Marian Harkin
Sligo-Leitrim · Independent · Ireland
“I thank Deputy Smith for raising this matter and for highlighting the significant population growth taking place in Swords. I am responding on behalf of the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage. I am interested to hear the Deputy say it is the third largest town in Ireland.”
“Upon receipt of the revised stage 2a report, Department officials carried out an initial review. In early June 2025, a further meeting was held with the wider design team, school authorities and Department officials in attendance.”
“This investment will provide capacity for almost 3,000 additional homes while improving the resilience of essential services in the area. It is a clear example of how targeted infrastructure investment can unlock housing and support sustainable growth.”
“For this reason, we plan and develop public transport in line with the greater Dublin area transport strategy 2022-2042, rather than in isolation, to maximise the use and benefits of each proposal and project.”
“I thank Senator Costello for raising this matter. The Government is committed to preserving our existing roads network. This is demonstrated through the Department of Transport's provision of regular grant funding to eligible local authorities.”
“I thank the Senator. I am of course providing the answers given to me by the Department. As we know, the new Limerick bus network will provide more frequent public transport offerings to more people across Limerick. I hear what she is saying. She is talking about now.”
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“I assure the Deputy, on behalf of the Minister, Deputy Lawless, that we are committed to responding proactively to future workforce requirements, including dentists and all other professionals required within the oral healthcare sector. We are working in strong partnership with the Department of Health, the HEA and the higher education providers to ensure our education and training system supports the delivery of a modern, sustainable and people-centred health service. The Deputy mentioned UCC. The Department of Health has received a strong proposal from University College Cork, requesting €4.7 million in capital funding to establish a dental outreach centre that would enable the training of an additional ten undergraduate dental students annually, particularly benefiting Irish and EU students.”
“It is also my understanding that the Department of Health is currently conducting a scoping exercise to support a skills assessment workforce census across oral healthcare services. This will be the foundation of future policy development.”
“This new programme will provide at least 20 new dentistry places per annum for Irish-EEA students, significantly enhancing national training capacity. This expansion represents a landmark 33% increase in student intake and clearly demonstrates my Department’s and this Government’s firm commitment to strengthening the oral healthcare workforce and supplying the graduates needed for a modern, accessible health service. My Department and the HEA are currently liaising with RCSI as they develop capacity for further expansion of 15 additional places from 2027, subject to approvals. I reaffirm the Department’s commitment to working with all of the relevant stakeholders to ensure that any future expansion of dental education is grounded in evidence, responds to national needs and is delivered in a sustainable manner.”
“The number of places offered is a matter for the higher education institutions in line with their autonomy. I acknowledge, however, that due to a high level of practical work, there can be material constraints on the number of students that can be accepted into dentistry courses. While my Department does not set quotas for student places, we work closely with the Department of Health and the HEA to explore how capacity can be sustainably expanded in key health disciplines, including dentistry. In 2023, the HEA carried out a targeted capacity expansion exercise across priority healthcare areas. One key outcome was the establishment of new dentistry programmes, including a new bachelor of dental surgery at the Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland, commencing in 2025, as the Deputy mentioned.”
“To come back to the issue at hand, my Department, in collaboration with the Department of Health, the HEA and higher education institutions, plays a central role in delivering the education and training infrastructure needed to meet the evolving demands of the healthcare workforce, including critical areas such as oral healthcare and dentistry. Ensuring adequate capacity to train future dentists is part of our broader commitment to workforce planning that will support the health and well-being of our population. Until this year, 60 places, as the Deputy said, were available each year to Irish and EU students on dentistry courses. My Department recognises that this represents a limited training pipeline at a time when the demand for oral healthcare, both clinical and preventative, is increasing nationally.”
“I sincerely thank Deputy Burke for raising this important issue. This is his second time to raise it in a number of weeks. It relates to the availability of dental training places in Ireland. The Government is committed to ensuring that our healthcare system is supported by a steady and sustainable pipeline of highly skilled graduates. In fact, my Department has just progressed an immediate expansion of 461 places in key health and social care professions. I know dentistry is not included, but it does show the commitment of Government to ensuring that we expand the health and social care workforce.”
“That has to be evidenced by support from 15 to 20 employers. For the application to succeed, it has to be shown from the start that there is no significant curriculum overlaps of more than 50% with any existing programmes.”
“Working with the National Apprenticeship Office, NAO, which has responsibility for all aspects of the management, oversight and development of the apprenticeship system, industry sectors can develop and establish new apprenticeships that address critical skills needs. If the furniture industry wishes to submit an application to establish a specific furniture making and upholstery apprenticeship, it can do this through the National Apprenticeship Office, following the ten-step process for setting up new programmes. The NAO is very open to proposals from industry sectors where there is an ongoing skills requirement and where the work-based approach is particularly suited to the apprenticeship model. The first step is to make the initial proposal setting out the evidence industry-wide to show where the skills needs are.”
“While there is not currently a specific upholstery and furniture making apprenticeship, the existing wood manufacturing and finishing apprenticeship offered by six different education providers, including the Louth-Meath Education and Training Board, trains apprentices on skills that are relevant to many aspects of furniture design and manufacture. Qualified apprentices from the wood manufacturing and finishing programme can cut, shape and join wood and wood-based products using woodworking machines, power tools and hand tools and can manufacture household furniture items including chairs, table and doors. There are 411 apprentices on this programme nationally. A major strength of the apprenticeship programme is the strong bond between industry, education and the training system.”
“I thank Senator Nelson Murray for her question on this important issue for my Department. I thank the Senator for what she said about furniture making in Navan. People of my generation are very aware of how important that was and still is. To answer the Senator's question, under our action plan for apprenticeships 2021 to 2025 a key objective is to ensure that apprenticeships will be recognised and valued by employers all across the economy. It is great to hear of the furniture industry's interest in being part of a new apprenticeship programme.”
“Although that was rejected by the management side, after a WRC hearing in June 2023 CTC staff were awarded a 5% pay increase funded from the Department's Vote. I heard what the Deputy has said.”
“Due to the way this is all structured, and given the parameters, the ability of the Department is constrained in this regard. All I can say is that I encourage IACTO and CTCs to feed their concerns into the development of the revised operational guidelines. I know that SIPTU is seeking a pay increase to bring CTC staff pay in line with that of Youthreach staff and that IACTO supports the claim. Again, the Department cannot respond to SIPTU's request because those decisions must be taken by the CTC boards. While there were links historically between CTC staff, certain FÁS grades and Youthreach staff, they ended in 2009 with the FEMPI legislation. As the Deputy said, in 2022, SIPTU lodged a claim for Building Momentum increases with full retrospection.”
“In her original question, Deputy Cummins raised the fact that some CTCs have a clerical officer scale on which the first two points fall below the minimum wage. In May, SOLAS informed IACTO that the Department had no objection to points below the minimum wage being removed. I am happy to see that. In fact, I would be really disappointed if that had not happened. To come back to the general point the Deputy is making, I understand what she is saying. I have to say again that these matters relating to recruitment and retention fall under the responsibility of the individual CTC boards and are outside the Department's operational remit. I hear what she is saying about the importance and value of the work and that funding must be appropriate for what is needed.”
“This also applies to the ETBs, which contract the service from the CTCs, and to SOLAS, which provides funding to the ETBs. I am sorry to anyone listening for all the mention of ETBs and CTCs. The Deputy and I know what I am speaking about, however. As the Deputy said, staff in the CTCs were awarded a 5% pay increase following a WRC hearing in June 2023. Staff were awarded the increase in two increments. Staff recruitment and retention issues have not been raised recently at the committee meetings that I spoke of. It is important to say they cannot be resolved through the liaison committee as they fall under the authority of the CTC boards.”
“However, at that meeting it was agreed that the original purpose of that committee is now redundant and that a review of the terms and conditions will be undertaken and discussed at the next meeting, which will take place in September. These guidelines are being developed under Circular 13/2014. It is intended the revised guidelines will address issues raised by CTCs through this liaison committee. I have to stress that the issues related to recruitment, retention and terms and conditions cannot be resolved within this committee as they are the responsibility of the CTC boards. They are outside the remit of the Department and other committee members. Specifically in response to the Deputy’s query, the Department has no role in the employment of CTC staff, including in the areas of recruitment, terms and conditions and pay.”
“With the Deputy’s background and experience, she will know that CTCs are not public sector organisations nor are their staff designated as public servants. ETBs manage the CTCs within the parameters of the Department of public expenditure’s Circular 13/2014. This circular provides comprehensive guidelines for the management, accountability and reporting of public funds allocated through these grants. Regarding the importance of Youthreach, Department officials maintain a strong working relationship with CTCs through IACTO, which is their representative body. This is supported by the IACTO liaison committee, which includes representatives from IACTO itself, the ETBs, SOLAS and the ETBI. Officials have advised me that the last meeting of the committee took place on 27 May.”
“I thank the Deputy for raising this issue. I think it might be useful at the outset for Members to understand the context of what is being raised here. Community training centres were established in 1977 as community training workshops to support young, unemployed people aged 16 to 25. Since 1988, they have been delivering the Youthreach programme. I agree with the Deputy that they do really valuable and important work. I am having the opportunity to see more of it as I travel around the country. There are 31 CTCs throughout the country contracted by the education and training boards to deliver the Youthreach programme. This means they are grant-aided organisations. Each CTC is a non-profit company and has its own independent board of directors which is responsible for the recruitment and retention of staff.”
“I thank the Senator. To finish the reply, Midland Regional Hospital Portlaoise is funded for 76.5 whole-time equivalent midwives, which falls comfortably within the recommended staffing levels for the number of births at the unit. In response to challenges with vacancies in permanent midwifery positions nationwide, a national midwifery task force was established in October 2023. It is bringing together midwives, HSE professionals and academic expertise to enhance practices around midwifery workforce planning. In budget 2025, an additional €2 million in new development funding has been provided for the continued implementation of this national maternity strategy. All 19 maternity services now offer a midwife-led supported care pathway.”
“Since 2018, 12.5 additional whole-time equivalent staff have been funded at the unit through the strategy, including nine whole-time equivalent midwives and midwife specialists. The unit has benefited from over €150,000 in capital investment through the strategy since 2020, including funding for a home away from home birthing room, scanning equipment and neonatal support equipment. I have a little more to say but will wait for the Senator's response.”
“The HSE has provided assurances that all efforts will be made to continue with the midwifery-led community clinics without interruption, including enhancing recruitment of the midwifery workforce. This Government recognises the importance of midwifery and community care. This has been underpinned by significant investment in services, both in Portlaoise and nationally. The national maternity strategy is moving into its final years. A total of €28 million in new development funding has been invested through the strategy since 2016. This has enabled the total recruitment of more than 530 full-time staff across the country. These staff and this investment improve women's lives every day. Midland Regional Hospital Portlaoise has directly benefited from investment through the national maternity strategy.”
“The Minister would like to reassure the Deputy and the women attending this service that measures have been put in place to resume it. The midwifery service provided in Athy Primary Care Centre is a midwifery-led, antenatal satellite service from Midland Regional Hospital Portlaoise for women with normal-risk pregnancies. The service was temporarily paused last week to facilitate unplanned staff leave. The HSE has confirmed that the midwifery-led antenatal clinics will be operating as normal from this week in Athy Primary Care Centre and Portarlington Primary Care Centre. Midland Regional Hospital Portlaoise has been contacting affected women directly about this matter.”
“I thank Senator O’Loughlin for this opportunity to address the House today on behalf of the Minister for Health regarding the provision of community midwifery services in Athy by the maternity unit at Midlands Regional Hospital Portlaoise. I endorse what the Senator said about Kfm. I had the privilege of representing Kildare in the European Parliament for five years. I am well aware of the huge value of the community service provided by Kfm. Coming back to the Senator's question, the Government recognises the critical role midwives play in the delivery of safe, nationally consistent and woman-centred maternity care. The Minister for Health understands the disruption and distress that the interruption of this service may have caused to women in the area. I think all of us here today do as well.”
“The Minister, Deputy Carroll MacNeill, is eager to see how we can most effectively grow the scheme further, in line with the programme for Government commitment, whether through broadening certain criteria or increasing the range of services available. The Minister hopes to be in a position to announce a clear plan of action in this regard in the coming weeks.”
“I thank the Senator. As I said, there are potentially highly sensitive and complex factors which arise here and these would need to be fully teased out, resolved and a firm decision agreed upon before it is decided whether, notwithstanding what is permitted in the relevant legislation, the State should fund this very distinct form of AHR treatment. However, I want to reassure the Senator that the Minister, Deputy Carroll MacNeill, is focused, through the full implementation of the model of care for fertility, on ensuring that patients receive care at the appropriate level of clinical intervention and then those requiring, and eligible for, advanced AHR treatment such as IVF will be able to access same through the public health system.”
“The Department of Health understands that, in the few countries which specifically provide for PAHR, there is such a required post-death period. There is also a requirement in the 2024 Act that the deceased person and the surviving partner would have received appropriate counselling and advice on issues in respect of succession rights, for instance, before providing their fully informed consent to PAHR, parentage of an as-yet-unborn child and the implications of same. The provision of treatment related to PAHR is not part of the services currently funded through the publicly funded AHR treatment initiative. I will finish following the Senator's response.”
“Posthumous assisted human reproduction, PAHR, is defined in the Health (Assisted Human Reproduction) Act 2024 as AHR treatment involving the use of the gametes of a person, or of an embryo created by the use of such gametes, subsequent to the death of such person. The Health (Assisted Human Reproduction) Act 2024 includes provisions which will introduce regulation of PAHR but this legislation has not been commenced to date. A key condition in the legislation for PAHR to be permitted is that the relevant AHR treatment should not begin prior to 12 months having passed from the death of the relevant deceased intending parent. This is to allow for an appropriate period of reflection and mourning for the surviving partner and space for her to be certain that she wishes to proceed with PAHR in the new circumstances of her life.”
“The criteria were agreed following consultation with experts in the field of reproductive medicine and include limits in respect of the age of the intending birth mother, body mass index and the number of children a couple already have. These are very much in keeping with those applied in other jurisdictions, even though in most European countries, for instance, such treatments are only partially funded and require often significant out-of-pocket payments by patients. Decisions in respect of any proposed changes to the access criteria and-or the range of services provided through the publicly funded AHR treatment initiative require further extensive consultation between Department of Health officials and colleagues in the HSE and also with relevant specialists in the field of reproductive medicine. This process is under way.”
“I thank the Senator for raising this very sensitive matter and for giving me, on behalf of the Minister, Deputy Carroll MacNeill, the opportunity to inform the House of the up-to-date position on the provision of publicly funded fertility services. The Senator and I will both appreciate the fact the Minister cannot comment on individual cases. As part of the final phase of the roll-out of the model of care for fertility, referrals for publicly funded, privately provided IVF or other assisted human reproduction, AHR, treatment commenced in September 2023. The criteria that prospective patients should meet to access fully funded AHR services were agreed by the Department and the HSE and subsequently approved by the Government in July 2023.”
“That represents nearly one in every eight euro of public money that is spent on health. I think the Senator can see the level of commitment from the Department on this.”
“I am pleased to hear the Senator welcomes the 34 new staff who have been put in place and the efforts made to enhance and improve the pricing and reimbursement system, including the significant additional staffing to which we have referred. To fully benefit patients, the pharmaceutical industry must also play its part. Ireland is open for business and encourages timely applications for reimbursement with reasonable pricing offers - that is really important. We are confident that timely engagements and applications from industry for new and innovative medicines to be reimbursed will support faster and improved access to medicines for patients in Ireland. The State has made considerable investments in new medicines in recent years. In 2023, more than €3.2 billion was spent on medicines by the State.”
“The HSE national service plan will continue the trackers' development with the introduction of indicative timelines for each step of a medicine's assessment process. That was the question the Senator specifically asked.”
“This additional capacity will significantly enhance and support the ability to appraise the increased volume and complexity of submissions from pharmaceutical companies for new drugs that are coming through the application process. Another recommendation from this review was greater transparency for all stakeholders. A key focus was the implementation of a pricing and reimbursement medicines tracker to be developed by the HSE. The tracker has now been launched, with the initial iteration available since December 2024. In real time, this will show the status of a reimbursement application for a new medicine, from rapid review to a final decision by the HSE. Senator Costello asked about this.”
“Furthermore, 90% of generic and biosimilar medicines were approved for reimbursement within 90 days. A number of these recommendations have now been implemented. One of the key recommendations of this review was enhancing the capacity across the pricing and reimbursement system, with significant funding allocated for 34 additional staff within the system. These 34 new staff have now been hired, of which 16 additional new staff were recruited and are now in place within the NCPE. This is a significant investment by the State and reflects the Government's commitment to providing access to new and innovative medicines to patients faster. The full impact of additional staffing within the NCPE on the speed of assessment of new medicine applications will become evident in the coming months.”
“HSE decisions on which medicines are reimbursed by the State via public funds are made on objective, scientific and economic grounds and having regard to the advice of the NCPE. Formal processes govern applications for the pricing and reimbursement of medicines, and new uses of existing medicines, to be funded or reimbursed. The Senator mentioned the external review of the pricing and reimbursement process, the Mazars review, which was published in 2023. While this determined that the pricing and reimbursement process operated in line with international norms, a number of recommendations were made on foot of its findings. In the same year, 50% of applications for reimbursement progressed following a rapid review without the need for a full health technology assessment.”
“I thank Senator Costello for raising this issue. I will be answering on behalf of the Minister for Health, Deputy Carroll MacNeill. The State acknowledges the importance of faster access to new medicines for patients. The HSE has statutory responsibility for medicine pricing and reimbursement decisions, under the Health (Pricing and Supply of Medical Goods) Act 2013. Reimbursement is for licensed indications that have been granted marketing authorisation by the EMA or the Health Products Regulatory Authority, HPRA. In making a reimbursement decision, the HSE is required under the Act to have regard to a number of criteria, including efficacy, the health needs of the public, cost-effectiveness and potential or actual budget impact.”
“This will require much more detailed and extensive policy development and design in order to progress to implementation stage, having regard to the wider emerging policy context as set out in the programme for Government. The Department funds 30 city or county childcare committees, which provide support and assist families and early learning and childcare providers. The network of 30 city or county childcare committees can assist in identifying vacant places in services for children and families who need them and engage proactively with services to explore possibilities for expansion among services, particularly where there is unmet need. Parents experiencing difficulty in relation to their early learning and childcare needs should contact their local city or county childcare committee for assistance.”
“I thank the Deputy and I hear what he has said. He spoke about vision. What I can say is that the Government is committed to building an affordable, high-quality and accessible early learning and childcare system. Although the Deputy said it is not enough, the programme for Government commits for the first time to provide capital investment to build or purchase State-owned early learning and childcare facilities to create additional capacity in areas where unmet need exists. State ownership of facilities is a substantial and significant development and offers the potential for much greater scope to influence the nature and volume of provision available and to ensure better alignment with estimated demand. Some early scoping work has been carried out to explore options to introduce a segment of public provision.”
“These 49 applications come from a mix of community extension, private extension, community purchasing and community construction projects. When completed, these projects will deliver almost 1,500 additional full-time childcare places for one to three-year-olds. Three services in County Kildare were among those that were successful and will progress to the next stage of the process.”
“Core funding, which is in its third programme year, funds services based on the number of places available. This provides stability to services and reduces the risk associated with opening a new service or expanding an already existing service. The Government is also supporting the expansion of capacity through capital funding. The building blocks extension grant scheme is designed to increase capacity in the one to three-year-old, early childhood care and education age range for full day care. Core funding partner services could apply for capital funding to physically extend their premises or to construct or purchase new premises. The Minister was delighted to announce earlier this month the 49 applications that will be progressing to the next stage of the building blocks extension grant scheme.”
“Last year, a supply management unit was established in the Department of Children, Disability and Equality, and the programme for Government articulates an intention that it be resourced and transformed into a forward planning and delivery unit to identify areas of need, forecast demand and deliver public supply where required. A forward planning model is in development in the unit and will be central to the Minister’s plans to achieve the policy goals set out in the programme for Government to build an affordable, high-quality and accessible early learning and childcare system, with State-led facilities adding capacity. The Government continues to support the ongoing development and resourcing of core funding, which has given rise to a significant expansion of places since the scheme was first introduced.”
“Data from the annual early years sector profile 2023-2024 shows that the estimated number of enrolments increased by 19% from two years previously. The Tusla register of services demonstrates a net increase in the number of registered early learning and childcare services in 2024. However, as we know, demand for early learning and childcare remains higher than available supply, particularly for younger children and in certain parts of the country. I accept the Deputy’s point in this regard. Demand for early learning and childcare beyond sessional preschool provision is highly elastic and shaped very substantially by families' individual composition, circumstances and preferences; employment patterns and income; and the price and availability of services.”
“I thank Deputy Farrelly for raising this important issue and giving me the opportunity to respond on behalf of the Minister. Improving access to quality and affordable early learning and childcare is a key priority of the Government. I heard what the Deputy said about County Kildare and the specifics of the age profile in the county. In fact, at one point, I was privileged to represent County Kildare in the European Parliament and I know about some of the issues raised. I understand from what the Deputy said that this creates certain issues that perhaps are not as obvious in other parts of the country because of the age profile. We are here to discuss early learning and childcare capacity, which is increasing under this Government.”
“Suppliers must not be excluded if they have provided sufficient evidence of reform, that is, the payment of compensation, co-operation with investigating authorities and changes in organisation and personnel. The maximum period of exclusion allowed is three years for discretionary exclusion grounds. I understand what the Deputy says. If there are specific questions he wishes to ask, I will ensure they are passed on to the Minister's office. Some of the issues he raises are of importance. I can see why he feels that even if the discretionary exclusion grounds are used, they might not always be as effective as we hope they could be, and that perhaps they should be used more frequently. I will not comment beyond that because these are individual cases about which I have no information.”
“Deputy Gogarty raised a number of issues in response, some of which I do not have any information on here. I know he appreciates that. One of the points he raises is the discretion of local authorities. For clarity, I will reiterate the discretionary exclusionary grounds that contracting authorities may choose to apply in cases of procurement. I am aware that I used the word "may", which chimes with the point the Deputy raises. The local authorities have the authority to do so if they wish. The grounds are: poor past performance where the candidate has shown significant or persistent deficiencies in a prior public contract which led to termination, damages or other comparable sanctions.”
“Persistent failure to comply with an instruction under the contract is a breach and may result in the bond being called upon to pay for the work necessary to make good a defect. Deputy Gogarty mentioned one or two companies but he will understand that I cannot comment on particular companies. The rules apply to all companies.”
“There are a number of elements already present in CWMF contracts that provide contracting authorities with the ability to manage poor performance. A consistent contract management regime is critical and clearly defined milestones should be set down for evaluation purposes. The public works contracts require payment to be made on a monthly basis for work completed to the standard specified in the contract. Where the works completed do not meet the required standard, the value of the defective work may be deducted from the payment due until the matter is rectified. Many of the larger projects also carry performance bonds which may be called upon in the event of a breach of contract.”
“This includes poor past performance where the tenderer has shown significant or persistent deficiencies in a prior public contract which led to termination, damages or other comparable sanctions. However, suppliers must not be excluded if they have provided sufficient evidence of reform, for example, payment of compensation, co-operation with investigating authorities and changes in organisation or personnel. The management of the tendering process for a public contract including the application of certain exclusion grounds and selection criteria is a matter for each contracting authority. It is the responsibility of each contracting authority to ensure that tenderers comply with all the requirements of the process.”
“The CWMF also provides a suite of guidance material covering all aspects of project delivery. Other contracts, such as the NEC, might be used on larger infrastructure projects. An applicant's eligibility to participate in public procurement competitions must be determined in a manner that meets the principles of transparency, non-discrimination and mutual recognition. Criteria for qualitative selection are defined in the EU procurement directive. When carrying out procurement procedures, contracting authorities already have discretion to exclude tenderers from competing in a public procurement competition for reasons set out in Regulation 57 of SI 284 of 2016 - European Union (Award of Public Authority Contracts) Regulations 2016.”
“I thank Deputy Gogarty for raising this matter and I am responding on behalf of the Minister. Public procurement is governed by EU and national rules. The aim of these rules is to promote an open, competitive and non-discriminatory public procurement regime which delivers transparency and value for money outcomes, which the Deputy referred to. With respect to public works, the capital works management framework, CWMF is the structure that has been developed to deliver the Government’s objectives regarding public sector construction procurement reform. The CWMF suite of contracts contain clear requirements with respect to performance and delivery, whereas the project-specific aspects such as scope, design and technical specifications are matters for the contracting authority to determine.”
“Discussions are currently ongoing between the Department of Health and my Department to try to progress this proposal with a view to maximising Irish and EU places to obtain value for money for this proposal.”