Results 21-40 of 5,024 for speaker:Jennifer Murnane O'Connor

Written Answers — Department of Health: School Meals Programme (15 Oct 2025)

Jennifer Murnane O'Connor: The objective of the School Meals Programme is to provide regular, nutritious food to children to support them in taking full advantage of the education provided to them. The programme is an important component of policies to encourage school attendance and extra educational achievement. The Nutritional Standards for School Meals have been in place since its inception and were developed by...

Seanad: Gnó an tSeanaid - Business of Seanad: Dental Services (14 Oct 2025)

Jennifer Murnane O'Connor: I also welcome Rodion and his family. We are delighted to have them here. I am taking this Commencement matter on behalf of the Minister for Health, Deputy Carroll MacNeill. I thank the Senator for the opportunity to address the issue of accessibility and dental services for people with disabilities. The national oral health policy has two key goals, namely, to provide the supports to...

Seanad: Gnó an tSeanaid - Business of Seanad: Dental Services (14 Oct 2025)

Jennifer Murnane O'Connor: I thank the Senator for raising this matter. I assure her once again that the Government is committed to supporting access to oral healthcare services for people with disabilities, which is evidenced by the significant investment in recent years. A package of measures was introduced in 2022 to expand the care available under the dental treatment services scheme, DTSS. Significantly,...

Financial Resolutions 2025 - Financial Resolution No. 5: General (Resumed) (8 Oct 2025)

Jennifer Murnane O'Connor: I am delighted to announce further investment in budget 2026 for the national drugs strategy and health and well-being. The total allocation for drugs and inclusion health has increased to €289 million. This is an increase of €11 million in non-pay related measures. I am determined that people throughout the country will access timely quality care. I am committed to the...

Seanad: Supports and Services for Patients with Head and Neck Cancers: Motion (8 Oct 2025)

Jennifer Murnane O'Connor: I thank Senator Craughwell very much. I welcome his daughter here today. Since I became Minister of State with responsibility for health, cancer has come up so much. So many families are affected by cancer. It is not only the Senator's daughter but he, his wife and all of them together who are affected. As he said, they are a unit working within the hospital. I want to say well done....

Seanad: Nithe i dtosach suíonna - Commencement Matters: Prison Service (7 Oct 2025)

Jennifer Murnane O'Connor: I thank the Senator for raising this important issue, which I am taking on behalf of the Minister for Justice, Home Affairs and Migration, Deputy O'Callaghan, who is in the Dáil Chamber today. The Minister is acutely aware of capacity restraints in our prisons and the resulting challenges faced by those who work and live in our prisons. Work to increase capacity has begun. Since...

Seanad: Nithe i dtosach suíonna - Commencement Matters: Prison Service (7 Oct 2025)

Jennifer Murnane O'Connor: I thank Senator Byrne for bringing up such an important issue. On behalf of the Minister, I want to underline the importance of the commitment to progressing and implementing policies aimed at increasing the use of community sanctions that reduce offending, divert people away from imprisonment and provide effective rehabilitation. That is something we are working on. On 6 May 2025, the...

Seanad: Nithe i dtosach suíonna - Commencement Matters: Legal Aid (7 Oct 2025)

Jennifer Murnane O'Connor: I thank the Senator for this matter which is an area we have all been making recommendations on. It is something that is important to us all. As the Senator will know, I am here today to represent the Minister, Deputy O'Callaghan. It is important to note that criminal legal aid and civil legal aid are separate services. Criminal legal aid is granted by the courts and concerns the...

Seanad: Nithe i dtosach suíonna - Commencement Matters: Legal Aid (7 Oct 2025)

Jennifer Murnane O'Connor: I will certainly bring this request to the attention of the Minister, Deputy O'Callaghan. I feel it is very important. Access to justice is a fundamental right, a cornerstone of our democracy and central to the rule of law. Nowhere is this more significant than in cases where victims of domestic violence need court support. This is exactly what the Senator is saying. As I mentioned...

Seanad: Nithe i dtosach suíonna - Commencement Matters: School Accommodation (7 Oct 2025)

Jennifer Murnane O'Connor: I thank the two Senators for highlighting this very serious issue. I am taking this matter on behalf of the Minister, Deputy Helen McEntee. The Department of Education and Youth plans to address the additional accommodation needs for St. Aidan’s Comprehensive School, Cootehill, County Cavan. St. Aidan’s is a co-educational comprehensive school under Catholic patronage....

Seanad: Nithe i dtosach suíonna - Commencement Matters: School Accommodation (7 Oct 2025)

Jennifer Murnane O'Connor: I thank the Senators. I see the seriousness of it. Every day I deal with schools in my area, Carlow-Kilkenny. I want to echo the Senators. I have to compliment the teachers for their hard work and dedication over the years. There is the urgent matter, as Senator O'Reilly said, of the 37 students - local children - looking for a school. Both Senators can be assured that I will be...

Written Answers — Department of Health: Mortality Rates (2 Oct 2025)

Jennifer Murnane O'Connor: As you are aware, Ireland was the first country to have a National Policy on Men's Health and this Government remains committed to reducing premature mortality among men. The HSE is leading on the implementation of the second Men’s Health Action Plan, launched in late 2024. Following its publication, €200,000 was allocated in Budget 2025 to recruit a National Lead for...

Written Answers — Department of Health: Health Strategies (2 Oct 2025)

Jennifer Murnane O'Connor: As the Deputy is aware, the National Men’s Health Action Plan was launched on November 18th, 2024. The plan aligns with Sláintecare and the Healthy Ireland Strategic Action Plan and is supported by a range of HSE functions and partner agencies. The plan contains a number of actions which are targeted at specific population groups of men as a means of engaging them in initiatives...

Seanad: Nithe i dtosach suíonna - Commencement Matters: Cancer Services (1 Oct 2025)

Jennifer Murnane O'Connor: I thank the Senator for her very passionate words as a cancer survivor. It is so important that the Senator, through her role, highlights these concerns. It is great to see her doing so well today. We all know how cancer can affect families. There is not a family in Ireland that has not been affected in some way by cancer. I thank her for her advocacy and hope that her health will be...

Seanad: Nithe i dtosach suíonna - Commencement Matters: Cancer Services (1 Oct 2025)

Jennifer Murnane O'Connor: I will be delighted to follow up with the Minister, Deputy Carroll MacNeill, today. It is like everything in life. The Senator mentioned the good things that happened in the process but when someone has gone through the process, the only concern really is the timing of assessments, whether the scan, the biopsy or the test. I will definitely go back to the Minister on that. Early...

Seanad: Nithe i dtosach suíonna - Commencement Matters: Tobacco Control Measures (1 Oct 2025)

Jennifer Murnane O'Connor: I thank the Senator for raising another important issue. More young people are vaping and it is also an issue for businesses. How we work on that will be very important. The Government promotes smoke- and aerosol-free environments through a variety of legislative and non-legislative measures, as set out in the tobacco-free Ireland policy. The Public Health (Tobacco) Act banned smoking...

Seanad: Nithe i dtosach suíonna - Commencement Matters: Tobacco Control Measures (1 Oct 2025)

Jennifer Murnane O'Connor: Legislation is one tool we have and it is very important, but we are continuing to support the great voluntary initiatives being implemented by the local authorities and the HSE. They have also been funded to carry out a vaping prevention campaign for young people. Like the Senator, I am very mindful that it is not just young people who are vaping. Rather, it is across the board. We are...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Schools Building Projects (30 Sep 2025)

Jennifer Murnane O'Connor: 410. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills the reason a school building project (details supplied) for four classrooms and an SEN base is stalled at Stage 2B since January 2025 and awaiting approval to put the project out to tender. [51137/25]

Written Answers — Department of Health: Healthcare Policy (30 Sep 2025)

Jennifer Murnane O'Connor: I am aware of the new report and I did meet with Movember and officials from my Department and the HSE in advance of the launch on the 23rd of September. Movember is a leading international charity supporting men’s health, focusing on prostate cancer, testicular cancer, and mental health, including suicide prevention. They raise funds to deliver innovative, breakthrough research...

Written Answers — Department of Health: Food Safety (30 Sep 2025)

Jennifer Murnane O'Connor: The Food Safety Authority of Ireland (FSAI) has overall responsibility for the enforcement of food law in Ireland; therefore, as this is an operational matter, I have asked the FSAI to reply directly to the Deputy.