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Deputy O'Sullivan described the distress of families waiting for treatment for Friedreich's ataxia. The Minister for Health said Ireland needed a better system for rare disease access and that she would pursue a European and domestic solution.
Witnesses said Traveller accommodation in Wexford is undermined by poor reporting, weak consultation and a largely ineffective LTACC. They called for stronger national oversight, an independent or longer-term chair, mandatory regular meetings, proper agendas and minutes, and real accountability for delivery and spending. Personal testimony highlighted homelessness, overcrowding, cultural needs around family living and mobility, and the failure of choice-based letting to work for many Travellers, especially older people and those with literacy or digital access difficulties. Members broadly accepted that the current system is too fragmented and that the LTACC needs structural reform rather than more empty consultation.
Mary Lou McDonald raised Cara Darmody’s protest, assessments of need, and the urgent plight of people with Friedreich’s ataxia. The Tánaiste said he recognised the seriousness, outlined the HSE rare diseases process, and gave a four-week timeline; McDonald and others pressed him on delay and deterioration.
Concerns were raised that Women of Honour giving evidence to the Defence Forces tribunal lack adequate trauma-informed support, and the Minister committed to urgent re-engagement with the HSE to strengthen tailored counselling and access.
Senator O'Reilly backed Senator Harmon and described the crisis in assessments of need for families in Cavan and Monaghan, where a child was left waiting despite an early intervention preschool place.
Changes how the Health Service Executive is planned and overseen, replacing the old annual service plan with a performance delivery plan and giving the Minister for Health and the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality a stronger role in setting priorities, issuing guidance, and approving plans. It also tightens financial oversight by requiring the HSE board and chief executive to make sure spending controls, value for money, and corrective action plans are in place if budgets look likely to be overshot. Finally, it expands the National Cancer Registry Board to 10 members and updates its quorum rules.
Senator Tully raised a 12-year-old boy's delayed treatment in Cavan General Hospital and alleged that no doctor came despite repeated calls overnight.