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Minister of State at the Department of Rural and Community Development, Joe O’ Brien TD, today, (26 April, 2022) chaired the first meeting of the National Advisory Group on the Development of a Government Policy on Philanthropy in Ireland.

The Minister for Health, Stephen Donnelly TD, has today received Cabinet approval for the abolition of the statutory public in-patient charge for children.

The Minister for Health, Stephen Donnelly TD, has today received Cabinet approval for the abolition of the statutory public in-patient charge for children. The Minister has received approval to draft the General Scheme of a Bill to provide for the abolition of both overnight and day case public in-patient charges for children under 16. These charges have been in place for many years, therefore primary legislation will be needed to amend the Health Act 1970 to abolish the public in-patient charge for children under 16 years of age. The legislation needed to fulfil this objective will now be developed by the Department of Health and the draft Bill will be published as soon as it is finalised. The proposed Bill will remove the existing acute statutory in-patient charge of €80 per night for all children less than 16 years of age in all public hospitals.

Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine Charlie McConalogue T.D., has announced details on a major seminar on the Unfair Trading Practices Enforcement Authority. The seminar is entitled ‘Ensuring Fair Trading in the Agri-Food Supply Chain’ is being held by the Department’s Backweston Campus, Celbridge, Co Kildare on Thursday 5th May.

Following this morning’s Cabinet meeting, the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage, Darragh O’Brien today provided an update on his Department’s work in relation to the Ukrainian crisis.

The Minister for Justice, Helen McEntee TD, has announced that the Government, at its meeting today, has agreed a process for the nomination of a person to be appointed as President of the High Court by the President of Ireland. The current President, the Hon. Ms. Justice Mary Irvine, is due to retire in July 2022.

Following on from the announcement of a scheme to provide up to €35m to local authorities to rejuvenate Ireland’s public marine infrastructure, Minister Charlie McConalogue T.D. today announced the approval of €32.7m in funding for 110 projects around the Irish coast (see table) which will fund projects worth over €40m in total. The scheme is proposed for funding under the EU Brexit Adjustment Reserve...

Minister for Transport Eamon Ryan has today announced that Ukrainians fleeing the war can now exchange their Ukrainian driving licence for an Irish driving licence, making it easier for them to move around and access work, school or other vital public services...

The Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine has announced that the legal requirement to confine/house poultry and other birds as a precautionary measure against Avian Influenza (bird flu) will be lifted from 29th April 2022.

Announces agreement to allow export of Irish sheepmeat to the US market...