Martin Daly
Roscommon-Galway · Fianna Fáil · Ireland
“The relationship between Ireland and Spain is hugely important with €15 billion in total in trade, including €10 billion in goods and services from Ireland to Spain, a country that is in the European Union and has shared our values, culture and history. It was a hugely important meeting and is a hugely important relationship.”
“I accept that answer and I thank the Minister very much for that update. It is important because people sometimes equate healthcare with hospital beds, but that is not reality. In isolation, beds cannot provide for the healthcare needs of the public.”
“I thank the Minister very much. We had the excellent Professor Rose Anne Kenny, co-ordinator of The Irish Longitudinal Study on Ageing, TILDA, in recently with the health committee. She pointed out the demographic challenge we are facing in health.”
“I ask the Minister for an update on the plan to increase the capacity of inpatient beds by 4,000 or 4,500 across the country and if she will make a statement on the matter. We know we currently have 12,000 public beds and 2,500 private beds, which is about 2.9 beds per thousand of the population.”
“We will probably start with proper screening programmes at the age of 50, with the whole population moving into better-resourced primary care, step-down beds and rehabilitation beds. I also support Deputy Seán Kyne’s call for the Minister to press for the 300 additional beds in UHG.”
“I wish to ask if the Government has or is developing a policy for the development of industrial hemp production in Ireland. Industrial hemp is a remarkable plant.”
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“The relationship between Ireland and Spain is hugely important with €15 billion in total in trade, including €10 billion in goods and services from Ireland to Spain, a country that is in the European Union and has shared our values, culture and history. It was a hugely important meeting and is a hugely important relationship. I ask the Taoiseach to comment in particular on the memorandum of understanding in relation to the electricity interconnector, which will help our energy security and improve our access to a broader supply of renewable energy.”
“Deputy Sherlock already pointed out this challenge because we both listened to Professor Kenny's excellent presentation at the health committee last week.”
“I accept that answer and I thank the Minister very much for that update. It is important because people sometimes equate healthcare with hospital beds, but that is not reality. In isolation, beds cannot provide for the healthcare needs of the public. We will never develop enough capacity in beds unless we change the way we manage healthcare, both in preventative and in primary care. We really do have to step up the number of rehabilitation beds, step-down beds, home care packages, primary care therapies and nursing home beds in the community. We also need to think more strategically about how we manage the health of the population from the age of 50 onwards. Professor Rose Anne Kenny made that very point to the health committee.”
“We will probably start with proper screening programmes at the age of 50, with the whole population moving into better-resourced primary care, step-down beds and rehabilitation beds. I also support Deputy Seán Kyne’s call for the Minister to press for the 300 additional beds in UHG. This is a level 4 hospital operating with level 3 capacity.”
“I thank the Minister very much. We had the excellent Professor Rose Anne Kenny, co-ordinator of The Irish Longitudinal Study on Ageing, TILDA, in recently with the health committee. She pointed out the demographic challenge we are facing in health. We are going to have 1 million people over the age of 65 by 2030 and a doubling of the number of those aged over 65 by 2057, to 1.6 million people. We have already seen this trend happening from 2013, with an increase from 569,000 to 806,000. I bring these figures up because this challenge is looming. Obviously, beds are not a silver bullet, but they are going to be part of the overall way we manage health in future.”
“I ask the Minister for an update on the plan to increase the capacity of inpatient beds by 4,000 or 4,500 across the country and if she will make a statement on the matter. We know we currently have 12,000 public beds and 2,500 private beds, which is about 2.9 beds per thousand of the population. We also know that the ESRI has predicted a need for a 40% increase in inpatient beds by 2040 and that the plan in 2024 was to provide 3,352 new beds.”
“It is a most suitable building material for Ireland with our damp climate. However, it requires a co-ordinated approach by Government to support it as an industry. Does the Government have a policy on industrial hemp production and will it encourage the Departments of Health, agriculture and enterprise to progress this, because at the moment it is licensed by the Department of Health and not by the Department of agriculture? In my constituency, a €20 million investment in a hemp production factory was turned down because we could not get the funding from the just transition programme. Part of the reason for that was the prejudice against this plant because of its association with cannabis.”
“I wish to ask if the Government has or is developing a policy for the development of industrial hemp production in Ireland. Industrial hemp is a remarkable plant. It is a recognised crop grown largely in France, Belgium and Germany and is governed by an EU regulatory framework to keep the active tetrahydrocannabinol, THC, content lower than 0.3%, which is important because it is part of the cannabis family. I think it is prejudiced because of that. We had farmers, processors, building industry representatives and construction academics at the agriculture committee last night. This remarkable crop has over 70 recognised uses, including hemp concrete, insulation, textiles and building blocks. It is grown quickly, with immediate carbon sequestration, and is sustainable and profitable for farmers, with an estimated profit of €250 per acre.”
“For example, Roscommon University Hospital was promised a neurological rehab unit in 2015, with an attached budget of €8 million. That was taken off the capital plan twice, and only after an intervention by me and my office has it been placed back on the plan. There is a dearth of neurological rehabilitation places in the west of Ireland. I urge the Minister to support Roscommon University Hospital in every way she can. This is an exemplar for the reconfiguration of that hospital.”
“The whole issue about Roscommon is that the public in the west, in particular in Roscommon and east Galway, were promised that with the reconfiguration of Roscommon University Hospital, it would be supported in all its endeavours to provide appropriate services, such as day services. It is important that we keep an eye on the replacement acute psychiatric unit, the car parking services and the outpatients unit, which does not have disabled toilet facilities or a ramp for disabled patients to use. We need to develop the endoscopy service. If the Minister can expand that, we would be delighted and would support her in that. There are so many good things happening in Roscommon University Hospital but it takes commitment.”
“I thank the Minister for her comprehensive answer, which I appreciate. The important thing is the innovation that has happened at this particular unit in terms of the "see and treat" model, where patients are referred for photo triage before they attend. The service is led by a consultant but delivered by specialist advanced nurse practitioners, ANPs, in dermatology, who are trained in the screening and diagnosis of skin cancers and other skin lesions. These may not turn out to be skin cancers but it is important that this work is done. We need to support the advanced nurse practitioner model in this unit and develop it further. It needs more physical capacity. I have spoken to the HSE. I spoke to Mr. McCallion last week after the health committee meeting, and he said the HSE is going to look into that. It is worth supporting.”
“Will the Minister urge the HSE and the Department to consider the expansion of the physical infrastructure in which this unit operates in order that it can operate with maximum efficiency and to its maximum potential? As already stated, this is a success story. It is a story of productivity. It is a story of Sláintecare. It is a story of a hospital which has reimagined itself but which needs ongoing support. The hospital also has a tremendous endoscopy unit, which serves the region, and has developed services for elderly patients. We know that the population is getting older and that, as a result, there will be a need for frailty clinics, falls clinics, memory clinics and a range of outpatient services. This really is something worth supporting.”
“The west of Ireland has one of the highest prevalences of skin cancer, not just in Ireland but internationally. There is no plastic surgeon from the tip of Malin Head in Donegal right down to Roscommon. We have patients travelling from Sligo, Donegal and the other areas to which I referred to this unit in Roscommon, which is providing an exemplary service. In addition, 10% of all cases of melanoma, which is a deadly skin cancer, are treated at the unit. The problem for the unit is that it is treating approximately 50 patients per week. From a staff point of view, it has the capacity to treat 150 per week. This is really important, because those in the unit are constrained by the environment in which they are working. They are working out of two small treatment rooms and they have an area in which they assess patients.”
“The unit developed a photographic referral system in order the GPs could take photographs of skin lesions include them with referral letters. That happened during Covid. Of the 8,000 referrals, 2,000 were able to be triaged and referred back to the relevant general practitioners for appropriate treatment without the need for the patients involved to be seen by the unit. Of the remaining 6,000 patients, 2,000 have had surgery. The unit is also involved in screening for, diagnosing and treating skin cancers. The 2,000 surgeries to which I refer were carried out by one plastic surgeon, one part-time plastic surgeon and eight advanced nurse practitioners working over different periods. This unit is hugely productive. It is located in an area where there is a high prevalence of skin cancer.”
“I thank the Minister for being here. This is a success story that the Minister will be glad to hear about. The question is how we are going to support and expand the service that exists at Roscommon University Hospital. The reconfiguration of the hospital, which caused huge controversy at the time, has turned out to be a great success, with many innovative departments and many new services for people, especially the elderly, being developed. In the past 15 years, a plastic surgery unit that uses a see-and-treat model has been developed under Dr. Deirdre Jones, who is a plastic surgeon. In 2025, the unit received 8,000 GP referrals from Donegal, Leitrim, Sligo, east Mayo, east Galway, Westmeath and Offaly.”
“In saying all that, he also identified the fact that the EU needs to develop indigenous new technologies such as in AI, social media and pharma, and increase competitiveness to enable research and growth to develop self-reliance and resilience.”
“I welcomed the Taoiseach's visit to the US. He represented Ireland's interests extremely well. He reminded America that it is a two-way street in terms of economic collaboration, with Ireland being the fifth largest source of foreign direct investment, FDI, in the US, investing close to $390 billion in the American economy, with 200,000 people directly employed there, and $476 billion in FDI coming from the US. The Taoiseach defended the EU and European values, and he countered the false narrative that Europe was being overrun by migrants. He won respect for his defence of Keir Starmer, who has done so much to restore UK–Ireland relations after a very difficult UK–EU Brexit negotiation process.”
“Once again I want to ask about Roscommon University Hospital and the promised neurorehabilitation unit. It was promised in 2015 with an attached budget of €8 million. It was twice removed from the HSE's capital plan without any discussion and twice put back on after lobbying by me and my office. Now there is a real lack of urgency about providing those places. Neurorehabilitation looks after acquired brain injuries, stroke, traumatic Parkinson's disease, multiple sclerosis, motor neurone disease, spinal injuries and a host of other things. There is a dearth of beds in the HSE west and north-west region and this is recognised. It is something that is needed and desired and has been promised with a budget but there seems to be lack of urgency by HSE to progress this unit.”
“I would like to think that a ring-fenced fund could be achieved out of the tax revenues from some of the pharma companies, that would be designated for the treatment of rare diseases. At the end of this, I want to remember the people who are suffering from these diseases and the families who live with them. We cannot imagine unless we walk in their shoes.”
“We also need to understand that it cannot always be that the State has to just open the coffers. We have to balance it. There is a defined budget and we have to balance the needs of other people in the system. That is not taking away from the need to have a proper, efficient system of evaluation and bringing these drugs to patients who need them. As a small country, we lack the heft and leverage with these companies. We should be operating through the European Union to try to have better negotiating leverage. We need better-managed access to these drugs and early access schemes. We are not engaging properly in clinical trials, for a country that hosts so much pharma industry. That is a recurring theme.”
“We need to factor in the cost of care without the early intervention of these drugs. That is not to give an open chequebook to pharmaceutical firms that produce orphan drugs. While we are grateful that they take on the research and development of orphan drugs, by their nature they are exclusive to that condition, so they have a closed market and considerable leverage over states in terms of the cost of those drugs. Some of those drugs that are designated orphan drugs achieve wider applications and become very profitable for those companies, outside the rare disease piece. I think of drugs like rituximab and Avastin, some of which have applications in inflammatory diseases beyond the rare diseases, such as inflammatory arthritis and in the area of treatment of cancers. That needs to be balanced.”
“I acknowledge the families and people who live with rare diseases for their advocacy and their resilience. I am not going to go into individual diseases. It is welcome news, though, that givinostat has been approved. I pay particular tribute to the current Minister for Health, who has really taken on the issue around givinostat and is also looking at the reform of the accessibility for orphan drugs for people. I also pay tribute to Deputy Pádraig O'Sullivan, who has been at this for a number of years. It is sometimes a demoralising task. I commend also Senator Anne Rabbitte, and Senator Teresa Costello on her unstinting support for families who are living with boys with Duchenne dystrophy. I will just make a couple of points. We have to factor everything into these rare diseases. They are often chronic, progressive, debilitating diseases.”
“I welcome the investment in our defence capability. It has grown by 35% in the past three years and by 11% in the past year. We need to continue to invest to meet our international obligations but also to meet our own obligation as a sovereign nation and to protect our borders and the seas that surround this island. It is extremely important that we be strategic as a small country in the investment we make. It is true that we have lagged behind other countries of similar size in Europe, possibly through complacency because of our position on the edge of Europe, but that has changed now. I welcome the investment but I also hope that full consideration will be given to an Army headquarters in Athlone, which is at the centre of the country, geographically strategically located, with all the services that a headquarters would require.”
“It also has access to third level education, namely, Technological University of the Shannon, TUS, so I hope that it will be given full consideration when a decision is made.”
“I thank the Minister for a comprehensive reply. This is in the context of the record €1.7 billion defence national development plan, which the Government will invest in capital infrastructure for the next five years. It is important that it is got right. We are living in a changed geopolitical situation since the invasion of Ukraine by Russia, and we will have to live up to our defence obligations not only within our own national context but also within the European Union context. As regards the military history of Athlone, Custume Barracks goes back to 1691. It is geographically strategically located and is well served by railroad and river. I hope it will be considered.”
“I am aware of the Taoiseach's commitment to the matter of disability and the establishment of the unit in his Department, and the Minister, Deputy Norma Foley's, commitment to improving the lot of people who live with disability in Ireland. We have met groups of parents whose main concern and apprehension is the care of their vulnerable offspring when they are not around anymore, either through incapacity or death, which happens to us all eventually, and the expectation that their siblings will take on that care without negotiation and without any hope or respite in planning for their accommodation as they get older, whether it is in full residential care, supervised care or in community and local authority housing that is is suitably supported.”
“Getting this right is not only about economic growth; it is about keeping towns viable and services functioning, and giving people a genuine reason to build their futures at home.”
“I welcome the commitment to the veterinary college in Mountbellew, east Galway, as a demonstration of the Government's commitment to decentralise higher education. Talent, ambition and potential are not scarce in rural Ireland; what is scarce, too often, is access. Our responsibility is to ensure that, in a rapidly changing world, a person's place of birth never determines whether they can adapt, succeed or contribute. The pace of change is not slowing down and rural Ireland cannot be expected to simply catch up afterwards. We need to anticipate where jobs are going, where shortages are emerging and where opportunities will come from, and we need to prepare people before those gaps appear. If training and innovation systems move too slowly, communities like ours risk losing people, investment and opportunity.”
“We need a skills system that recognises learning does not end at 21 years of age. People should be able to engage in lifelong learning when they are returning to work or changing careers. Many people will be changing careers with the advent of artificial intelligence - farming, running a business or adapting to new industries. We also need to elevate apprenticeships, practical training and further education to the same status as traditional academic routes. Success should not depend on leaving your county. Innovation must not stop at the gates of our cities. If Government is serious about balanced regional development, investment in skills, enterprise supports and training opportunities, it must reach towns across Roscommon-Galway and the wider west.”
“When we speak about ensuring our skills, training and innovation systems keep pace with the changing world, we often focus on technology, artificial intelligence - which will be revolutionary - automation and digital transformation, but for constituencies like Roscommon-Galway, the real question is much simpler: will people have the opportunity to build a future where they are from? Change is already happening. Employers are struggling to recruit. Our health services need skilled professionals. Construction needs apprenticeships and tradespeople. Agriculture is becoming more technologically advanced and more specialised. Small businesses are expected to digitise and compete globally. The risk is not simply falling behind technologically; the risk is that rural communities fall behind economically.”
“We are leading out on the European Presidency from July. Can we bring a focus on the cost-of-living issues throughout Europe and use European institutions, such as European competitiveness and competition law, in relation to the price of groceries? Up to 35% of families are spending a third of their disposable income on groceries each week.”
“As Senator Teresa Costello said to me, there is no fun in their lives. That means they go out for work every day and by the time they get to the end of the week, they just about make ends meet. These are a group of people who do not want to be radicalised but are going to be radicalised. It was clear they were targeted during the recent fuel crisis. Does the Minister of State accept there is case for a more focused and visible approach to monitoring grocery pricing so consumers can have confidence that what they are experiencing is being properly examined and understood?”
“People with the least resources eat the unhealthiest food and that has ramifications right throughout our health system and our State. When households are under pressure, they are not making lifestyle choices, they are making budget decisions. That brings me back to the central point. People are seeing prices rise, but they do not see who is actively tracking those increases, analysing them or holding the system to account in a clear and visible way. The question is not whether structures exist but whether they are sufficient or coherent enough for the reality that people are now facing. It has to be put in the context that this is not simply an Irish problem. This is about the lower-middle class people - people who get up for work every morning and pay for everything in this State but who are being squeezed and crushed.”
“I appreciate the response but the concern remains around how this is being experienced by people on the ground. People are telling us that the value of a euro in the shopping trolley has fundamentally changed. There was a time when people could shop around. They might do a core shop in one retailer and then top up in other retailers for choice. However, we are increasingly hearing those price differences have narrowed significantly, suggesting a lack of competition in the retail sector. The sense of being able to shop strategically and save has reduced and people feel they are paying more regardless of where they go. At the same time, the evidence is clear that healthier food can be up to three times more expensive per calorie than less healthy alternatives while cheaper more processed options continue to offer more for less.”
“Does the Minister of State accept there may be merit in a more clearly defined stand-alone mechanism or watchdog with the responsibility for monitoring grocery pricing, transparency and affordability from the consumer perspective?”
“If prices are rising at the pace people are experiencing, who is tracking them in a structured way? If there are issues around pricing practices, who is examining them from the perspective of the consumer? If pressures are building, where is the clear line of accountability? In rural areas such as Roscommon-Galway, this issue is particularly acute and was brought to the fore during the recent fuel crisis, which expanded into a cost-of-living issue for people in that area and many other areas. Choice can be more limited and households can be more exposed to rising costs. What assessment has been made of grocery price increases and their impact on consumers?”
“A healthy weekly shop can take up to one third of disposable incomes. When we talk about grocery prices, we are not just talking about marginal changes but we are talking about a structural shift in affordability. The core issue I raise here today is not simply that prices are rising but how those prices are being monitored and understood. We have a number of bodies with roles in this space, including the Competition and Consumer Protection Commission and the Agri-Food Regulator. There is no single body with a clearly defined role in monitoring grocery price trends, examining retail pricing practices or providing a consistent, consumer focused view of what is happening in the market. That raises a fundamental question about whether the current framework is sufficient.”
“I welcome the opportunity to raise this issue which has been felt in households right across Roscommon-Galway and, indeed, across the country. People are very clear about what they are experiencing. The cost of the weekly shop has risen significantly and it continues to rise. For many households, particularly those on low and middle incomes, this is not an abstract issue; it is a real and immediate pressure. Families are noticing it week to week. They are adjusting what they buy, where they shop and how much they can afford to spend. What was once routine has now become a careful calculation. We know this is not just anecdotal. Food prices have risen by over 20% in a relatively short time. That represents a very real and sustained increase in the cost of living. For lower income households the situation is even more stark.”
“We cannot allow a new pathway to nicotine addiction to undo that progress. This is not about banning everything; it is about protecting children from products designed to hook them. It is about ensuring that what looks harmless or appealing is not allowed to quietly cause long-term harm. It is about being proactive not reactive. I commend the Minister on that. From both a medical and public policy perspective, this legislation is necessary, proportionate and overdue. I support it fully.”
“It will ban the sale of nicotine products to under-18s, remove advertising and the point-of-sale displays, restrict packaging and imagery, and limit flavours that are clearly designed to attract young users. It also addresses new and emerging products like nicotine pouches so that we are not constantly trying to play catch-up with the tobacco industry. That matters because one of the biggest mistakes in public health is allowing industry innovation to outpace regulation. We have seen that previously with tobacco and we know the consequences. In Ireland today, smoking still kills about 100 people every week and leads to more than 1,000 hospitalisations. Half of all long-term smokers will die from tobacco-related diseases. We have spent decades trying to reduce those numbers.”
“People who both vape and smoke are at even greater risk, so while vaping may be less harmful than smoking, it is not safe, particularly not for young people. We also need to be honest about how we got here. This did not happen by accident. Products were deliberately designed to appeal to children, with bright colours, sweet flavours and packaging that mimic sweets, desserts and even toys. Research shows that young people recognises this themselves - that vaping products are more appealing than cigarettes because they look and feel like treats. When we add to that the lower cost, the easy concealment and the constant online promotion, it is no surprise that the uptake is rising. This legislation is a direct response to that reality.”
“That represents a 442% increase in revenue with one brand alone taking nearly half the market. These are not niche products. They are scaling rapidly, largely outside the regulatory framework that governs tobacco. I cannot stress enough that nicotine is not harmless. It raises heart rate and blood pressure. It disrupts brain development in adolescents, affecting concentration, learning and impulse control. It is linked to anxiety, sleep disturbance and long-term dependency. Vaping itself is not risk free. Emerging evidence shows clear associations with cardiovascular disease, chronic lung conditions and asthma. We are seeing measurable damage to blood vessels and inflammatory responses that we do not fully understand.”
“As both a doctor and TD, I wish to be very clear about what we are dealing with here. This is not a minor trend. This is the early stage of a new addiction epidemic. In Ireland today, one in three students has tried vaping and one in six is a current user. Among the under-25s, 11% are regularly e-cigarettes users, which is the highest of any age group. Most worrying of all, the majority of young people who vape have never smoked previously. The idea that vaping is simply helping people quit smoking does not hold up in reality. For many young people, it is the starting point. We are also seeing an explosive growth in newer nicotine products. Nicotine pouch sales in Ireland increased almost five-fold in a single year from 6 million to 29 million units.”
“Will the Minister of State reflect on the election of Péter Magyar as Prime Minister of Hungary, his winning the election and the end of the Orbán regime? Hungary stood out as a sore thumb. I have been trying to understand, for the life of me, why the European Union did not take further sanctions against Hungary, although I know moneys were withheld. The lesson for other jurisdictions - if we followed the policies that were pursued by Orbán, as some of our colleagues on the Opposition benches would do - is that Hungary was the poorest country in the European Union.”
“The value of having repeated data collection means you get an evolving picture of how things are on the ground. In the Ballinasloe area, for example, if your parent had an alcohol problem, you are something like five times more likely to have taken alcohol by the age of 14. If your parents were permissive around the use of alcohol, the risk of having a problem with drink in later life is three times higher. These are important parameters that allow us to plan health services based around health and well-being and working upstream so that we avoid the problems that develop in later life. Alcohol, drug abuse and the viewing of pornography lead to unsafe and sometimes dangerous practices for young children and adolescents. Data allows us to intervene earlier with measures that will prevent future problems.”
“These are really important pieces of data that allow us to target schemes at those young people to try to prevent them for getting into trouble.”
“I am glad that the Minister of State recognises the value of the Planet Youth project, which is based on the Icelandic model of intervening early to try to identify the reasons young people may fall into lifestyles that will be deleterious to their health. One of the Planet Youth reports, which came out from Galway, Roscommon and Mayo in 2024, identified the fact that things such as unsupervised time for young people on the street gave them nine times more risk of smoking cannabis. Being unsupervised in a friend's home makes a young person five times more likely to engage in drinking at an early age. Other things that came out included that 18% of young people under the age of 13 had viewed pornography.”
“I would like the Minister to reflect on the support for the Planet Youth model, which covers about five different regions in the country and dwells on youth mental health, well-being and the maintenance of that well-being, including through repeated surveys of youth to find out what makes them tick.”
“We need to get over the culture that because it is a contract-led service by GPs, the infrastructure should be borne only by GPs. If we are completely serious, we should be building State-led primary care centres and have five-year, rent-free zones to attract young GPs into those centres.”
“The EU 2030 Digital Compass requires that patients will have fully digitalised records in every country in the European Union. Ireland is so far off that chart. Countries like Estonia, Malta and Lithuania can do this, and we cannot. We need to focus on enabling productivity. The Minister is right that we should be using our physical resources insofar as we can. However, there is an issue with UHG, and we need a new hospital there over the next ten years in order to make sure it functions properly as a level 4 hospital. That is the type of specialty treatment that some people need but they are competing with people who go through the emergency room, elderly people who need care in the hospital setting and people who might be better cared for in a community setting. We have to deal with primary care.”