which is a ridiculous solution, to extend the regional hospital, which is completely congested, and build an elective hospital at Merlin Park. That is now Government policy. The actual main recommendation of the 2019 report was to build a brand new hospital in Merlin Park. Unfortunately, it did not happen. Fáiltím roimh an mBille seo. Is tús agus céim mhaith é ach tar ar ais, le toil an Aire Stáit, ó thaobh cúrsaí monatóireachta agus na bpoitigéirí de. Gabhaim míle buíochas.
I thank the Deputies for their participation in the debate. As the Minister, Deputy Donnelly, outlined yesterday, the measures being introduced as part of this legislation will remove barriers to accessing the rent a room scheme, support further vaccination programmes and help to strengthen Ireland's visibility on our medicine supply chain.
The first measure is an important step to meeting Government's Housing for All goals, by ensuring that people eligible to receive the rent a room relief can avail of the exemption of that income from the medical card assessment process, where appropriate, as soon as possible. I agree with Deputy Connolly that we need to look at the analysis, breakdown and cost to the Exchequer. We do not want to see unintended consequences where we would expect rents to be at €14,000 for renting out one room. I know that is the top level, but the point I am trying to make is that it does not need to be the norm.
The proposed legislation also seeks to ensure that we have a robust medicine supply system in place and that we can utilise the expertise in the system in further vaccination programmes. It seeks to ensure that where shortages in medicine supplies occur, actions can be taken to mitigate the impacts on patients and that suitable replacement medicinal products can be used instead. Shortages of medicinal products have unfortunately become a reality across many countries in recent years. This Bill will allow us to be more agile in our response to these occurrences.
The Bill will also enable pharmacists and other health professions to continue to expand the supports they provide to our health services. It is important to note that the Bill intends to amend the Irish Medicines Board Act 1995 to enable pharmacists to sell and supply certain approved medicines without the need for prescription, subject to appropriate regulation and controls, to be set out in secondary legislation. This will be developed with stakeholders including the HSE and the Pharmaceutical Society of Ireland, and other protocols will be put in place.
The Bill, when enacted, will also amend current legislation to enhance the Minister's powers to make regulation for management of and access to medicinal products. This will include provision for the enhanced management of shortages of medicinal products. The legislation will strength joint actions by the Health Products Regulatory Authority, the HSE, the pharmacy regulator and the Department of Health. It will enable pharmacists to make therapeutic substitutions of products of which there is a shortage in line with an approved clinical protocol, which is the important piece.
I also want to put this on record about medical cards. Currently, 43% of the population hold either a medical card or a GP visit card. Some 50% coverage is available if all eligible people take up the cards, especially the GP cards. For these reasons, the Minister, Deputy Donnelly, and I are committed to having the legislation put in place as soon as possible to ensure early implementation of these measures. Further, as I outlined earlier, the Minister proposes to amend the Bill on Committee Stage to introduce additional reporting requirements for actors in the medicine supply chain to support the national system for management of medicine supplies and to facilitate a more proactive system for the management of medicine shortages.
On Deputy Connolly's question, because this is really important, I reiterate that it is intended to amend the Irish Medicines Board Act 1995 to enable pharmacists to sell and supply certain approved medicines without the need for prescription subject to appropriate regulations and controls to be set out in secondary legislation. I agree with her wholeheartedly about mental health prescriptions. They would have to be provided. There will be dialogue with stakeholders such as the HSE, the pharmacy regulator and others. Protocols will be put in place. This will happen when the Bill is enacted. It will then amend current legislation to enhance these powers with the safeguards in place. That is something I will keep a close eye on. I thank Deputy Connolly for raising that.
I thank Deputies again for their contributions. I look forward to more engagement on the next Stages of the Bill and to it being passed by the House.
Question put and agreed to.