Results 101-120 of 131 for going forward speaker:Róisín Shortall

Seanad: Health (Pricing and Supply of Medical Goods) Bill 2012: Second Stage (19 Jul 2012)

Róisín Shortall: ...or next. The target savings in a full year from this legislation are approximately €10 million. However, over the medium to longer term, the potential exists to make significant savings on an ongoing basis, principally by driving competition in the market. In that way, prices will be driven down and we will all benefit from that. It is not something that will happen overnight,...

Health Service Budget: Motion [Private Members] (10 Jul 2012)

Róisín Shortall: ...number is exclusive of 1,000 staff who transferred to the Department of Social Protection. Other achievements include an extended working day in hospital laboratory and radiography services, the ongoing revision of rosters at local level and co-operation with clinical care changes in hospitals. It is also clear, however, that further change is required, and at a faster pace, if we are to...

General Practitioner Services (6 Jun 2012)

Róisín Shortall: ...the Deputy to take action and to report the names of the GPs who are charging, when they should not be doing so, to the HSE. If he has a concern about doing that, I would be happy to act as a go-between and to accept reports from him on GPs who have been found to have engaged in this practice. Following the action taken last year, a number of patients have been reimbursed. I will now...

Seanad: Thirtieth Amendment of the Constitution (Treaty on Stability, Coordination and Governance in the Economic and Monetary Union) Bill 2012: Second Stage (23 Apr 2012)

Róisín Shortall: ...consequences for the future of this country. We in the Government believe it will say a great deal about where we stand, about our aspirations for the future, about who we are and where we are going. The Government is determined to fully equip the Irish people with all the information and understanding they will need to make an informed choice on 31 May. For that reason we have launched...

Ambulance Service (23 Feb 2012)

Róisín Shortall: As with the last issue, it is important to remind Members, lest they have forgotten, of the extremely difficult financial circumstances in which we are operating. I am not going to go into the reasons for that; I am sure Deputy Cowen would not want me to do so. The fact is that €750 million has been taken out of the health budget this year because of our extreme difficulties. That poses...

Joint Policing Committees (31 Jan 2012)

Róisín Shortall: ...and the local communities - to collaborate on how they might respond to problems of crime locally and especially, as Deputy O'Brien mentioned, the prevention of crime. Very often the concerns go far beyond the actual issues of crime and extend to the causes of crime as well. The JPCs provide a very effective forum and we look forward to the information and the views of members coming...

Written Answers — Medical Cards: Medical Cards (12 Jan 2012)

Róisín Shortall: ...the review of their medical card should not have their entitlement withdrawn before that review is complete. The HSE is taking steps to ensure that cards are not withdrawn in such circumstances going forward. The HSE will this month introduce a new medical card review process for persons aged 66 years or over. This will result in these reviews being based on a self-assessment review...

Seanad: Health Insurance (Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill 2011: Second Stage (8 Dec 2011)

Róisín Shortall: The Government is not proposing to introduce the Dutch model here. We are proposing a hybrid model for universal health insurance that will draw from the best models throughout Europe. The details in that regard will be worked out by the implementation group. As stated earlier, the implementation group on universal health insurance is to be established very shortly. It will be charged...

Seanad: Health Insurance (Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill 2011: Second Stage (8 Dec 2011)

Róisín Shortall: ...the 2003 regulations. The Chief Justice of the Supreme Court subsequently clarified that the decision which found the 2003 scheme to be ultra vires was not an obstacle to the Government bringing forward a new scheme. Following the judgment there was a need for a prompt response to maintain confidence in the market. It was necessary, therefore, to introduce measures in order to support...

Health Insurance (Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill 2011: Second Stage (Resumed) (1 Dec 2011)

Róisín Shortall: ...the course of the coming year by the Minister for Health. The concept of risk equalisation will be more vital than ever in the context of a universal insurance health system, and the programme for Government includes a commitment in this regard. Section 2 of the Bill amends section 6 of the Health Insurance Acts 1994 to 2009 by providing a revised definition for "age group" and a new...

Public Health (Tobacco) (Amendment) Bill 2011 [Seanad]: Second and Subsequent Stages (15 Jul 2011)

Róisín Shortall: I thank Members who contributed to the debate and who put forward many interesting and worthwhile ideas. I welcome the cross-party support afforded to the legislation. I appreciate Members facilitating the taking of all Stages today. The Bill is a technical measure, the purpose of which is to amend the 2009 Act in order to allow us to proceed to make the regulations to permit the use of...

Seanad: Public Health (Tobacco) (Amendment) Bill 2011: Second Stage (7 Jul 2011)

Róisín Shortall: ...area. At my advice clinic last Saturday, I dealt with a constituent who had a social worker query. I did not believe he folded his shopping bag and put it under his arm and told me that he was going into town to buy cheap cigarettes. This is a common practice across the country in markets are on Henry St. It is a serious problem and efforts are being made to clamp down on this. The...

Social Welfare (Miscellaneous Provisions) (No. 2) Bill 2010: Second Stage (24 Nov 2010)

Róisín Shortall: .... That was the real mistake of those staff. Not only did they waste public money, but they did not serve their clients. For that reason, I welcome the proposal to split FÁS. There is much good work being done at local level by area managers with employment services and training services, but as a brand, FÁS has been tarnished and because of the discredited senior management in the...

Social Welfare (Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill 2010: Second Stage (16 Jun 2010)

Róisín Shortall: ...all words after "That" and substitute the following: "Dáil Eireann declines to give a second reading to the Social Welfare (Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill 2010 having regard to the failure of the Government to ensure that measures to activate jobseekers and lone parents have been backed up by genuine job opportunities and access to quality training, education and literacy improvement,...

Banking System: Motion (30 Mar 2010)

Róisín Shortall: ...voting with the Opposition tonight. It is easy to come into this Chamber and shout one's mouth off. It is another matter to have the courage of one's convictions and to vote accordingly. I look forward to seeing what he does in a half an hour's time. Today, 30 March 2010, is a day that will be etched on the minds of every citizen of this country because it is the day on which Fianna...

Pension Provisions. (30 Apr 2009)

Róisín Shortall: ...been waiting years for this Government to address the pensions crisis facing the country. It is 19 months since the Green Paper was published and we are still awaiting a White Paper on the way forward. The minor changes the Minister made in December and this week amount to nothing more than robbing Peter to pay Paul. She is not doing anything fundamental in terms of addressing the major...

Social Welfare Bill 2009: Committee Stage (28 Apr 2009)

Róisín Shortall: ...they must be in before this legislation is passed or else there is no help for them at all. The Minister has introduced an element of retrospection in this, so that if another scheme were to go bust tomorrow or next week, it would still be covered by this legislation, if she were to delay for two weeks. I asked the Taoiseach three times today and I am asking the Minister now, to kindly...

Social Welfare Bill 2009: Instruction to Committee (28 Apr 2009)

Róisín Shortall: ...in the space of four hours. If we could wait ten years for these changes, why can we not wait another week or two and at least give this legislation the kind of consideration it requires? Bringing forward this rushed legislation will not let the Minister off the hook with regard to the Robins case and I hope she does not for a moment think it will. She has bluffed her way through the...

Unemployment Levels: Motion (10 Mar 2009)

Róisín Shortall: ...the jobs crisis. Back then the problem was obvious. We had an extra 100,000 people on the dole in the previous 12 months. The solution was obvious. We needed an urgent response from the Government, such as a jobs plan, a training plan, an income plan, and a completely new approach to the needs of the unemployed. The truth is we did not get any plan. The budget, the smart economy...

Irish Economy: Motion (17 Feb 2009)

Róisín Shortall: ...of the proposed pension levy that are worthy of discussion tonight: the way the levy was presented to the social partners at the 11th hour; the way the public service has been singled out by Government and some of the media; the anomalies within the proposed system; the way that those who are actually to blame for the economic mess will be unaffected by this proposal; and the fact that...