Results 19,161-19,180 of 46,575 for speaker:Simon Harris
- Select Committee on Health: Estimates for Public Services 2019
Vote 38 - Health (Further Revised) (10 Apr 2019) Simon Harris: That is correct, so-----
- Select Committee on Health: Estimates for Public Services 2019
Vote 38 - Health (Further Revised) (10 Apr 2019) Simon Harris: Certainly-----
- Select Committee on Health: Estimates for Public Services 2019
Vote 38 - Health (Further Revised) (10 Apr 2019) Simon Harris: In fairness to my officials, because it is a select committee-----
- Select Committee on Health: Estimates for Public Services 2019
Vote 38 - Health (Further Revised) (10 Apr 2019) Simon Harris: That is the way it should be. I am accountable to the Oireachtas and my officials are accountable to me. I am satisfied that my officials behaved entirely appropriately during this and the reason I am satisfied is because the PwC report does not find anything to the contrary and actually finds that their work, and this is my clear interpretation of what it found, was impeded and impaired as...
- Select Committee on Health: Estimates for Public Services 2019
Vote 38 - Health (Further Revised) (10 Apr 2019) Simon Harris: I accept the bona fides of my officials. Nowhere in the report does it suggest that there was a difficulty with information flow. In fact, it actually states: "Despite the complex governance structures there was not an issue with information flow".
- Select Committee on Health: Estimates for Public Services 2019
Vote 38 - Health (Further Revised) (10 Apr 2019) Simon Harris: Just as I accept political responsibility, as does the Government, the board members have to accept responsibility, which I am sure they do, for the decisions they made. The report is clear, and I agree with the Deputy on this point, that the governance structures need to be strengthened. The board will need to be strengthened and I will act on that as well. There is also an interesting...
- Select Committee on Health: Estimates for Public Services 2019
Vote 38 - Health (Further Revised) (10 Apr 2019) Simon Harris: Of that there is no doubt, but how we strengthen that is the question for us all.
- Select Committee on Health: Estimates for Public Services 2019
Vote 38 - Health (Further Revised) (10 Apr 2019) Simon Harris: I thank Deputy Durkan. I reiterate that that was the basis on which I made the decision for the repeat smear test, namely, to endeavour to provide reassurance women were already seeking. Whether I issued a press release or did it or not, they were going to seek reassurance because women make their own decisions about their own healthcare. I thought that was a place we had moved to in this...
- Select Committee on Health: Estimates for Public Services 2019
Vote 38 - Health (Further Revised) (10 Apr 2019) Simon Harris: I very much take on board the Deputy's points and we will consider them in the context of our response to the report.
- Select Committee on Health: Estimates for Public Services 2019
Vote 38 - Health (Further Revised) (10 Apr 2019) Simon Harris: I thank the Deputy for her questions. On the issue of cervical cancer, it is something on which we are all united. We can effectively eradicate it. There are many diseases about which we cannot say this, but it is one we can eradicate. I used to refer to the huge progress made in Australia and New Zealand, but now I need only refer to Scotland, a much nearer neighbour. I was only reading...
- Select Committee on Health: Estimates for Public Services 2019
Vote 38 - Health (Further Revised) (10 Apr 2019) Simon Harris: I will reflect on how best to get that message across. The HSE, in fairness to it, is a good organisation that gets much criticism for many issues. It has stepped up in promoting vaccination and the national immunisation office has done a good job with powerful patient advocates on the issue of cervical cancer and we think particularly of the late Ms Laura Brennan who did so much. We...
- Select Committee on Health: Estimates for Public Services 2019
Vote 38 - Health (Further Revised) (10 Apr 2019) Simon Harris: I need to be careful because, while we have privilege here, I do not want to say anything that could undermine a decision that may or may not be made. The National Paediatric Hospital Development Board has contracts for professional services with professional bodies on our behalf, effectively, as taxpayers. My initial reading of this report from PwC, which was brought in as a financial...
- Select Committee on Health: Estimates for Public Services 2019
Vote 38 - Health (Further Revised) (10 Apr 2019) Simon Harris: I will try and take those questions in sequence. The Chairman is correct that there is not a specific transition fund in this year's Estimate and that is a fact. There are a number of areas where significant resources are being spent on Sláintecare measures, which I believe passionately in. The culture change that needs to happen, and is happening, in the HSE and the Department means...
- Select Committee on Health: Estimates for Public Services 2019
Vote 38 - Health (Further Revised) (10 Apr 2019) Simon Harris: I am sorry about that. Yes, there is funding this year for HPV testing. It was allocated in budget 2019. Mr. McCallion and Dr. Doherty will have told the committee last week that they are working to come up with a definitive timeline. We are working towards the fourth quarter of 2019, which will be challenging. There are a couple of moving parts involved, the big one being the tender....
- Select Committee on Health: Estimates for Public Services 2019
Vote 38 - Health (Further Revised) (10 Apr 2019) Simon Harris: Without being smart or dismissive, because we all know what happened, money was allocated last year as well. The money is allocated to deliver it this year.
- Select Committee on Health: Estimates for Public Services 2019
Vote 38 - Health (Further Revised) (10 Apr 2019) Simon Harris: Yes.
- Select Committee on Health: Estimates for Public Services 2019
Vote 38 - Health (Further Revised) (10 Apr 2019) Simon Harris: That is correct.
- Select Committee on Health: Estimates for Public Services 2019
Vote 38 - Health (Further Revised) (10 Apr 2019) Simon Harris: Yes.
- Select Committee on Health: Estimates for Public Services 2019
Vote 38 - Health (Further Revised) (10 Apr 2019) Simon Harris: Yes, I do. We have not been able to discuss this previously because we have been in negotiations with GPs. We had considerable success in securing a large investment pot for general practice. GPs will rightly say that some of it is giving back the money they lost during the difficult years, and there is no doubt about that, but it is still a good deal above that at €210 million....
- Select Committee on Health: Estimates for Public Services 2019
Vote 38 - Health (Further Revised) (10 Apr 2019) Simon Harris: They are decisions for the Government to make collectively on the recommendation of the Minister, Deputy Donohoe. The Government has not taken a decision in that regard so it would be imprudent of me to speculate, but I expect that the Government will adopt a common-sense approach like we tried to adopt this year. However, these are decisions for the Minister, Deputy Donohoe, and he will...