Simon Harris (Wicklow, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I was about to say in the next sentence that I want to acknowledge the work of Deputy Howlin who brought forward a Bill in an effort to progress this. He worked with the Department on it and this committee scrutinised the Bill on 30 March which recommended that it should not proceed to Committee Stage because we were going about the regulation of professions.

I assure everybody that designating these two professions, counsellors and psychotherapists, is a policy decision I have taken. We have had the consultation, written out to people, and to the counsel and we have set up the register. Now the Office of the Parliamentary Counsel has to draft it and I expect to lay it before the Dáil and Seanad in September for their approval. I hope when we get to that point we will have the co-operation of all Members to pass it into law as quickly as possible. We will then have done something in this country that many jurisdictions have struggled with and not been able to do.

On the issue of abortion, the Deputy will understand that I do not want to comment on a specific case other than to say that the full resources in my Department in whatever way they are required will be available, in so far as the committee may wish, to assist the special Oireachtas committee examining the eighth amendment following the recommendations of the Citizens' Assembly. I have made clear my personal view, which is that I want to see a referendum on the issue of the amendment in 2018. I am respectful of the body of work the committee has to do, but that is my view and the view that has been expressed by the Taoiseach in the Dáil as well. I understand we will see the report of the Citizens' Assembly arrive in the Oireachtas. It is an important body of work for us to consider. Under law, tomorrow I will lay before the Oireachtas the annual report I am required to do in respect of the Protection of Life during Pregnancy Act to show how many people availed of terminations under the provisions of that Act in the year just gone by.

The national maternity strategy is clear on the issue of anomaly scans. No woman should be at any disadvantage based on geographical location and there needs to be equitable access to these scans. We will shortly be launching the implementation plan for the women and infants' health programme, which is responsible for delivering the national maternity strategy, and I expect to see the issue of anomaly scans addressed in it. In the interim, it is important to send out the message that, while not available in every hospital, anomaly scans are available in every hospital group, so every woman in this country should have access to an anomaly scan. That is an important message.

Senator Burke raised the issue of Cork and future planning. The Senator is entirely correct. Cork has seen a huge increase in its population but, like many parts of the country, has not seen an increase in terms of its health capital infrastructure and bed capacity. It would be foolish not to plan now not just for the current population but for the future projected growth. I know that this is an issue about which the Senator is passionate. I visited the Mercy University Hospital with him in the not too distant past and I understand representatives of the hospital are looking to meet me to discuss this. I will do that in the next few weeks. It might be useful to meet Oireachtas Members from Cork - if the Senator wishes to arrange it, I would be delighted to facilitate it - to address the challenge being posed to us in terms of putting in place a plan in order that we can prepare for the mid-term capital plan.

I will ask the HSE to answer the Senator's questions on the increase in administration and management staff and we will get more detail from Ms Mannion in a moment, but I will make two points. This is an area that deserves significant discussion by this committee, perhaps when there is more time. What we mean when we talk about administration and management is important. We must ensure we are using the correct labels. What one person might think is the job of an administrator, another might have a very different view on it. It is important we get a bit of clarity on that. To make the point, we had a question earlier about the perceived delays in answering Oireachtas Members' parliamentary questions. The person responsible for answering those parliamentary questions is an administration staff member. If there was a delay in the processing of the medical cards, people would rightly be on to me about it. The people processing the medical cards may well be in the administration or management sector. Every time we set up a new multidisciplinary team, there is an administrative challenge.

We have also come through a period whereby many posts had been suppressed. The Senator has probably heard through his clinics - I have certainly heard through my own engagement - health care professionals saying that the support structures were not in place to empower the health care professional to get on with his or her job. I will ask the HSE to answer it, but that is my initial response. However, Sláintecare poses significant questions in this regard because it speaks about the significant restructuring and reconfiguration of our health service. The question the Senator asks about what the management structure and the numbers will look like in the context of the implementation of a ten-year plan is something on which I would like the HSE to hear his initial thoughts. It will be a question I will be considering in the context of the implementation plan.

I thank Deputy Kelly for his series of questions. I say sincerely that, as well as being questions, they are some very fine ideas that merit significant and serious consideration. I will try to answer some of them. In terms of eHealth, he is entirely correct. It is exciting that there is now a political consensus that we have got to do this. He is right that, after many years of ICT projects in different areas of the country not working, there is perhaps a reticence in many parts of the public service. I am proud that that is not the case in the health area. I was very proud when we had the extraordinarily difficult cyber attack that the health service in this country held up extraordinarily well. People worked incredibly well and the investment that had been made paid off. The health sector showed a leadership role within the public service at that time.

We have now begun to roll out the electronic health records for newborn babies in hospitals in Cork and Kerry and it is about to go to the Rotunda Hospital. There is a roll-out plan for it. As I stated, I have signed the commencement order and the regulations for the individual health identifier. The Deputy is right that there is a big bill attached to this, but I will not be found wanting in terms of prioritising it in the context of the needs of the health service and forthcoming capital planning because it unlocks a lot of potential within the health service. I am struck by the issue of eReferrals. It used to go through 16 pairs of hands from when the GP wrote a referral until it got to the consultant. The GP can do it now while the patient is sitting in the clinic and send it off to the consultant. That frees up a lot of capacity in the system.

On speeding up capital development, the challenge the Deputy has posed to me is something on which I would be interested in working with him. I will revert to him on it. Is there a way of fast-tracking critical infrastructure if we consider there to be a real capacity shortage in the health service, which we all do? To address his question bluntly, I want to see South Tipperary General Hospital included in the capital plan because, from my visit there, I think it is badly needed.

There is a map in terms of cardiac care. I have one and will make it available to the Deputy and the committee. That is the approach to take. While there is a powerful campaign and quite important issues in the south east, there are issues in other parts of the country too. It needs to be looked at nationally.

On the issue of home help, we should take up the question about how we encourage more people to take up the role. I will liaise with the Department of Education and Skills about it.