Results 2,741-2,760 of 24,635 for speaker:Mary Harney

Written Answers — Health Service Staff: Health Service Staff (21 Jun 2005)

Mary Harney: I propose to take Questions Nos. 84, 128, 174 and 190 together. The Deputy may be aware that I have appointed Professor Brendan Drumm as the first chief executive of the Health Service Executive, following his recommendation by the board of the executive. Professor Drumm will take up duty on 15 August 2005 and, in the meantime, Mr. Kevin Kelly will remain as interim chief executive. The final...

Written Answers — Infectious Diseases: Infectious Diseases (21 Jun 2005)

Mary Harney: My Department undertook a search of the available files dealing with the issue of MRSA as a result of the Deputy's question. From this initial search of the files it was not possible in the time available to identify any correspondence on file from any acute hospital or health board specifically regarding the implementation of the 1995 guidelines on the control of MRSA in health care...

Written Answers — Health Service Funding: Health Service Funding (21 Jun 2005)

Mary Harney: I propose to take Questions Nos. 86 and 105 together. The Health Act 2004 provided for the Health Service Executive, established on 1 January 2005, to manage and deliver, or arrange to be delivered on its behalf, health and personal social services. This includes responsibility for progressing the bulk of the health capital programme in 2005 and in future years. The total capital provision...

Written Answers — Health Service Staff: Health Service Staff (21 Jun 2005)

Mary Harney: I propose to take Questions Nos. 88, 161 and 237 together. The Deputies' questions relate to matters 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 these matters investigated and to have replies issued directly to the Deputies. The position...

Written Answers — Pension Provisions: Pension Provisions (21 Jun 2005)

Mary Harney: First, I should state that the superannuation arrangements for retired employees are the responsibility of the Health Service Executive. However, I have made inquiries with the superannuation department of the HSE — shared services — eastern region. I understand that letters have recently issued to both persons concerned, setting out the options available to them. In each case the persons...

Written Answers — Irish Blood Transfusion Service: Irish Blood Transfusion Service (21 Jun 2005)

Mary Harney: I propose to take Questions Nos. 90 and 175 together. I am satisfied that the Irish Blood Transfusion Service, IBTS, has adequate financial resources at its disposal. The recent blood shortage was not related to funding but was due to increasing demands on the blood supply and more stringent controls and testing. Since 2001 the IBTS has introduced a series of measures to minimise the threat...

Written Answers — Primary Health Care Strategy: Primary Health Care Strategy (21 Jun 2005)

Mary Harney: The Strategy, Primary Care: A New Direction, provides a template for the development of primary care over a period of ten to 15 years. Considerable work has been undertaken by my Department and the former health boards to advance implementation. There are three broad approaches required to enable the primary care strategy to be implemented. These are revenue and capital investment by the...

Written Answers — Hospital Services: Hospital Services (21 Jun 2005)

Mary Harney: I propose to take Questions Nos. 93, 101, 144 and 171 together. The Government is committed to making the full range of cancer services available and accessible to cancer patients throughout Ireland. To this end, we will provide considerable investment in radiation oncology facilities in the coming years. The Government's policy on radiation oncology is based on the report on the development...

Written Answers — Hospital Charges: Hospital Charges (21 Jun 2005)

Mary Harney: I, and my colleague, the Minister for Finance, signed the Health (Charges for In-Patient Services) Regulations 2005 on 14 June last, and these regulations reinstate charges for inpatient services and put them on a sound legal basis for the first time in 29 years. The regulations were laid before the Houses of the Oireachtas on 16 June. These regulations provide for the levying of a charge in...

Written Answers — Health Service Staff: Health Service Staff (21 Jun 2005)

Mary Harney: I propose to take Questions Nos. 96, 310 and 311 together. The latest available employment data for the health services is in respect of year end 2004. The information requested by the Deputy on health service staff, including employment growth in each of the grade categories from end 1997 up to that date, is set out in the table below. However, some caution should be exercised in comparing...

Written Answers — Cancer Screening Programme: Cancer Screening Programme (21 Jun 2005)

Mary Harney: I propose to take Questions Nos. 98, 160, 169 and 253 together. The national breast screening programme commenced in 2000 and covers the eastern, midland, north-eastern and parts of the south-eastern regions of the country. There are approximately 160,000 women in the target age group in these regions. New facilities for the expansion of BreastCheck to the remaining regions are included in...

Written Answers — Hospital Waiting Lists: Hospital Waiting Lists (21 Jun 2005)

Mary Harney: 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 — Ambulance Service: Ambulance Service (21 Jun 2005)

Mary Harney: I propose to take Questions Nos. 103 and 167 together. The Deputies' questions relate 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. I am advised by the HSE that its western area emergency ambulance service provides a service to a population of over 350,000 people from ten stations...

Written Answers — Hospital Services: Hospital Services (21 Jun 2005)

Mary Harney: At the request of the Department of Health and Children, a committee was established by the former Comhairle na nOspidéal, currently the National Hospitals Office/Comhairle, to review the existing arrangements for the provision of neurosurgical services and consultant staffing nationally, and following consultation with the interests concerned, to make recommendations on the future...

Written Answers — Assisted Human Reproduction: Assisted Human Reproduction (21 Jun 2005)

Mary Harney: I was pleased to receive the commission's report on 12 May 2005. As I indicated at that time, the Government has decided to refer the report to the Oireachtas Joint Committee on Health and Children. This will allow for further public and political consideration of the complex issues involved. Following this process, the Government will, on the basis of the commission's report and the report...

Written Answers — Plastic Surgery Procedures: Plastic Surgery Procedures (21 Jun 2005)

Mary Harney: Under the Medical Practitioners Act 1978, the Medical Council is charged with responsibility for the registration of medical practitioners and the regulation of their activities. The function of the Medical Council is to protect the public through implementing appropriate standards and controls on the medical profession. All doctors practising medicine in Ireland must be registered with the...

Written Answers — Medical Cards: Medical Cards (21 Jun 2005)

Mary Harney: I propose to take Questions Nos. 112, 115, 134, 136 and 143 together. The number of medical cards issued and number of persons covered by a medical card for the dates requested are set out in the following table. Date Number of medical cards Number of persons covered by medical cards % of population Population June 1997 740,451 1,244,459 34.37 3,621,035 (1996 census) June 2002...

Written Answers — Parliamentary Questions: Parliamentary Questions (21 Jun 2005)

Mary Harney: Since the establishment of the Health Service Executive, the chief officers, that is, the former health board CEOs, in each of its administrative areas have continued to deal with parliamentary questions in accordance with the arrangements which previously operated under the health boards. This arrangement was calculated to avoid any erosion in the accountability — as regards the timeliness...

Written Answers — Nursing Home Charges: Nursing Home Charges (21 Jun 2005)

Mary Harney: The Government has agreed the key elements of a scheme for the repayment of long-stay charges for publicly funded long-term residential care. All those who were charged and are alive and the estates of all those who were charged and died in the six years prior to 9 December 2004 will have the charges repaid in full. It is estimated that the scheme will cost approximately €1 billion. The...

Written Answers — Alternative Medicine: Alternative Medicine (21 Jun 2005)

Mary Harney: The national working group on the regulation of complementary therapists was established by my predecessor in May 2003 to advise, as indicated by the Deputy, on future measures for strengthening the regulatory environment for complementary therapists. The group was expected to report by the end of this year. In view of the urgency I attach to this matter, however, I asked that the work of the...