The Order of Business is No. 1, motion regarding Sectoral Employment Order (Construction Sector) 2024 - referral to committee, to be taken on conclusion of the Order of Business, without debate; No. 2, motion regarding proposed approval by Seanad Éireann of the Data Protection Act 2018 (Section 51(3)) (Defence Forces Tribunal of Inquiry) Regulations 2024, to be taken on conclusion of No. 1, without debate; and No. 3, Health Insurance (Amendment) and Health (Provision of Menopause Products) Bill 2024, changed from Health Insurance (Amendment) Bill 2024 - all Stages, to be taken at 3.15 p.m., with the time allocated to the opening remarks of the Minister in the debate on Second Stage not to exceed ten minutes, group spokespersons not to exceed ten minutes and time may be shared, all other Senators not to exceed five minutes, the Minister to be given no less than ten minutes to reply to the debate, and Committee and Remaining Stages to be taken immediately thereafter.

I have come from a conference in the Ashling Hotel hosted by Family Carers Ireland. I take this opportunity to note the vital work Family Carers Ireland does in advocating for carers. Those carers, as we all know, are the backbone of our health and social community and without them we would be lost. They save our country billions every year. They have a few small asks, one of which is to get rid of the means test. We have worked in this House on increasing the income disregard but I hope that will go further in the next Dáil and we will fully get rid of the means test for carers. Major work needs to be done on respite for family carers, not just overnight respite but respite that suits people's needs and wants, as well as on access to education, which I have spoken on before, therapists back in schools and remodelling of the HSE.

It was a very insightful conference. There is a great deal of hurt among family carers. They do not feel they are listened to. I want to say that I and my colleagues in Fianna Fáil hear them. There is a huge amount of work we need to do to ensure carers feel valued. It is not just from a monetary point of view that they get an extra few bob, but that they feel their place in society is valued and they have worth. It was great listening to them and contributing today. I really enjoyed it, but I know there is much work to do.

I acknowledge the great work that the organisation itself is doing. It has been relentless in advocating for family carers.

We are in the closing days of the Seanad, although I hope to have another chance to get to my feet. I thank the Seanad Office, the Cathaoirleach’s office, Mr. Martin Groves and all his staff for helping us and running the Seanad so smoothly. I also thank all of the other staff in the Houses of the Oireachtas and all of my colleagues. I wish everyone the best of luck. It has been an honour to be a Senator.

I echo those comments to the team in the Seanad Office and the wider Houses of the Oireachtas.

I agree with Family Carers Ireland’s proposal. We need to move away from a means test quickly. If someone is doing a job that saves the State a fortune, he or she should be paid for it and there should not be a means test. I would like to think that the body politic is moving towards that position, which is welcome, and I hope that the change happens sooner rather than later.

The Leas-Chathaoirleach and Acting Leader will be disappointed to hear that 120 people are on trolleys in UHL today, which is terrible. This situation continues to worsen. The Minister has commissioned HIQA to carry out a report. I note and welcome the Taoiseach’s recent comments on Clare FM when he stated that he would be prepared to make more resources available to escalate and conclude HIQA’s work in a timely manner. Currently, HIQA is scheduled to report in June. We all know that an election will be called this week and that a new programme for Government will be negotiated. I hope that those negotiations will not continue until June and that we will have a new programme in place early in the new year. It is essential that we know the direction of emergency care in the mid-west for those negotiations, whatever the collection of parties or Independents in the new Government. Next June will be too late to get the report. We need to have it very soon after Christmas. The people of the mid-west deserve a better emergency service than what they are getting at the moment, with more than 120 people on trolleys on a Tuesday. How many will there be on Saturday? This is not acceptable and no one could stand up and defend it. The nurses and other staff are doing their best, but there clearly are issues. Those may be with management, but there are absolutely issues with capacity. This situation needs to be addressed. We need the HIQA report urgently so that it can inform the mid-western healthcare element of whatever programme for Government is put in place.