Results 2,441-2,460 of 2,629 for speaker:Tim O'Malley

Health Bill 2006: Report Stage (20 Mar 2007)

Tim O'Malley: It will inspect all matters of safety pertaining to health. It was set up by the Minister and the chairperson is Dr. Deirdre Madden. She will report to the Minister.

Health Bill 2006: Report Stage (20 Mar 2007)

Tim O'Malley: There is no difference. The commission will develop proposals to ensure clear responsibility among senior management and clinical leaders within our health system for performance in quality and patient safety. It will put in place more effective reporting of adverse clinical events and complaints to learn from them and ensure the rest of the health system learns from them and provides a...

Health Bill 2006: Report Stage (20 Mar 2007)

Tim O'Malley: I said there is no difference.

Health Bill 2006: Report Stage (20 Mar 2007)

Tim O'Malley: This amendment refers to setting standards for hospitals. Section 7 sets out the functions of HIQA and section 7(1)(a) provides that HIQA will set standards on safety and quality.

Health Bill 2006: Report Stage (20 Mar 2007)

Tim O'Malley: The health interim quality and——

Health Bill 2006: Report Stage (20 Mar 2007)

Tim O'Malley: It will set standards on health and safety for the HSE, or a service provider in accordance with the Health Acts, the Child Care Acts and the Children Act, and private nursing homes. Deputies McManus and Ó Caoláin are anxious to establish beyond doubt that HIQA will have responsibility for setting standards on safety and quality in hospitals and for monitoring compliance with standards...

Health Bill 2006: Report Stage (20 Mar 2007)

Tim O'Malley: All hospitals supplying services on behalf of the HSE, either public or private, would be covered.

Health Bill 2006: Report Stage (Resumed) and Final Stage (20 Mar 2007)

Tim O'Malley: This amendment is very similar to one moved by Deputy McManus on Committee Stage. The position is as follows. Under section 7(1), HIQA is required to monitor compliance with standards it sets, other than those standards set on services inspected by the chief inspector of social services. Under the Bill, "designated centres" are residential centres for children in need of care and...

Health Bill 2006: Report Stage (Resumed) and Final Stage (20 Mar 2007)

Tim O'Malley: I have reconsidered the amendment, but do not intend to accept it.

Health Bill 2006: Report Stage (Resumed) and Final Stage (20 Mar 2007)

Tim O'Malley: Consistent with the national health information strategy, section 7 confers a number of information related functions on HIQA. Those functions are interrelated and are designed to ensure the authority can examine and evaluate existing information systems, provide advice and make recommendations to the Minister and HSE about deficiencies and set appropriate standards for the HSE and service...

Health Bill 2006: Report Stage (Resumed) and Final Stage (20 Mar 2007)

Tim O'Malley: While I appreciate the principle behind this amendment, it is not a good idea for HIQA to revisit past events. HIQA is a new body with a new mandate and its role will be to prevent the mistakes of the past recurring, through quality-based and patient safety driven standards, accompanied by better information systems rather than by investigating them. We have a range of existing mechanisms...

Health Bill 2006: Report Stage (Resumed) and Final Stage (20 Mar 2007)

Tim O'Malley: There is no need for me to say more than that I do not intend to accept the amendment.

Health Bill 2006: Report Stage (Resumed) and Final Stage (20 Mar 2007)

Tim O'Malley: My legal advice is that absolute privilege, which is a complete defence to a defamation action applies even where the words complained of are published with knowledge of their falsehood and with the intention of injuring another. While I do not believe that reports of investigations will contain deliberate falsehood or be slanted in any way I am reluctant to include such a wide provision on...

Health Bill 2006: Report Stage (Resumed) and Final Stage (20 Mar 2007)

Tim O'Malley: The Minister was sympathetic to the objective of this amendment on Committee Stage. She made the point then, and I make it again, that under the existing provision, there is nothing to stop 80% or even the entire board of the authority being female. Currently five of the 12 board members of the interim HIQA are women. The matter has been further researched and we have found that...

Health Bill 2006: Report Stage (Resumed) and Final Stage (20 Mar 2007)

Tim O'Malley: On Committee Stage, the Minister indicated she would consider this matter further, especially in light of the Deputy's reference to the Electoral Act. Since then, the relevant provisions in the Electoral Acts, namely sections 41 and 42 of the 1992 Act, have been examined and legal advice has been obtained. The situation covered, however, is not identical to that in the Health Bill in matters...

Health Bill 2006: Report Stage (Resumed) and Final Stage (20 Mar 2007)

Tim O'Malley: There was much comment in committee about this subsection being a gagging measure. The Minister stated that she saw the principle behind this provision as fundamental to the way our parliamentary system works. I can only set out again in some detail the valid justification for the provisions the proposed amendments seek to delete. Section 24 provides for the chief executive of HIQA to...

Health Bill 2006: Report Stage (Resumed) and Final Stage (20 Mar 2007)

Tim O'Malley: I will respond to amendments Nos. 19, 20 and 34 together. There are several related provisions in the Bill dealing with the codes of governance — section 33; standards of integrity, section 79; and codes of conduct, sections 80 and 81 — which are relevant to any consideration of these amendments. Regarding the first amendment, it is clear that the authority shall comply with its own code...

Health Bill 2006: Report Stage (Resumed) and Final Stage (20 Mar 2007)

Tim O'Malley: I draw particular attention to section 33(5) which requires that arrangements for implementing and adhering to the code of governance must be included in the authority's annual report and section 36(2)(e) requires that the annual report contains a report on the authority's arrangements for implementing and adhering to its code of governance. In addition, under section 33(4), the code will be...

Written Answers — Health Services: Health Services (20 Mar 2007)

Tim O'Malley: The Deputy's question relates to the management and delivery of health and personal social services, which are the responsibility of the Health Service Executive under the Health Act 2004. Accordingly, my Department has requested the Parliamentary Affairs Division of the Executive to arrange to have this matter investigated and to have a reply issued directly to the Deputy.

Written Answers — Special Educational Needs: Special Educational Needs (20 Mar 2007)

Tim O'Malley: The Deputy's question relates to the management and delivery of health and personal social services, which are the responsibility of the Health Service Executive under the Health Act 2004. Accordingly, my Department has requested the Parliamentary Affairs Division of the Executive to arrange to have this matter investigated and to have a reply issued directly to the Deputy.