I welcome the Minister of State, Deputy Butler.
Nithe i dtosach suíonna - Commencement Matters
Disease Management
I thank the Minister of State for coming to the House to take what I consider to be a very important matter. There are hundreds and thousands of people in this country who are suffering from type 1 and type 2 diabetes, yet we have no record, no statistics and no understanding of how many have either condition. There are many other countries that have national registers for people with diabetes. I am calling for the establishment of a national register to inform policymaking in terms of ascertaining the number of people in this country who have type 1 and type 2 diabetes. Diabetes is an overarching condition that can have so many profound effects, including on eyesight, hearing and bodily function. We do not have any statistics on the number of people who are suffering with diabetes. As already stated, many countries already have national registers. I do not think it would cost a huge amount or cause significant inconvenience for GPs throughout the country to be able to log on and register patients who have been diagnosed with diabetes. The ask is simple. Is there a Government commitment to establish a national register? What kind of timeframe are we looking at? If there is no such commitment, why is that the case?
I thank the Senator for raising this really important issue. As we know, diabetes is a complex and pervasive condition that can require management across the healthcare service. This includes care delivered by general practice and community specialists, hospital inpatient specialist care, as well as self-management support. As we know, many people can live very well with diabetes and can self-manage it.
The increasing prevalence of diabetes poses a challenge to our health service, with increasing costs driven primarily by hospitalisation and treating associated complications. The Department of Health supports the HSE national clinical programme for diabetes in the planned delivery of diabetes services. The GP chronic disease management, CDM, programme, which commenced in 2020, includes type 2 diabetes as one of four chronic diseases in respect of which General Medical Services patients receive ongoing planned GP care. From last Thursday, 30 November, the CDM preventative programme has been expanded to include all women who have been diagnosed with gestational diabetes or pre-eclampsia since January, a cohort at particular risk of developing diabetes. The women that subsequently develop diabetes will be treated under the CDM programme, regardless of whether they hold a medical or GP visit card. I know the Senator will welcome that. In addition, under the enhanced community care programme, 30 new diabetes community specialist teams are being established within specialist ambulatory care hubs. These teams will be staffed with clinical nurse specialists, dieticians and podiatrists to enable specialist care closer to the patient's home.
Currently, as the Senator stated, Ireland does not have a national diabetes register. It is acknowledged that the absence of a register represents a barrier to improving care for those with diabetes in Ireland. With a diabetes register, the HSE could better track the prevalence of the condition and measure outcomes. This would improve planning for future services and potentially reduce costs.
As part of budget 2023, the Minister, Deputy Donnelly, allocated funding to commence the development of a national diabetes registry. A multidisciplinary HSE and academic team, with clinical public health and IT representation, commenced work on phase 1 of this multi-year project this year. However, progress has been delayed due to the pause on recruitment of grade 7 and above for management and administration posts. Nonetheless, the development of a national diabetes registry remains a priority and will have long-term benefits for the improvement and delivery of diabetes care by providing reliable data for healthcare planners and policymakers.
As part of budget 2024, €500,000 in further funding has been provided for the development of this important initiative, including in respect of the recruitment of the necessary staff, which is very welcome. I also make mention of the all-party committee for diabetes here in the Oireachtas, which is chaired by Deputy Devlin. There are many members of that all-party committee. I previously chaired the all-party committee on dementia, and we have made great progress since. In the all-party committees, politics are left at the door and we just discuss the real, important issues.
I thank Senator Conway again for raising this matter. This is something that is very close to my own heart. In the previous Dáil, I tabled several questions about diabetes. People can live very well with it. I agree wholeheartedly with the Senator that we need a specialist register.
I thank the Minister of State for what I describe as a very positive reply. At least there is an acknowledgement by the Minister that this is necessary, and he is putting the infrastructure in place to develop a specialist register for the people in this country who have diabetes. Is there is a specific timeline for delivering this? Could we say that, by 2025, this register will be established? This register would inform healthcare for diabetes and all associated matters.
I would like to see it earlier than 2025. In September 2019, Sláintecare integration funding was allocated to the HSE to design and procure a national diabetes registry and develop a full specification plan for a national diabetes registry. It was intended that the registry would be in place in 2021, but the project was paused, as we can all understand, because of Covid-19. As I said, funding was allocated as part of budget 2023. There is also a funding allocation in budget 2024. With us all working together and keeping the pressure on, it is really important that we would have this registry in place as soon as possible. It is very important, and I thank Senator Conway for raising it here today.
Waste Management
I thank the Minister of State for coming to the House. The results of the EPA report on the circular economy and waste statistics that were published last week very much threw into sharp light just how much needs to be done with regard to what can be recycled and what is being recycled in Ireland. In fact, the report shows that Ireland is going backwards, not forwards, with regard to recycling. This is particularly so when we see our recycling rates have remained unchanged at 41%, our packaging recycling is going down rather than getting better and, ultimately, just 28% of plastic packaging generated in Ireland was recycled in 2021.
For some time now, a message went out that Ireland was outperforming every other EU member state in recycling. The barefaced reality is actually very different. Ireland has an enormous amount of work to do to improve what it is doing, especially because mandatory targets are coming down the line in 2025. All this comes at a time when we need to encourage households and promote to them about consuming differently, consuming less and reusing what is around them. Yet, we are seeing the path of consumption is going upwards and is not flatlining. Therefore, there needs to be very serious consideration of the whole area of waste management in this country. I have no doubt the Minister of State will tell me about all the great work the Government is doing with the brown bins and the regulatory reviews that are ongoing or have been promised in this whole area.
There is a key issue here. An initiative was announced this morning with regard to brown bins that will be another cost to people. We have to ask about the incentives here regarding the ultimate attitude towards waste in this country. This is at a time when people are really struggling with the cost of living. My big fear is that while initiatives on their own may be welcome, ultimately, they are tinkering around the edges and we are not coming to terms with the scale of what we need to do with recycling in this country. There needs to be a serious conversation about education, the cost of service, the availability of the services and, crucially, who and what is delivering the services.
We have a situation in this country where Dublin, unlike most other EU or European cities, has a privatised waste collection service, and the local authorities are then left to pick up the pieces with everything else. Dublin City Council spends almost €1 million per year collecting illegal dumping. There were 3,200 tonnes of illegally dumped waste in in Dublin city last year. That is the equivalent of more than 106,000 black bins annually. The communities in which I am based, in particular the north inner city, are fed up with illegal dumping. It is a scourge on their communities, but it is right across the country. The key issue here is not the focus on the collection of bins but our overall attitude to waste in this country.
We need to take very seriously the work done by councillors in Dublin City Council. I was one of them in 2019 and we passed a motion calling for the re-municipalisation of services. That led to the commissioning of a report by the Institute of Public Administration. There are a number of very stark facts in that report, along with other research that has been conducted by researchers, which highlight that Ireland does stand apart and that it has a fragmented and disjointed system with regard to waste management and waste collection. Ultimately, if we are to ever get to a place where we have a proper circular economy, where local authorities are not only charged with enforcement but are also able to execute work, which is the real issue here in that local authorities have one hand tied behind their backs with regard to what they can do in waste management, then we need to change the system.
I am asking what the Government is doing to review the whole system of waste management in this country. We believe a number of simple changes to the Waste Management Act could be made to change the current system of waste collection and competition for the market in Dublin and across the country. That is the starting point in working towards a system where local authorities can ultimately take proper, comprehensive control of waste management in Ireland.
The latest report on waste statistics for 2021 from the EPA showed a concerning trend. To be honest, many people were disappointed because, as the Senator said, we would have assumed we were the best in class for packaging recycling because we were for a long time. The concerning trend showed that recycling rates did not keep pace with increasing levels of waste generation.
Before I read the script, which I am delivering on behalf of the Minister, Deputy Ryan, who, as the Senator will know, is at COP28, I must say that all my three children were members of the green schools reduce, reuse, recycle campaign when it started 25 years ago. The schools are the correct place to start as they do a fantastic job. From that perspective, that is why so many were disappointed when they saw those statistics last week.
The report shows that to meet our ambitious 2025 recycling targets for municipal waste, packaging waste and plastic packaging waste, we must prioritise recycling over energy recovery and landfill. The Government is taking a range of new actions to incentivise people and businesses to first reduce and then recycle their waste, such as allowing soft plastics in the household recycling bin and bringing in mandatory segregation for commercial waste. Notwithstanding this, we all need to redouble our efforts to tackle excessive production and consumption. As we are now heading into Christmas, we are all very conscious of the amount of waste packaging that will be produced as a result.
The plain fact is that the relentless production of packaging is swamping the gains we are making in recycling volumes. Across the board, the Government’s policy is to move towards a circular economy where things are reused or recycled as much as possible and where the generation of waste is minimised. However, achieving the full benefits of the circular economy needs more than action at the individual level. It needs the right mix of Government policy, new business models and new systems of production. We are working hard to implement these.
As the Senator will know, here at home, there have been key Government actions to reduce ways to boost recycling. Soft plastics can now be put in the household recycling bin, the segregation of commercial waste is now mandatory, packaging fees are being adjusted to reward better design for recycling, self-compliance is ending for packaging producers, a levy on waste recovery has been introduced along with a higher landfill levy to boost recycling, and there are a host of measures to reduce single-use plastics using levies and producer responsibility mechanisms.
Legislation will be introduced by the end of the year to ensure every household has access to a bio-waste brown bin collection service.
I did not realise that not everyone had access to one. Where I live in County Waterford, we have had them many years. A new deposit return scheme, DRS, will begin in February 2024 for plastic bottles and aluminium cans. That will be a complete change of use for many people and it is very positive.
Policy and legislative measures introduced by the Government in recent years to incentivise people to reduce and recycle waste include the waste action plan for a circular economy, containing more than 200 measures; the circular economy strategy, which sets a course for Ireland to transition to a circular economy; the national food waste prevention roadmap; and the Circular Economy and Miscellaneous Provisions Act 2022.
Ireland is not alone in facing these challenges. The European Commission has initiated negotiations on a new packaging waste regulation that proposes new packaging waste generation targets for the first time.
In Ireland, with the exception of one or two municipal districts, local authorities have all but exited the household waste collection market. In most cases, they could not compete with the prices charged by private entrants. The obligation on local authorities to collect household waste is set out in the Waste Management Act 1996, as amended, and, in summary, provides that each local authority shall collect or arrange for collection.
I was struck by what the Senator said and I will speak about illegal dumping in the next part. It is the scourge of all our communities.
I am supportive of all the initiatives the Minister of State outlined. However, a piece of the jigsaw is missing. We are talking to the people who want to do more, but there are people who feel they cannot do more, for a variety of reasons, or will not do more. This is not about the individual, rather, this is about the overall provision of services. At the moment, local authorities are cleaning up the mess left behind because we have such a fragmented system. The missing piece of the jigsaw has to be brought into the conversation. Ultimately, we need to look at how we are spending money in this area. The Minister of State rightly mentioned that local authorities cannot compete with the prices of some of the private operators that are frankly paying pittance to their workers. They are paying the minimum wage when there were good jobs in waste collection in local authorities. The key issue is that Dublin City Council has to spend extra money to clean up the mess left behind because of the chaotic fragmented system, particularly in Dublin but also in other parts of the country. The crucial point is that we cannot talk about the initiatives to individuals; rather, we need to look at the overall provision of services, and local government and local authorities is where that needs to be.
The Senator hit the nail on the head when she said we are talking to those who want to do more but there are some people who do not want to do anything or very little. I think it starts in the schools with the green flag initiative. I was delighted when my local school, Portlaw National School, recently acquired its 12th green flag. Many generations of kids in the school have gone through this important initiative. Illegal dumping is a huge issue in Dublin, Waterford, Galway and everywhere else. It is a huge issue. It is very costly on the State and it is worrying.
There are no proposals to change the arrangements local authorities have. However, it is important we have the conversation and try to see what more we can do. It is hugely expensive for local authorities to deal with illegal dumping, whether it is urban or rural.
School Transport
I am delighted to have the Minister of State in the Seanad. I am fed up, as no doubt every other politician is, with the state of school transport in this country. It is an absolute outrage, to be honest, that the Department of Education has been sitting on a report on school transport since 2021.
I rise today specifically to deal with one issue in Galway around the Educate Together national school in Newcastle. For years, we had a bus service from beyond Moycullen – families in Rosscahill are affected as well – but it was abandoned a week into the service in September of this year. Since 12 September, there has been no bus coming in from Moycullen. There are now at least 20 families on the road in their cars when they do not need to be. All of those kids could be on one bus coming in and out.
The mother in one particular family coming from Rosscahill has to take an hour of annual leave every single day to bring her kids in and out because she starts work at 8 a.m. She then has to pay €15 extra to a childminder every day to get somebody to collect her kids and bring them home to Rosscahill. I do not know if the Minister of State knows the area, but Rosscahill is in a rural part of Galway past Moycullen, so it is not really feasible to get somebody else to collect and deliver children.
It is obviously a real frustration for these families but to me it is also a frustration because of the environmental impact it is having. It is completely unnecessary travel. I am the education spokesperson for the Green Party, as the Minister of State knows. I brought up numerous times at the education committee that I simply see no real initiative in the Department of Education when it comes to the environment. I am delighted that we finally got solar panels on school buildings over the line last week. However, when it comes to school transport, it is a no-brainer. Some 30% of the traffic in Galway is kids being brought to school in a car when they could all be on buses if we got that bit right.
We would love to see the Department of Education allow school transport to go into the Department of Transport so it could be joined up. Buses are not going a million miles away from where these school kids are going to and from. If it could all be joined up so that we have one transport system that everybody could use, we could get away from these issues. The issue in Moycullen and Rosscahill is the lack of a bus driver. I know that the same issue applies in many areas. The way we do transport in this country is very inefficient. I do not think it should take two years – it is more than two years now – for the Department of Education to get to grips with what the problem is. Ask any politician is and they will tell you what the problem is. We are at our wits' end.
I am also at my wits' end because there is never any response from Bus Éireann. All of these parents will individually ask, but I cannot get the answers. Now I have to bring in the Minister of State to answer for the Minister for Education. There is no doubt that every other politician is doing the same thing. I ask for a bit of communication on where the review is, and in particular on this bus service for Moycullen. You cannot give people the expectation for years that their kids will continue to be brought in on a school bus and then just drop it in the middle of September.
As a mother who always depended on school transport, I can hear the frustration in Senator O’Reilly’s voice. It depends where you live. People in large towns and cities do not realise how important school transport is until their children need it. For 18 years, I have been putting my youngsters on a school bus. They would not have secondary school only for that. I understand where the Senator is coming from.
Before I address the specific issues raised on the Galway Educate Together National School in Newcastle, I wish to provide an outline of the extent of the school transport scheme. The school transport scheme is a significant operation managed by Bus Éireann on behalf of the Department of Education. As part of the operation of the scheme, Bus Éireann manages the procurement, tender process and contract management arrangements to include services provided by contractors under the school transport scheme. There are currently in the region of 7,000 vehicles operating on the scheme. The competitive procurement process is conducted in accordance with the negotiated procedure under national and EU procurement legislation.
In the 2022-23 school year, more than 149,000 children, including more than 18,000 children with special educational needs, were transported on a daily basis to primary and post-primary schools throughout the country. In addition, school transport scheme services were provided for more than 5,400 children who arrived to Ireland from Ukraine. The total cost of the scheme in 2022 was €338 million.
The school transport scheme is an important service for families, as I said, and children. The purpose of the Department's school transport scheme is, having regard to available resources, to support the transport to and from school of children who reside remote from their nearest school. There has been an overall increase in both applications and tickets issued for the 2023-24 school year in comparison with the previous year.
Already over 134,000 tickets have issued to mainstream pupils for the 2023-24 school year which is an increase of 12% when compared with the start of the last school year. The number of tickets issued so far has already exceeded the total number of tickets issued in the 2022-23 school year.
To date, over 5,500 new applications have been received for SEN transport for the 2023-24 school year, with over 1,400 of these having been received since July alone. This compares with 5,100 new applications received at this time last year. To date transport has been provided for over 4,300 new applicants for the 2023-24 school year, with transport being provided for over 19,000 pupils in the current school year. The Department continues to receive applications all year round.
As the Deputy is aware, a review of the school transport scheme has been completed. The review was conducted with a view to examining the current scheme, its broader effectiveness and sustainability, and to ensure it serves students and their families adequately. The technical working group and the steering group have recently completed their work on the final report of the review. This final report includes recommendations on the future operation of the scheme. The report has recently been submitted by the steering group for consideration by the Minister, Deputy Foley.
Regarding the topic raised by the Senator today, Bus Éireann has confirmed that no services were cancelled. However, it has reported that, as the Senator said, there is currently no contractor or driver to operate the service in question. This is against a backdrop of a significant shortage of drivers in the labour market overall and competing demands for drivers to deliver additional public transport initiatives such as Connecting Ireland, BusConnects and Local Link services. Bus Éireann has confirmed that the route in question is currently in the procurement process and once a suitable contractor or driver is sourced, transport will commence. Bus Éireann continues to engage directly with the families affected, with regular communications updating them on the position with their transport service.
The Department has established an exceptional no-service interim grant to assist with the cost of private transport arrangements families may have to put in place until their service begins.
The Minister of State's response has outlined numerous other problems with school transport which highlights the absolute urgency in getting this report. We are now in December and we will be lucky to get sight of it before Christmas. It will end up having taken more than two years to get a report to tell us what we basically already know which is that school transport is a bit of a joke. People are given an allocation of a school bus and nobody shows up to drive the bus. I am frustrated but I am nowhere near as frustrated as the parents who need to take time off work every day to take their kids to school.
I am hearing that there is not enough communication with these parents. I appreciate what the Minister of State is saying that they are in regular communication. We still have no idea as to when this procurement process will be completed or when the school bus is likely to come. There are two things going on here. First, the Minister of State has said that it has not been cancelled. Second, she is saying a procurement process is under way. Either the school bus is on or there is a procurement process. I do not think both can be happening at the same time.
I know the Minister of State understands my frustration. I appreciate that she is coming in here and answering questions on behalf of the Minister, Deputy Foley. However, as politicians, we need communication with us, including timely responses to our questions from Bus Éireann which would mean I would not need to have to bring a Minister in here.
I understand the Senator's frustration. It must be acknowledged that 149,000 children travelled to school on a school bus last year. Many of them had additional needs and were accompanied on the bus. It is an enormous logistical operation. As the country is at full employment, there are issues with getting home care and the same applies with getting bus drivers. We often hear reference in the Dáil to the fact that once bus drivers reach the age of 70, they can no longer drive unless they drive for a private company. It is an issue that has been spoken about frequently. We are challenged in many areas, including construction and hospitality.
The Minister wants to reiterate that no service has been cancelled. While the lack of contractors and drivers is extremely regrettable, Bus Éireann is prioritising the establishment of new services for the small number of families affected. I again mention the exceptional interim grant. I will bring the Senator's frustration to the attention of the Minister, Deputy Foley, and her office. It is certainly not acceptable for a parent to have to take one hour's annual leave every day to drop her children to school. I will certainly bring that back.
I thank the Minister of State. I also thank Senator O'Reilly for tabling this Commencement matter which we all find very frustrating.
Hospital Services
I thank the Minister of State for taking this Commencement matter this morning. The need to expand cardiac services at University Hospital Waterford is a topic that we are both very passionate about. Along with Oireachtas colleagues past and present, we have both campaigned long and hard for it over many years. On the majority of items which affect Waterford and the wider south-east region, we all work collectively cross-party to advance these projects. I know the Minister of State and I would not have it any other way.
The general public and campaign groups have very much driven this issue and kept it to the forefront of everyone's mind. That is a good thing because the people of Waterford and the south east deserve equity of access to life-saving cardiac interventions in the same way as the people in other regions have. The Minister, Deputy Harris, approved the construction of the second cardiac cath lab at UHW at the end of 2018 against the advice of officials because he and the Government believed in the case being put forward by University Hospital Waterford, which was that in order to adequately treat patients in the south east in a timely fashion a second cath lab was required as the first step to expanding services which at the time only operated from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., five days a week.
It was a painfully slow process to get to 4 September when the second cath lab opened. It was beset by many delays but thankfully we now have the second cath lab operational. There have been many vested interests in medical and other areas that did not and still do not want cardiac services expanded in Waterford. However, the political will and determination has superseded those vested interests and both those cath labs are now operational five days a week from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m.
The next step is to expand that service to operate from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. seven days a week. I understand from both management at UHW and from officials that the final business case to expand those services has been submitted to the Department in recent weeks. I compliment all those who have worked diligently on putting that case forward. I recall a meeting which I hosted as mayor in 2016 when consultants stated that a service operating from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. seven days a week would actually cater for 95% throughput of all PPCI cases. I am sure the Minister of State will agree that to reach that point would be a very significant development. To have it in place by the end of quarter 1 would be welcomed by all in Waterford and the south east.
Some in opposition have cast doubt, stating that the recruitment embargo would prevent the extension of cardiac services to seven days a week. I ask the Minister of State this morning to clarify the position with the current HSE recruitment embargo. What, if any, impact will that have on the extension of services? I understand that management has indicated to the Minister of State, the HSE and the Department that if it gets the approval in short order, it will be able to commence weekend cover by the end of March.
That would be hugely welcome. Will the Minister of State clarify the position around the recruitment embargo and indicate the timeline within which that business case will be appraised and the decision notified to UHW management?
I thank the Senator for the opportunity to address the House on this important matter. I listened to what he had to say, and I read the response I am about to read yesterday evening. I suppose both of us could write the response at this stage. We have been invested in this with many of our colleagues for a long time. I commend the campaign groups, especially those with lived experience who have been through the process and understand how important it is.
I acknowledge the significant developments in cardiac services delivered by UHW and commend the staff on their continued commitment. The programme for Government contains a commitment in respect of the delivery of a second cath lab at UHW and funding was allocated in the 2019 capital plan for its provision. People might ask why we need a second one. It is because when you have one there is always a single point of failure if something happens. I am pleased to report the second cath lab opened on 4 September 2023 and is operating five days per week, Monday to Friday, from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m.
During the lifetime of the Government, considerable extra resources have been provided to increase the level of cardiology services at UHW. Prior to the opening of the second cath lab, a service-level agreement was in place with UPMC Whitfield to provide a three-day per week service to assist with cardiology diagnostic procedures in Waterford. This service has been replaced with the opening of the second cath lab in UHW, which provides a five-day per week service, a notable increase in the level of service provided to the people of Waterford. We now have two cath labs operating and the hours available are 8 a.m. to 8 p.m., Monday to Friday. Notwithstanding the difficult recruitment environment impacting the healthcare sector, the HSE has confirmed that the 24 healthcare professionals have been approved to support operation of the second cath lab. Twenty-two of these positions have been filled and a further two - two healthcare assistants - are currently filled on an agency basis. That is welcome. In addition, the opening hours of the first cath lab at UHW were extended in September 2022 and it is now open from 8 a.m. until 8 p.m., Monday to Friday. That is all progress, notwithstanding the fact progress has been slow. We have 24 extra staff in place, two cath labs and opening hours from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m.
The next phase, which is the subject of discussion today, is to secure weekend cover from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. I guarantee the Senator that the political will is there. The Minister, Deputy Donnelly, has made it clear he supports a seven-day service and has recently given a commitment that the staff requirement for the additional Saturday-Sunday cover will be resourced from the 2,068 whole-time equivalents secured in budget 2024. In some areas there is a pause on recruitment. However, there will be no pause or embargo in relation to these 2,068 whole-time equivalents. The Minister has given a clear commitment. I understand UHW has submitted a business place to the South/Southwest Hospital Group for the additional staff required to extend opening hours. This is under consideration.
I spoke to the general manager in the hospital. I thank him for all his work and the support he affords us as Oireachtas Members. He said once the go-ahead is given to him, he will be able to stand this up quickly and be in a position that weekend cover could be provided by the end of March.
It is important to reiterate some of those points. I do not think it is known by many people that 22 additional staff are already in place of the 24. These are additional staff over and above, as have been committed to in the 2,068 whole-time equivalent positions secured in budget 2024. I ask that an early decision be made on that. Notwithstanding the 22 positions being already in place, which will facilitate the quicker staffing of the seven-day week service, those additional positions will need to be backfilled. That takes time, given recruitment challenges, but the earlier they get the notification, the quicker the service can be stood up, which we all want.
It is important to reiterate those 24. For the second cath lab or any lab to open, you have to staff it. Twenty-four staff were funded. They are in place, 22 permanent and two agency, which is fantastic. We are seeing the fruits of that. Both cath labs are open five days per week and the additional hours this provides mean the waiting list for elective procedures in the cath labs is one of the lowest in the country, at under three months.
I have been informed that previously where an inpatient might have had to wait up to a week for a procedure, that is now happening within 48 hours. By having the extra capacity in the second cath lab, we are seeing the rewards, but we cannot take our eye off the main issue. Our next step is to get weekend cover. I look forward to working with the Senator on that.
I thank the Minister of State for taking the four matters. I know how busy she is. It is appreciated by us all in the Seanad. I also thank Senator Cummins.
Cuireadh an Seanad ar fionraí ar 11.16 a.m. agus cuireadh tús leis arís ar 11.32 a.m.
Sitting suspended at 11.16 a.m. and resumed at 11.32 a.m.