I extend a word of welcome to the Monaghan Women's Assembly and other guests, ach ba mhaith liom fáilte mór a chur roimh Cara Darmody, who is about to complete her 50-hour sleep-out to again raise the scandal of children waiting for assessment of need. Tá fáilte romhat, Cara.

Since yesterday, the depth of public anger at the Government's decision to withdraw funding supports for blister pack medication has been laid bare. The reaction has been extraordinary. Pharmacists and carers have been inundated with messages of fear and disbelief. People who have never contacted a TD before have been calling constituency offices begging for someone to act. Yesterday, the Taoiseach at least conceded that he would look at this issue but today's newspaper tells us that the Fine Gael Minister, Jennifer Carroll MacNeill, is not budging. She is refusing to recognise the disaster she is presiding over. Vulnerable people who depend on blister packs are being told by a Fine Gael Minister they will face fees in the new year and are on their own. It is a Scrooge-like response in the weeks before Christmas.

Blister packs are not a luxury. They are a lifeline. Tens of thousands rely on them, including older people managing multiple medications, people with dementia or Alzheimer's, and those with intellectual disabilities, brain injuries or mental health challenges. Carers and front-line workers know exactly what will happen without them. These packs allow people to live independently. They prevent confusion, mixed doses, missed doses and double dosing. The human stories coming in since yesterday are stark. We heard from a woman caring for her grandmother whose medication changes constantly due to supply issues. Without blister packs, which she cannot afford to pay for, her grandmother loses her independence. We heard from front-line workers deeply worried about their frail clients living alone, often taking ten or more tablets a day, who are confused over what tablets to take and when. We heard from families caring for loved ones with dementia, who finally adapted to blister packs after enormous effort. They now feel abandoned. One daughter wrote about her 91-year-old mother who lives alone, already battling rising bills, and relies on blister packs to remain safe at home. She said that taking this away will destroy her independence. These are not isolated stories.

This is occurring in the middle of a cost-of-living crisis. Today, the CSO announced a rise in annual inflation that is almost twice the rate projected by Government. When people are told that blister packs may now cost €20, €30 or even €50 a month, they simply cannot absorb it. The contrast could not be starker. The Government has found billions for developers, banks and landlords, yet when it comes to older people, dementia patients and people on disability payments, the approach suddenly becomes penny-pinching. This is a political choice, not a financial necessity. The most troubling part is these concerns are not new. Sinn Féin's health spokesperson, David Cullinane, raised this with Government in October, during the community pharmacy agreement debate. He warned that narrowing supports for monitoring dosage systems would expose vulnerable patients to new charges but those warnings were ignored. We now have a decision by a Fine Gael Minister that will increase costs for vulnerable patients, undermine medication adherence, overwhelm carers and potentially lead to avoidable GP visits and hospital admissions. It is a decision that pharmacists, carers and front-line workers say is a false economy.

I will put some clear questions to the Minister. Why is blister pack support being removed without any impact assessment, consultation or plan for those who depend on it? Why were warnings from pharmacists, carers and Sinn Féin ignored? Will the Government now act immediately to reverse this decision and protect vulnerable patients from real harm?

I dtosach, ar son mo phairtí, Fine Gael agus ar son an Rialtais, déanaim comhbhrón le clann Paddy Cooney, a cailleadh i rith na seachtaine. He was a former Minister for Justice - I note a flag is at half-mast over the House today - a former TD for Longford-Westmeath and a former Senator. He was a great advocate in the Dáil for the people of Longford and Westmeath and did a huge amount of work to protect our democracy in the face of many people who sought to undermine and subvert it over many years. On behalf of my party and the wider Government, I extend my sympathies to the Cooney family. Ar dheis Dé go raibh a anam dílis. Ní bheidh a leithéid arís ann.

Yesterday, the Taoiseach was asked about the issue Deputy Carthy raised. He gave a substantial answer with regard to what the Government has been doing over the past number of years, particularly in relation to health and social protection for those who are the most vulnerable. He outlined to the House, and I will use the opportunity to spell out again today, the supports the Government is giving to the least well-off and the most vulnerable in our society. He gave a lot of detail on the drugs payment scheme and how it operates. Under that scheme, cardholders and their families only have to pay a maximum of €80 per month for approved prescribed drugs and medicines. This has improved dramatically over the last number of years. The resources the Government has available to it, thanks to the economic growth that has been made available through the financial policies we have pursued, all of which have been objected to by Deputy Carthy and his party, has resulted in us being in a position to invest very heavily in the areas of health and social protection. Last week alone, the most vulnerable in our society saw the Christmas bonus start to be paid out.

In his response yesterday, the Taoiseach also acknowledged that for many people, and I have personal experience of this, the dispensing and taking of tablets on a daily basis is something that some people require assistance with. For some people who operate on their own, it can be quite daunting. The Taoiseach outlined yesterday that he believed there is still an opportunity for the HSE to engage with the Irish Pharmacy Union over the time ahead to see whether this issue can be further discussed. On the same lines as what the Taoiseach said, that opportunity is there. He outlined why he believes this is important, the importance of the drugs payment scheme and blister packs, and how they have supported people over many years.

The reality is that health now has the largest budget it has ever had. There is €27 billion in health for 2026. It is not an insignificant amount of money. I know the party opposite laid out its proposals with regard to health and social protection and a number of other areas, which did not include everything that the Government included, particularly in the area of social protection for budget 2026, yet it derided the Government for things it did include for social protection. The Taoiseach in his response yesterday outlined that the opportunity still exists for the HSE to engage with the Irish Pharmacy Union, and I expect that engagement to happen.

The Minister talks about spelling it out. I will spell it out for him again. People are struggling with a cost-of-living crisis and the Government does not get that. People with disabilities or care needs are particularly struggling and the Government does not get that. The way we know it does not get that is because there are vulnerable people who need blister packs to get by in their day-to-day lives and to have some semblance of independence. Currently they get those blister packs free of charge and this Scrooge-like Government through its Scrooge-like Minister is going to charge them €20, €30, maybe even €50 per month come the new year. I am asking the Minister to finally get it and get live to the fact that people are going through really tough times and, rather than a kick in the teeth from Government, they need a little bit of support. What they need above all is that the supports currently in place are not removed. He did not answer my question directly, so I will ask him again. Please will he give assurance to those people who rely on blister packs that the Government will not impose these charges in January? Will it finally hear the cries coming into all of our constituency offices for a little bit of understanding on the part of this out-of-touch Government?

Deputy Carthy does a good job of pretending he has a monopoly on people's concerns in this country. The one thing he never mentions is the economy or jobs or anything as to where the actual wealth in the country comes from. I think it is something his party is incapable of understanding. The income into this State-----

Answer the question, Minister.

I did not interrupt the Deputy. The income into this State and its ability to spend money is derived from the strong economy and all the policies to which he and his party have objected.

I know it is a tactic they use.

I am trying to help the Minister wise up.

Sometimes they do it quite well, but they are showing themselves up by trying to shout people down. If they will just listen, Deputy Carthy said a while ago that we have nothing with regard to cost-of-living measures.

Blister packs.

This has been said time and again. Sorry, I do not know who the questioner is supposed to be here.

The Minister has not answered any questioner.

Time and again Sinn Féin brings up the Government's issues with regard to cost of living. I will put it on the record of the House again because the Deputy has already said something that is clearly not true. We are introducing the largest ever child support benefit. We have introduced-----

When is that happening?

-----back-to-school clothing and footwear allowance. We are increasing the domiciliary care allowance and, as late as yesterday, one of the Deputy's own party colleagues asked me to hike up the charge for people's Netflix accounts. Had I done that yesterday, Deputy Carthy would be in here today with the same old cant as always, that we are not taxing enough.

What about the blister packs?

Thank you, Minister. Please conclude.

A Leas-Cheann Comhairle, the Minister is misrepresenting what I said here yesterday.

If I can answer Deputy Carthy, he wants to have his cake and eat it.

The Minister has misrepresented the Dáil.

Resume your seat, Deputy, and, Minister, resume yours.

He wants to tax everybody and pretend he lives in a world where everything is free.

I did not ask in any shape or form for him to increase the price of Netflix.

Will the Deputy please resume his seat? We will come back to that.

They have both got their clips. This is a serious Parliament.

The Minister should not misrepresent the Dáil.

I am not prepared to join in the shouting match that goes on every Thursday morning.

The Deputy will be on social media now.

Will the Leas-Cheann Comhairle note that the question was-----

You know your place.

Take the Dáil seriously.

I ask you to please conduct yourselves.

I thank the Leas-Cheann Comhairle, and I also thank him for calling that out. I mean, this is Dáil Éireann; it is not Kilmallock cattle mart. Every Thursday we are treated to the same thing.

You would want to get into it yourself, then-----

You fucking muppet.

Excuse me. Did the Leas-Cheann Comhairle hear that comment from Deputy Ward? He referred to my colleague in unparliamentary terms. That needs to be withdrawn immediately. That kind of conduct is not acceptable in the Parliament. It may be acceptable for some on a Thursday, who are only interested in getting clips for social media. They ought to conduct themselves in a parliamentary fashion and respect all colleagues.

We are entitled to ask questions.

It is outrageous.

In respect of all colleagues, I did not hear the remark.

I did.

I heard it.

If there is a complaint, please make it to the Ceann Comhairle and we will have the matter dealt with. We are not going to deal with it now. Make the complaint to the Ceann Comhairle, please.