Malcolm Byrne (Wicklow-Wexford, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I congratulate the Minister on her new role and I wish her the best.

I join with colleagues in marking rare diseases day this week. My colleague, Deputy Pádraig O'Sullivan, has done a lot of work in this area. The Minister was able to meet some of the groups and I hope she will co-operate with those who are advocating on the issue of rare diseases.

This debate is on the future of healthcare and, as Deputy Dolan said, it is important that we use new technology, particularly artificial intelligence, to be able to improve health outcomes. When I posed parliamentary questions to every Department, I was heartened to learn that the Minister's Department was one that had adopted a proactive approach. I congratulate the HSE on being able to do that.

I am concerned about the infrastructure within the HSE and our hospitals generally. A lot of money is being spent on addressing the fallout of the cyberattack, but I am concerned about section 39 organisations, which deal with those who are most vulnerable. If I were to organise a cyberattack on the health service, I would not attack the HSE. Rather, I would target one of the section 39 organisations. There are vulnerabilities there, and I ask that they be addressed.

I agree with Deputy Dolan's point that healthcare is not just about treating the sick, but also health promotion and healthy lifestyles. The State needs to respond far more effectively on this. The concept of tax relief for gym memberships needs to be explored. It was signalled by the then Minister for Finance, Jack Chambers, in budget 2025 that this would be considered by the Department of Finance. It is a commitment in the programme for Government. As part of a healthy living strategy, it should be promoted. In many Canadian provinces, there are a number of examples of measures that are used to promote fitness and general wellness and wellbeing.

Deputy Sherlock mentioned the challenge of the shortage of GPs. While I appreciate that there has been a significant additional investment in places in medicine and on GP training programmes, we still have a problem, not just in rural areas, but in areas of high growth. I represent a constituency that has had significant population growth in north Wexford and south Wicklow. The front page of the Gorey Guardian this week referred to the shortage GPs and the fact that existing practices were not taking on any new patients. We have been waiting for a primary care centre for 15 years. At a meeting with the HSE that I also attended, the Minister's predecessor, former Deputy Stephen Donnelly, remarked that the national children's hospital, for all its delays and cost overruns, would be delivered quicker than the primary care centre for Gorey.

I wish the Minister well. I encourage her to be proactive and innovative and we will support her in that.

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