Results 24,341-24,360 of 24,567 for speaker:Róisín Shortall
- Joint Oireachtas Committee on Health: Issues relating to University Hospital Limerick: Discussion (10 Oct 2024)
Róisín Shortall: Just to clarify, they are all reporting directly to Ms Broderick.
- Joint Oireachtas Committee on Health: Issues relating to University Hospital Limerick: Discussion (10 Oct 2024)
Róisín Shortall: That is good. I thank Ms Broderick for that. The other two areas of accountability obviously relate to the two areas identified in Mr. Justice Frank Clarke's report, one of which was the completely inadequate capacity within the mid-west region in terms of emergency department, ED, capacity. That has to be a matter of political accountability. One does have to wonder about the original...
- Joint Oireachtas Committee on Health: Issues relating to University Hospital Limerick: Discussion (10 Oct 2024)
Róisín Shortall: Okay.
- Joint Oireachtas Committee on Health: Issues relating to University Hospital Limerick: Discussion (10 Oct 2024)
Róisín Shortall: The recommendation was that the other three EDs should not close until we had reached a level beyond 600 beds in UHL. That has been the problem, notwithstanding recent improvements as regards the number of beds. That is a fundamental point. Those three emergency departments should not have been closed. It is quite clear that was the original intention. I have been raising the issue for...
- Joint Oireachtas Committee on Health: Issues relating to University Hospital Limerick: Discussion (10 Oct 2024)
Róisín Shortall: I am sorry; the action was that the Minister would open a second ED. He would designate one of the other hospitals as a level 3 hospital and have an ED.
- Joint Oireachtas Committee on Health: Issues relating to University Hospital Limerick: Discussion (10 Oct 2024)
Róisín Shortall: Why did the Minister not act on the recommendation two and a half years ago?
- Joint Oireachtas Committee on Health: Issues relating to University Hospital Limerick: Discussion (10 Oct 2024)
Róisín Shortall: It was a separate point that HIQA made, which was that there was a need for a level 3 hospital and a second ED.
- Joint Oireachtas Committee on Health: Issues relating to University Hospital Limerick: Discussion (10 Oct 2024)
Róisín Shortall: It was not a matter of all of the numbers. There was a separate point that HIQA made. I have to ask the Minister-----
- Joint Oireachtas Committee on Health: Issues relating to University Hospital Limerick: Discussion (10 Oct 2024)
Róisín Shortall: Can I finish this last point?
- Joint Oireachtas Committee on Health: Issues relating to University Hospital Limerick: Discussion (10 Oct 2024)
Róisín Shortall: There is a serious issue of geography here. Does the Minister think it is acceptable that someone in need of medical treatment in, for example, Loop Head in County Clare or in Latteragh in County Tipperary, must not only drive past a hospital, but will also have a greater chance of dying if they have a major medical emergency because UHL is so overstretched and overcrowded? There is a...
- Joint Oireachtas Committee on Health: Issues relating to University Hospital Limerick: Discussion (10 Oct 2024)
Róisín Shortall: The Minister did promise 24-hour opening-----
- Select Committee on Health: Public Health (Tobacco) (Amendment) Bill 2024: Committee Stage (10 Oct 2024)
Róisín Shortall: Apologies for being late, but I was speaking on the statements on mental health and it was an unfortunate clash. Regarding smoking cessation supports, over the last two years this committee has dealt a lot with vaping and smoking. We urge the Minister to accelerate the production of the legislation to deal with the flavours and disposable vapes which we called for at this committee over...
- Select Committee on Health: Public Health (Tobacco) (Amendment) Bill 2024: Committee Stage (10 Oct 2024)
Róisín Shortall: We are getting mixed messages on this issue, at the very least, and also mixed objectives. The Minister said there is emerging evidence of harm to adults from vaping. I have not seen that evidence. It would be interesting to see it. However, such evidence is relative. Is it indicating that vaping is more dangerous than smoking to adult smokers?
- Select Committee on Health: Public Health (Tobacco) (Amendment) Bill 2024: Committee Stage (10 Oct 2024)
Róisín Shortall: If vaping is less dangerous than smoking, we should be encouraging people to vape in an attempt to get off cigarettes. We have talked about the importance of ensuring nicotine chewing gum remains affordable because it is an important tool in giving up cigarettes. Why would the Minister for Finance interfere in what is, in essence, a public health matter? It sounds a bit like the Government...
- Select Committee on Health: Public Health (Tobacco) (Amendment) Bill 2024: Committee Stage (10 Oct 2024)
Róisín Shortall: Does the Minister see no role for vaping in smoking cessation? I have never previously heard this theory. Is that what he is saying?
- Select Committee on Health: Public Health (Tobacco) (Amendment) Bill 2024: Committee Stage (10 Oct 2024)
Róisín Shortall: That is fine but why is the Minister discouraging vaping for smokers if, as he said, smoking is far more damaging than vaping?
- Select Committee on Health: Public Health (Tobacco) (Amendment) Bill 2024: Committee Stage (10 Oct 2024)
Róisín Shortall: That does not make sense in the real world. Is any other country taking this approach? It would be great if nobody smoked but the reality, unfortunately, is that lots of people still smoke and it does them damage. The Minister is saying that we know anecdotally that smokers who use vaping as a means of ceasing smoking, or at least reducing it, find it very beneficial. Is that something to...
- Select Committee on Health: Public Health (Tobacco) (Amendment) Bill 2024: Committee Stage (10 Oct 2024)
Róisín Shortall: That is in an ideal world. Presumably, the public health view is not really to move from smoking to nicotine replacement; it is to stop smoking.
- Select Committee on Health: Public Health (Tobacco) (Amendment) Bill 2024: Committee Stage (10 Oct 2024)
Róisín Shortall: However, that is not easy to do.
- Select Committee on Health: Public Health (Tobacco) (Amendment) Bill 2024: Committee Stage (10 Oct 2024)
Róisín Shortall: That is overly purist. I do not understand that approach.