Leo Varadkar (Dublin West, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Deputy for raising this important issue. All of us in this House will have had many similar stories related to us by our constituents and many queries coming through our constituency offices which are very similar. As I believe everyone in the House will appreciate, many normal health, education and disability services had to be suspended, discontinued or curtailed during the pandemic period. The Government is working very hard to restore those service to what they should be and what they used to be, albeit within the health guidelines. That includes getting the schools open in full at the end of August. It includes getting colleges back. It includes restoring normal health services including health screening and includes getting services for people with disabilities back up and running. It is difficult. It is not always straightforward. It has to be done safely and in co-operation with staff and with the best medical advice but I can absolutely assure the Deputy that this is a very high priority for Government and for the line Ministers in question. We will not waste any time or tolerate any delay in getting those services back up and running as soon as is possible.

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