Catherine Byrne (Dublin South Central, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I thank all Senators for their input to this afternoon's debate. There are many issues that I will be unable to address, unfortunately. I have taken numerous notes. The Minister of State, Deputy Daly, was here before me and I know he has committed to follow up on some of the points as well. I will proceed with my statement and then after that I might be able to address some of the other points raised.

I thank the Senators for giving us the opportunity to speak today. I note that my colleague, the Minister of State at the Department of Health, Deputy Jim Daly, updated the House on a wide range of topics, including budget 2018 and the Sláintecare report as we move towards the implementation phase. He also updated the House on developments in his areas of responsibility, older people and mental health. I know he listened with interest to the contributions, which covered a wide range of issues. Where an undertaking was given, Senators will be provided with the necessary follow-up or any addition information requested.I can assure the House that the Government is committed to making tangible and sustainable improvements to our health services and as the Minister of State, Deputy Daly said, the Sláintecare report provides a framework within which this can be achieved. I know that the Minister, Deputy Harris, is dedicated to use the levels of support and consensus around the report to build a health service where people feel valued, respected and well cared-for.

Of course we cannot underestimate the challenges we face. Too many patients continue to wait on trollies for admission to hospitals in cramped and overcrowded conditions, though Deputy Daly did note some improvements in this area. An ageing population will bring increasing pressure, as we all know, on our health services in the years to come.

I would now like to touch briefly on matters relating to my own responsibilities. As Minister of State with responsibility for Health Promotion and the National Drugs Strategy, I am determined to improve health outcomes and address health inequalities for the most vulnerable people in our society, including those with addiction issues, the homeless, Traveller and Roma communities, and refugees and asylum seekers. It is generally accepted that people from diverse marginalised groups experience poorer health outcomes than the general population. They tend not to access health services readily and often only present to services when their health has deteriorated. This is especially true of people affected by homelessness, who can present to services with complex needs, due to poor physical and mental health and problems with drugs and alcohol addiction.

I secured €7.5 million in budget 2018 for new developments, which will support a range of measures to improve access to health-related services for these vulnerable groups. Regarding homelessness, the emphasis in 2018 will be on supporting housing-led solutions and providing people who have experienced or are at risk of homelessness with the supports needed to secure and sustain permanent tenancies in line with the Rebuilding Ireland action plan for housing and homelessness.

My main focus this year has been on putting in place a new strategy to respond to drug and alcohol use in Ireland. The new strategy, known as Reducing Harm, Supporting Recovery, will cover the period from 2017 to 2025. It promotes a more compassionate and person-centred approach to people who use drugs, treating addiction first and foremost as a health issue. As part of this approach, I brought forward legislation earlier this year to enable the establishment of a pilot supervised injecting facility. This facility will provide a clean, safe, health care environment where people can inject drugs, obtained elsewhere, under the supervision of trained health professionals.

The HSE is currently leading a procurement process to provide a medically supervised injecting facility in Dublin city centre on a pilot basis. I chair the National Oversight Committee which will oversee the implementation of the strategy and includes members from the statutory, community and voluntary sectors, as well as clinical and academic experts. The committee held its first meeting in September and will meet on a quarterly basis to keep progress in implementation under review during the lifetime of the strategy.

On behalf of myself and my ministerial colleagues in the Department of Health I would like to thank Members for the opportunity to speak here today and for their contributions. I will turn to one or two of the contributions. I was not here for the first part of the debate, but I know a number of issues have been raised, particularly from Senators Swanick, Boyhan, Burke, Devine, Dolan, Reilly and other Senators.

I will reflect on what Senator Kelleher has asked for. I have taken down a number of notes, and unfortunately, the health issues that the Senator raises are not under my remit. I will speak to the Minister of State, Deputy Daly, on them and ask him to come back to the Senator on a personal basis. I apologise if in the past the Senator has been told that people would contact him and they have not. That is wrong. If we give a commitment to people, we should come back to them. The same applies in my own role. When I am asked a question when taking any Topical Issue matter in the Dáil or during a debate here, I make it my business to come back to people, particularly on issue that has been raised.

In response to the Senator who has raised the issue of Translarna, I will raise that with the Minister, Deputy Harris. A number of people have called into my office regarding this drug, thinking that it is part of my remit but it is not. On many of the other issues that have been raised, I hope Members are not offended if I do not individually answer their queries. I appreciate that Members have been present at this debate for a lengthy period. I was asked to appear here at short notice because the Minister of State, Deputy Daly, had to go somewhere else.

I apologise again to the Cathaoirleach and to Senators that the Minister, Deputy Harris, Harris unfortunately could not be here for this debate. However, I will confer with my colleagues here from the Department to try to provide answers on some of the major issues that have been raised and address Members' concerns around the different issues, which we have noted.