Alan Farrell (Dublin Fingal, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I welcome the opportunity to speak on this Bill. It is small but important. I thank the Minister for bringing it forward. It makes a number of important changes to expand access to and engagement with our health services. The first of the proposed changes includes the all-important change to income earned from the rent-a-room relief scheme being disregarded for the purposes of a means test as it relates to applying for a medical card or GP visit card. This is an important step in removing a barrier to people engaging with the rent-a-room relief scheme. Individuals can currently rent out a space in their homes and not be taxed on ensuing income up to €14,000.

This is a positive initiative for those who may wish to take up the opportunity to rent out a room in their home. This Bill rightly recognises the need for joined-up thinking in Government services so that no person involved in the scheme is negatively affected when applying for other services such as the GP visit card or a medical card.

As all Members of the House are acutely aware, we continue to experience significant demand for housing of all types. While I am encouraged by figures emerging from the housing sector in recent months, we must make it easier for people to engage with solutions. Therefore, this is an appropriate step at the appropriate time. While the rent-a-room scheme is not appropriate for everyone, it can provide valuable solutions for some people. I am particularly thinking of students who may be travelling to Dublin or elsewhere for some of the week and may not require a full-time lease in the area. Just under 200,000 students were enrolled in full-time third level education in the 2022-23 academic year. This figure is expected to grow to approximately 239,000 by the beginning of the next decade. This is particularly relevant to students, given that the cost of rent increased by 37% between 2016 and 2022. This poses a difficult challenge for those who are in education and cannot engage in the labour market as freely as others. A total of 19% of students who responded to a recent HEA study said that they were living in digs-style accommodation.

I also commend the Minister for Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science on the work of his Department in seeking solutions to the financial pressure on students. This includes an increase in the amount of student accommodation, with 938 spaces being provided for through public funding for the 2023-24 academic year and over 2,000 through private means. This has also been coupled with increases in the student support grant, a reduction in the student contribution fee and reduced public transport fees for young people as developed by the Department of Transport. These measures will make it easier for students to meet their needs.

This Bill will also make important changes to the functioning of pharmacies, expanding the ability of pharmacists to renew prescriptions for up to one year. I commend the Minister for Health most sincerely on taking this step at this time because I believe it will make access to medicine and to healthcare easier, with such care being provided in the community by people known to the individual. This is particularly important given the current pressure on accessing GP appointments across the country. By facilitating an increase in the period during which pharmacists can renew prescriptions - the previous period of six months is being doubled - we can ease pressure on services and provide better and quicker access for patients. I commend pharmacists on taking on this extra work, something I know they have indicated for quite some time they are prepared to do.

Expanding the list of occupations that can administer things like vaccines will also ease pressure on existing services. We do not have to cast our memories back too far to see how an expanded number of vaccine administrators can contribute to immunising the population or vulnerable groups. Indeed, recent attention has rightly been given to the potential for a measles outbreak. There is a current programme to facilitate catch-up vaccines for those who have not previously availed of the vaccine. I believe the health authorities and Deputies in this House have a body of work to do to reassure people that vaccines are safe, particularly those tried and tested over decades of use. By expanding the number of people who can provide vaccines, we can reduce the potential wait time for vaccines and thus encourage greater take-up of them.

I compliment the Minister on the work his Department has done on this Bill. It has been welcomed by the Irish Pharmacy Union, which highlighted the benefits the Bill will have for patients. Indeed, it also highlighted the need for adequate resources for pharmacies and staff. I hope the Minister and his team will work closely with service providers to ensure the efficient implementation of this Bill.

As previous speakers took the opportunity to be parochial, I will join in momentarily. The provision of healthcare in north Dublin, which is one of the youngest and fastest-growing communities in Europe, remains less than what it could or should be. I know the Minister is acutely aware of that and has been working for a number of years to try to improve it. At the end of the day, we are in year 4 so we have to look at the horizon and think about the provision of some of the facilities in the HSE's capital plan. In particular, a hospital for north Dublin has been earmarked, as the Minister well knows. I could also mention the expansion of primary care services within the constituency, not just in its current iteration of Dublin Fingal but also the future constituencies of Dublin Fingal East and Dublin Fingal West. The Minister will be acutely aware that there are places where there are some pressures, particularly with regard to accessing GPs. When additional services are provided, it sometimes negates the necessity for individuals to go to accident and emergency departments or even to their GP. I encourage the Minister to redouble his efforts to try to deliver on the commitments in the HSE capital programme and the programme for Government.

See this speech in context