Stephen Donnelly (Wicklow, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I thank Deputy Kenny for his comments. I am sure we will agree on many things because we are all committed to universal healthcare. That is the goal. We all want to stabilise the system, get through Covid, deal with the reduction in capacity and make sure people can get healthcare when they need it. I am sure we will disagree on plenty of the details but I think we probably agree on the mission.

I do not have details regarding the specific nursing home to which the Deputy has referred. If he wants to talk to me or write to me about it, I certainly can ask somebody to take a look at it. I agree with the Deputy that the nursing home sector needs a serious review. One of the things we are committing to in the programme for Government is a very broad strategy looking at elderly living in this country and acknowledging that things need to be done in the nursing home sector and other areas.

With regard to medicinal cannabis, I recognise the work the Deputy has done in this area. He has been working on the issue for many years and has been one of the most progressive and strongest voices in the Dáil in this regard. I have supported much of what he has brought forward. Like the Deputy, I have spoken to parents all over the country who are saying that this product seems like a very good thing for their children. I was very glad to see the legislation that introduced the access scheme and I will undertake to get a briefing done for the Deputy that sets out where we are at and what the various blockages are, so that we can move the programme out as it was intended.

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