Kieran O'Donnell
Limerick City · Fine Gael · Ireland
“The triangle of supports of home care, day care and meals on wheels services — including dementia-specific supports — plays a vital role in helping older people to age well in their own communities. Meals on wheels services provide much more than nutritious meals.”
“The organisation currently operates a day care service four days per week, supporting approximately 60 registered users, and a meals on wheels service with 104 registered users. The HSE has advised that increased funding has been committed to support the organisation.”
“I join the Leas-Chathaoirleach in welcoming the Kellehers to the Seanad, which is a beautiful building in its own right. I thank Senator Kelleher for raising this important matter. He has advocated for Westgate Foundation over a sustained period of time and that has to be acknowledged. I know the work it does is close to his heart.”
“I again thank the Senator for raising Westgate Foundation in Ballincollig and the work it does on behalf of the community, particularly older people. The Senator referred to housing on-site. It is very much an integrated model. I could see how committed the staff and the board, many of them voluntary, were.”
“The Government has significantly increased investment in meals on wheels services in recent years. Funding increased from €3.5 million in 2022 to €6.25 million in 2025, with a further €2 million allocated in budget 2026 to support service expansion and maintenance.”
“The shared objective of the HSE and Westgate Foundation is to ensure high-quality day care and meals on wheels services continue to be available to older people who rely on them, particularly in the greater Ballincollig area.”
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“Furthermore, the Minister, Deputy Browne, and his Department would welcome a suitable application from Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown County Council for funding under the new fund, which, as the Senator referenced, is currently open for such applications with a closing date for submissions of 1 May 2026. In the meantime, we look forward to seeing the works progress in Dundrum along with the other key URDF projects in Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown County Council.”
“I thank Senator Boyhan for raising this important matter, which I am taking behalf of my colleague, the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage, Deputy Browne. It gives me the opportunity to reiterate the support my Department has been pleased to be able to provide for this critically important regeneration project for regeneration in Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown County Council in general. In that respect, I will also inform Senator Boyhan that funding supports for Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown also include €43.2 million for public access supports in Cherrywood.”
“However, the advancement of other projects through various stages of planning, development and completion, as well as the subject matter of funding applications is, in the first instance, a matter for Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown County Council.”
“Once again, this approval will allow Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown County Council to progress with the detailed design, planning and procurement process. Thereafter, and while Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown County Council will be required to submit an updated cost plan at pre-tender stage, the project is expected to proceed directly to tender. A further detailed submission will be required at final business case stage once the tender process is near its completion. My Department will continue to work closely with Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown County Council on this project and all other projects in its current URDF programme. As with all local authorities, relevant officials meet at least three times per year with Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown County Council and more often when necessary.”
“The total funding approved under the URDF to date to Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown County Council comes to €76.1 million. Under URDF call 2 on the Dundrum project, given the funding allocation available, Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown County Council has chosen to focus on the public realm elements of the project. Following a number of engagements with the project team in Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown County Council with the Department, it recently submitted a preliminary business case for the Dundrum interchange and civic plaza project. The preliminary business case is currently being reviewed in line with the requirements of the infrastructural guidelines for approval gate 1, AG1, or approval in principle. This review is expected to take a few more weeks to complete subject to any issues arising.”
“The Senator made reference to the closing date under the current call under the town centre first and city task forces. The deadline date for the new fund is 1 May of this year. The Minister, Deputy Browne, and the Department would certainly welcome a suitable application from Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown in respect of this. I will recap on the URDF funding for Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown County Council projects. Under call 1 of the URDF, Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown County Council received approval for four projects, with a funding commitment of €22.6 million. One of these projects was the development of an action plan for the Dundrum community cultural and civic hub, which was published by Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown County Council in May 2020. Under call 2, a further €4.3 million in support for Dundrum community cultural and civic hub was made available.”
“I welcome the guests to the Chamber. I thank Senator Boyhan for raising this important matter, which I am taking on behalf of the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage, Deputy James Browne. The Minister recently announced a new towns and cities regeneration investment fund, which Senator Boyhan has alluded to. While replacing the URDF, existing funding for URDF projects already approved will be incorporated into it, with a focus on supporting policies such as town centre first and city task forces, as well as integrated urban regeneration. The new fund will continue to deliver projects that are transformative and impactful in nature, contributing to the wider regeneration of the five cities and eligible towns.”
“I once again thank the Deputies for the opportunity to discuss cancer care for patients in Ireland, the progress we have made and our commitment to continuously improve cancer services in Ireland. I acknowledge our shared commitment to improving the lives of cancer patients. On behalf of my colleague, the Minister for Health, Deputy Jennifer Carroll MacNeill, I ask Deputies to support the Government's countermotion.”
“The 2025 national development plan review resulted in the largest ever capital investment plan in the history of the State and the largest investment ever in health infrastructure in the State. Investment in cancer care, particularly in equipment for radiation oncology, is a key strategic priority. Through the national plan for radiation oncology, the Department of health is progressing a major equipment replacement and expansion programme that includes replacing 14 linear accelerators in the St. Luke's Radiation Oncology Network and adding two at Beaumont, with associated diagnostic upgrades. In light of the limited time I have, I will leave the rest of the written statement and go straight to the closing remarks.”
“The expansion and rollout of the public-only consultant contract, along with the revised 2025 framework agreement with health sector trade unions, provides a strong platform to support the extension of services. Health regions are actively leveraging these arrangements to progress delivery of services in the evenings and at weekends across a range of areas, including diagnostics, patient pathways and community services. As we invest in staff and expertise, we are also investing heavily in infrastructure and technology. Major infrastructure projects opened under the national cancer strategy include state-of-the-art radiotherapy centres in Cork and Galway in 2019 and 2023, respectively, at a cost of over €120 million and the establishment of a national cervical screening laboratory, which opened in December 2022.”
“My colleague, the Minister, Deputy Lawless, recently announced a €28.5 million investment in 2026 to support the delivery of more than 1,100 additional healthcare training places annually over the next three years across medicine, nursing, therapy professions, pharmacy and dentistry. While we are adding more training places and funding more students, we are also ensuring that more graduates are retained in our health service. A mandate was introduced in March 2025 offering all nursing and midwifery and health and social care profession graduates of Irish colleges permanent contracts of employment when successful at interview. This mandate includes radiation therapist and radiography graduates, who are crucial for cancer services. In parallel with an increase in staff numbers, it is important that we maximise the existing workforce.”
“However, these improvements would not be realised without the commitment of those working in our health service and the dedication they bring to their work, which I and many others have alluded to. In the past five years, we have increased the overall health workforce by 27%. Since the launch of the current national cancer strategy, we have added over 200 additional nursing staff, 100 consultants and 180 health and social care professionals in designated cancer centres. At the same time, we have fostered and expanded pioneering services, creating new roles and teams in psycho-oncology, genetic services and cancer prevention. Working in collaboration with the higher education sector, significant progress is also being made in increasing the number of student training places.”
“With the development of the next cancer strategy, we will continue to progress our structured and strategic approach to the delivery of cancer services. Investment under the strategy has ensured that more patients are being seen in specialist centres, more patients are being reviewed by multidisciplinary teams, new drugs and therapies are being made available, patients are receiving better supports during their cancer treatment, psycho-oncology services have been developed and major advances are being delivered for adolescents and young adults. With regard to the workforce, our investment in infrastructure, research, medicines and staff focuses on providing the best possible outcomes for patients.”
“Furthermore, a study published by Professor Mark Lawler in January of this year in the Journal of Cancer Policy evaluated national cancer strategies across 20 countries and ranked Ireland among the highest in policy development and governance scores. The EU and the WHO continue to advise that cancer control is optimised through the development and implementation of national cancer control plans and strategies. We can be thankful that many patients will become cancer-free following their treatment but, for others, their cancer will be chronic conditions requiring prolonged surveillance and episodes of treatment over many years, with the associated significant implementations for service demand.”
“Of course, far too many people still have their lives cut short by cancer and I join Deputies across the House in wishing to ensure that our health services strive to deliver the very best cancer care for patients. The progress we have made would not have been possible without the evidence-based, whole-of-population approach taken under our three consecutive, decades-spanning national cancer strategies. The international evidence demonstrates that sustained progress in cancer control is best achieved through the consistent implementation of appropriately designed and resourced cancer strategies. Research published by The Lancet in 2022 reported that Ireland’s cancer strategies, dating back to 1996, were a significant factor in improving cancer outcomes.”
“In the latest reporting period, 2019 to 2022, over 65% of patients were alive five years after a cancer diagnosis, up from 43% in the period 1994 to 1998. Over 220,000 patients are alive today, having received a cancer diagnosis at some point. We have seen very good progress in the detection and treatment of many of the most common cancers, and in the case of breast cancer for example, five-year net survival has grown from 71% for the 1994-98 period to 87.5% for the 2019-2022 period. Breast cancer survivors are the largest cancer survivor group in Ireland, representing 22% of all cancer survivors and nearly 50,000 women. For prostate cancer we have seen the five-year survival rate go from 66% in the early 1990s to 93% in the most recent data and we now have 46,500 survivors of prostate cancer.”
“With over 24,000 invasive cancers diagnosed each year, the National Cancer Registry predicts that one in two people will receive a cancer diagnosis in their lifetime, as a Member referred to earlier. While a large proportion of cancers are preventable, the reality is that ageing is a key driving factor behind the increase in cancers. As the Irish population ages and grows, the number of people diagnosed with invasive cancer is expected to grow by between 50% and 100% over the 30-year period from 2015 to 2045. Alongside an increase in numbers, the cancer burden is rapidly expanding as it becomes, for many people, a chronic disease they live with for many years. Fortunately, this is a good marker, as the number of people surviving a cancer diagnosis is growing all the time.”
“However, the Government is opposing the motion and has tabled a countermotion setting out our clear commitment and the detailed actions we are taking to drive further improvements in cancer services. It is important to point out that the Opposition motion does not recognise the levels of investment and funding provided under the current cancer strategy, with €105 million allocated to new developments, along with €44 million in cancer research funding, €140 million on capital projects and €645 million on cancer drugs between 2021 and 2024. Notably, the motion attempts to place Sláintecare wait-time targets into law, a measure this House debated and voted not to support just four months ago.”
“I join with other colleagues across the House in acknowledging the great work of all healthcare workers, including medical, nursing and administrative staff and others throughout the health service. They do fantastic work. This year will mark the 13th anniversary of the launch of Ireland’s first national cancer strategy and is an opportune time to reflect on the progress made since 1996 and to look ahead to how we advance and build on what has been achieved. The Government recognises the objective of the Sinn Féin motion in seeking to provide the best possible care for cancer patients now and into the future. Many of the points that have been raised will be brought back to the Minister. All of us in the House share that goal and are working to ensure the very best outcomes for patients and their families.”
“I welcome the opportunity this evening to discuss cancer services on behalf of my colleague the Minister for Health, Deputy Jennifer Carroll MacNeill. I join with the Ceann Comhairle in commending Deputy Gould on his personal account. I am glad to see him doing so well.”
“Luke's Radiation Oncology Network and adding two at Beaumont, with associated diagnostic upgrades; — new advanced services including CAR-T cell therapy and advanced radiotherapy have been introduced, removing the need for certain cohorts to travel abroad; — significant Government investment is being provided to expand healthcare education, and within the last training year, the total number of doctors enrolled in training programmes has increased by 7 per cent, with the Minister for Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science recently announcing a €28.5 million investment to support the delivery of more than 1,100 additional healthcare training places annually over the next three years across medicine, nursing, therapy professions, pharmacy and dentistry; — almost 1,600 first year students now enrol in medicine each year, along with 2,200 nurses; and — in June 2025, the Government approved a significant expansion in training places for Health and Social Care Professions, and this saw up to 310 additional student places created in 2025, and a further 151 in subsequent years, including 23 additional places in radiotherapy and 80 additional places in radiography across 2025 and 2026.".”
“I move amendment No. 1: To delete all words after "Dáil Éireann" and substitute the following: "notes that: — while a large proportion of cancers are preventable, our growing and ageing population is a key driving factor behind the increase in cancers; — today, over 220,000 people in Ireland are living with or after cancer, a 50 per cent increase compared to a decade ago; — the National Cancer Registry predicts that 1 in 2 people will receive a cancer diagnosis in their lifetime; — fortunately, survival rates for patients after receiving a cancer diagnosis have continued to improve, with 65 per cent of patients living five years after a cancer diagnosis in 2014-2018, compared to 44 per cent in 1994-1998; — Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development data shows that cancer mortality rates in Ireland are falling faster than the European Union average, and faster than our economic peers; — these improvements were achieved under reforms delivered by three consecutive National Cancer Strategies, dating back to 1996, and these Strategies provided a clear, evidence-based, approach to cancer control, taking a whole-of-population perspective; — the current strategy was launched in July 2017, setting out an ambitious set of actions to be completed within 10 years, and an evaluation of the strategy will be conducted this year, and the outcome of this will inform the development of the next strategy; — the new strategy will provide an important opportunity to plan for the introduction of new therapies and treatments across the cancer continuum from prevention, screening, treatment, survivorship and palliative care; — the current strategy contains 52 recommendations, with 43 of these having been implemented, and the National Cancer Control Programme is continuing to progress implementation of the remaining nine; — the National Cancer Control Programme plays a key role in the planning and oversight of cancer services, setting national standards, monitoring regional performance and driving service reform; — cancer services are delivered by a large and dedicated workforce, who strive to provide the best possible care for their patients; — while services have improved overall, unfortunately, there are periodic regional variations in the performance of some services, and the transition to the new regional health structure, with greater autonomy and stronger performance accountability at local level, is designed specifically to address regional inequality and to improve patient outcomes; — since the beginning of the current National Cancer Strategy in 2017, the Government has allocated €105 million to the National Cancer Strategy to support cancer services and improve outcomes for patients; — this has enabled the recruitment of over 670 staff to our national cancer services, including the recruitment of an additional 180 staff to national cancer screening and treatment services as of the end of 2025; — between 2021 and 2024, approval for reimbursement by the Health Service Executive (HSE) was given for 74 drugs for cancer, and the total spend on cancer drugs in this period exceeded €645 million; — capital funding of over €140 million has been used to provide state of the art radiation oncology facilities in Galway and Cork, to establish a National Cervical Screening Laboratory, and to update cancer infrastructure in chemotherapy wards and lab facilities; — more widely, the 2025 National Development Plan (NDP) review secured the largest ever capital investment plan in the history of the State and largest investment ever in health infrastructure in the State, and the NDP Health capital allocation is €1.56 billion for 2026 and the enhanced NDP provision for the health sector for 2026–2030 is €9.25 billion; — the Government is progressing multiannual budgeting across the health services, and capital investment is already on a multiyear basis; — since 2020, total staff working in Government funded HSE services has risen by over 22,000 Whole Time Equivalent (WTE), from 107,000 WTE to 129,600 at the end of January 2026, an increase of 21 per cent; — the HSE continues to focus on service expansion and improvement, and the National Cancer Control Programme has developed a number of programmes to improve capacity at specialist cancer centres, and to support patients in avoiding Emergency Departments; — the Government has provided significant investment in cancer screening programmes in recent years, and funding of €2.9 million was provided in 2025, to support the recruitment of 22 WTE posts, 15 additional WTE posts were also approved to help expand and futureproof the programme to meet increasing demand, and in 2025, 173,000 women participated in screening, the highest number in BreastCheck's history; — the Programme for Government contains a commitment to extend the Laura Brennan Programme to anyone under 25 who missed it, and in January 2026, it was announced that the Laura Brennan Human Papilloma Virus (HPV) Vaccine Catch-Up Programme would be reopened, to offer an additional opportunity for students in fifth and sixth year of post-primary school to receive HPV vaccination in 2026; — the Productivity and Savings Taskforce is advancing improvements in equipment utilisation, diagnostics and theatre capacity, including through roster reforms and extended hours where required; — the expansion and rollout of the Public Only Consultant Contract, alongside the revised 2025 Framework Agreement with health sector trade unions, provides a strong platform to support the extension of services; — through the National Plan for Radiation Oncology, a major equipment replacement and expansion programme is being progressed, including replacing 14 linear accelerators at St.”
“Poor water quality, habitat degradation and salmon aquaculture were identified as three priority stressors that should be mitigated to improve conservation of the Irish Atlantic salmon. I will bring the points made by the Senator back to the Minister, Deputy Browne. I suggest that he could follow up with the Minister of State, Deputy Dooley, on the specific aspect he raised on the work of Inland Fisheries Ireland and whether that can feed into that review.”
“In light of declining numbers the Minister of State for the Marine, Deputy Timmy Dooley, has written to IFI asking it to review the existing approach to salmon management to consider what options are available for protecting and recovering stock. This work, backed by scientific advice, will inform future policies in this area. Cormorants can impact salmon, particularly during the salmon smolt migration period in spring. This can have an impact on some rivers. Cormorants are not considered the primary driver of the overall decline in salmon stocks. IFI undertook a national stressor analysis in 2025 of key pressures affecting wild Atlantic salmon stocks. The analysis was published on the North Atlantic Salmon Conservation Organization, NASCO, website and includes a range of factors including predators.”
“I note Senator Duffy's point. I will make a couple of points. While the NPWS of the Department has a role in the protection and conservation of bird species, including the cormorant, policy related to the management of inland fisheries is the responsibility of Inland Fisheries Ireland. I have a note from the Department of Climate, Energy and the Environment which reads: While salmon stocks have been in long decline both in Ireland and internationally, the technical expect group on salmon reports that the number of wild salmon returning to Ireland has progressively declined from well over one million for much of the 1970s to less than 200,000 in recent years.”
“All data collated by the NPWS is available to be shared with Inland Fisheries Ireland, IFI, upon request, and can inform policy and regulatory approaches by IFI and the Department of Climate, Energy and the Environment in relation to salmonids.”
“Further surveys and monitoring initiatives for Ireland’s breeding seabirds are planned for the coming years with a view to producing an updated national assessment for cormorants and all other breeding seabirds by 2031. It is worth noting the NPWS funds and manages the Irish Wetland Bird Survey, I-WeBS, which is Ireland's programme for monitoring population trends of wintering waterbirds and the habitats they use. Sections of the River Moy catchment, including Lough Conn and Lough Cullin, are regularly surveyed for cormorants and other wintering waterbirds. The aforementioned survey programmes collect valuable data to inform the conservation management of bird species. This data has other utilities for other stakeholders whose focus is on the conservation of fish species including salmonids.”
“Staff in the NPWS co-ordinate a national seabird monitoring programme that produces population estimates and other demographic statistics at various geographic scales in order to meet reporting obligations. It also provides relevant data to inform the conservation management of seabirds breeding and wintering throughout Ireland. The latest assessment of Ireland's breeding cormorant population across the period 2015 to 2021 indicates a broadly stable picture since the mid-1980s. A closer examination of the recent records for counties Mayo and Sligo shows that all of the known important cormorant colonies of these counties are sites along the marine coastline away from the River Moy catchment.”
“While the NPWS of the Department has a policy and regulatory role in relation to bird species, including cormorants, policy and regulation in the management of inland fisheries is the responsibility of Inland Fisheries Ireland, IFI, an agency of the Department of Climate, Energy and the Environment. This function includes the protection, management, conservation and improvement of inland fisheries, and the provision of scientific research and management advice to the Minister for Climate, Energy and the Environment, including in respect of threats to and pressures on species under its remit, including Atlantic salmon. The surveying and monitoring of species and habitats form an important component of the work of the NPWS.”
“I thank the Senator for raising this matter on carrying out a breeding cormorant survey of the Moy catchment in County Mayo, to inform an assessment of their impact on the reported decline of salmon in the river. I am taking this matter on behalf of the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage. The National Parks and Wildlife Service, NPWS, is an executive agency of the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage, which provides the legislative and policy framework for the conservation of nature and biodiversity in Ireland. It also oversees its implementation, based on good science, with particular emphasis on the protection of habitats and species through, among other means, the designation and conservation of sites under EU nature directives and national legislation.”
“It is a matter for each local authority to determine its spending priorities in the context of an annual budgetary process having regard to locally identified needs and the funding resources available to it. This includes the taking in charge of housing estates. I note the points the Senator raised.”
“I thank the Senator again for raising this matter, which, as I said earlier, I am taking on behalf of the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage. The decision to take any estate or estates in charge is ultimately one for the elected members of the local authority who, by way of a declaration made under the Roads Act, will make such a decision. In addition, financial decision-making and the accountability of local authorities is a matter for the elected members of a local authority who have direct responsibility in law for all reserved functions of the authority, which include the adoption of the annual budget of the local authority. In this regard, section 103 of the Local Government Act 2001, as amended, provides for the local authority budgetary process.”
“The making of such a declaration, which effectively confirms that the authority is prepared to take over responsibility for the ongoing maintenance of the public works elements of the estate, is a reserved function of the elected members of a local authority. While there is no dedicated scheme in place for the taking in charge of housing estates, local authorities may make provision for taking in charge as part of their annual budgetary process. The Senator might outline the process for the taking in charge in her follow-up question. Is the council looking to take the estate in charge? Was that based on a plebiscite of the majority of house owners in the estate? Was it based on the council taking enforcement proceedings against the developer? Was there a development bond in place at the time and, if so, was it pursued?”
“Where the calling in of the development bond is not possible or sufficient, section 180(2A) of the Act provides that the initiation of the taking in charge procedures under section 11 of the Roads Act shall not preclude the planning authority concerned from pursuing a developer for any costs incurred by the authority in respect of necessary works undertaken on a development to enable it to be taken in charge by that authority. I am not familiar with the particular estate the Senator referenced and I am not certain how many of these measures apply to it. To conclude the taking in charge process where the development has been deemed to have been satisfactorily completed, a local authority is required to make a declaration under section 11 of the Roads Act following a proposal by the executive.”
“Where developments have not been completed to the satisfaction of the planning authority, and where enforcement proceedings in this connection have not been commenced by the planning authority within four years of the expiry of the planning permission relating to a development, section 180 (2)(a) of the Act provides that the planning authority shall, where requested by the majority of owners of the houses involved, initiate the taking in charge procedures under section 11 of the Roads Act 1993, as amended. Where this particular approach is being progressed, the authority may apply the security or development bond provided as part of the planning application for the purposes of ensuring the satisfactory completion of the development.”
“There is no automatic requirement for local authorities to take over unfinished housing estates after a certain period. Under section 180(1) of the Act, the planning authority is obliged to initiate the taking in charge process where requested by either the developer or the majority of owners of the dwellings in the estate in question. However, this is subject to the development being completed to the satisfaction of the authority and in accordance with the permission and any conditions attached thereto.”
“I thank Senator Ryan for giving me the opportunity to update the House on the taking in charge of housing estates. I am taking this matter on behalf of the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage, Deputy James Browne. It is important at the outset that I point out that under section 30 of the Planning and Development Act 2000, the Minister with responsibility for planning is precluded from exercising any power or control in regard to any particular case with which a planning authority or the board is or may be concerned. The legislative process for the taking in charge of housing estates by local authorities is set out in section 180 of the Planning and Development Act 2000, which applies to residential developments consisting of two or more dwellings that have been granted planning permission under section 34 of the Act.”
“As I have said, the Department and the Minister gave the go-ahead in February 2026. The board will be in a position to appoint a design team for this important centre later this year.”
“With regard to the ongoing work of the task force, I mentioned the RED C survey on public attitudes to traditional skills. There was also an audit of traditional skills courses on the island in 2025. More particularly, there is an economic assessment of the demand for traditional skills, which goes back to the point Deputy Callaghan made. The report on the public attitude to the provision of courses is complete and the demand survey is in its final stages. That very much feeds into this. I have no doubt that, like Deputy Callaghan, the Leas-Chathaoirleach, Deputy McGuinness, will have a keen interest in the Kilkenny and Carlow Education and Training Board progressing its application for a national centre for traditional building skills with the Department of further and higher education.”
“In February 2026, the Minister for further and higher education announced that the board would be in a position to appoint a design team for the centre later this year.”
“I thank Deputy Callaghan. It is a programme for Government commitment, which is as strong a commitment as we can get, to explore the creation of a national centre of excellence for traditional skills. A task force has been established and it has commissioned work. There will be a report from the Heritage Council to the Government in respect of the work of the task force later this year. By way of interest, one of the items of work the task force completed was a survey of skills by RED C. It indicated very strong public support for traditional skills, with 91% of people saying traditional skills should be preserved and 88% people saying they should be taught in schools. In 2024, Kilkenny and Carlow Education and Training Board made an application to SOLAS to develop a national centre for traditional building skills.”
“To this end, and in parallel with the work of the task force, Kilkenny and Carlow Education and Training Board has an active further education and training college application, with plans to develop a national centre for traditional building skills. The application was lodged with SOLAS in 2024, and in February 2026 my colleague the Minister for Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science announced that Kilkenny and Carlow Education and Training Board would be in a position to appoint a design team for this important centre later this year.”
“It is envisaged that policy recommendations aimed at addressing these issues will be made to the Government by the Heritage Council later this year. It is important to note that in addition to their importance for heritage, the transmission of traditional skills from one generation of practitioners to the next relies on an effective system of education and training. As such, and alongside stakeholders such as the Heritage Council, the Department intends to work closely with the Department of Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science to address the supply of skilled traditional tradespeople.”
“The 2025 programme for Government includes a commitment to explore the creation of a national centre of excellence for traditional skills. In furtherance of this commitment the Heritage Council established a task force on traditional skills. The task force met five times during the course of 2025 and is due to meet again later this month. The task force has to date commissioned three pieces of work, including an audit of available traditional skills courses and an assessment of the current and future demands for traditional building skills. A key finding of the group to date is that the market for skilled traditional tradesmen is experiencing an acute supply shortage driven by an ageing workforce, insufficient new entrants and the long-term erosion of training pathways.”
“I have a job to do as Minister of State. We got approval this year for an additional 250 whole-time equivalents. That is something I continue to engage with the HSE on, as well as reducing the waiting lists.”
“In my role as Minister of State for older people, particularly dealing with home support services, I want to bring down the waiting lists. I want the HSE to actively recruit staff. I have met with the HSE about that on a number of occasions. For the first time, in the national service delivery plan for the HSE we are looking specifically to reduce waiting lists. As it stands, 39 additional healthcare assistants have been recruited by the HSE since September for Donegal. There are 43 candidates who have been offered roles and 17 of those have already gone through pre-employment clearance and a further 26 are undergoing it. There are also interviews taking place for 50 candidates. These are all people who will be employed by the HSE as home care assistants. The Deputy has a job to do as a representative for Donegal.”
“I thank Deputy Mac Lochlainn. I assure him that there is an intensive recruitment campaign for healthcare assistants for Donegal. As I said, 39 additional healthcare support assistants have been hired since September to the Donegal services for home support. Furthermore, 43 candidates have been offered roles and are currently progressing through pre-employment checks. Seventeen of those are cleared to commence, and a further 26 candidates are currently in pre-employment clearance. A recent recruitment drive by the HSE has resulted in a further 50 candidates being scheduled for interview. These interviews are taking place now. There is a commitment and approval to recruit an additional 257 directly employed staff in 2026. That is on top of vacancies that are there.”
“In addition to this, a further 43 candidates have been offered roles, are progressing through pre-employment checks and are expected to take up employment over the coming weeks. Rolling recruitment campaigns are ongoing in the area. A recent recruitment drive for healthcare assistants resulted in a further 50 candidates being scheduled for interview. These interviews are scheduled to commence this week, 2 March. This pipeline will increase staffing levels further in the coming weeks. The agency conversion programme is also strengthening stability. Of 46 agency staff engaged, 42 have now been onboarded, including ten in Donegal since October who have moved to permanent HSE roles. The HSE continues to work closely with local education and training bodies to support a sustainable long-term workforce pipeline for the region in Donegal.”
“Addressing the home support waiting list is a priority for me in 2026 and the HSE National Service Plan 2026 includes, for the first time, an explicit target to reduce waiting times. As part of this, I have secured funding for an additional 257 directly employed staff in 2026, with the highest allocation of 56.5 healthcare assistants, HCAs, and three managers going to the west and north-west region. I can assure the Deputy that there is no pause or restrictions on recruiting healthcare assistants in Donegal, and increasing recruitment remains an active priority for me. Since September 2025, 39 additional healthcare assistants have been hired and commenced work in Donegal.”
“I will bring to the Minister's attention the specific point of Leap cards for families experiencing homelessness outside Dublin in the area Deputy Gould represents in Cork, apart from the consideration taking place.”