Results 27,981-28,000 of 46,353 for speaker:Simon Harris

Written Answers — Department of Health: Chronic Disease Management Programme (8 May 2019)

Simon Harris: Agreement has been reached with the IMO on a major package of GP contractual reforms and the provision of new services. A structured chronic disease programme which will benefit over 430,000 medical card and GP visit card patients, will commence in 2020. The chronic diseases which will be included are; Diabetes Type 2 Asthma Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD) Cardiovascular Disease...

Written Answers — Department of Health: Hospital Appointments Status (8 May 2019)

Simon Harris: Under the Health Act 2004, the Health Service Executive (HSE) is required to manage and deliver, or arrange to be delivered on its behalf, health and personal social services. Section 6 of the HSE Governance Act 2013 bars the Minister for Health from directing the HSE to provide a treatment or a personal service to any individual or to confer eligibility on any individual. The National...

Written Answers — Department of Health: Cross-Border Health Services Provision (8 May 2019)

Simon Harris: As this is a service matter, I have asked the Health Service Executive to respond to the Deputy directly.

Written Answers — Department of Health: General Practitioner Services Provision (8 May 2019)

Simon Harris: The Government intends to extend GP care without fees to all children aged between 6 and 12 years on a phased basis, starting in 2020. Legislative changes will be required to give effect to this extension. As part of the recent agreement reached on GP contractual reforms and service developments, the IMO has agreed that it will engage with the Department of Health and the HSE in relation...

Written Answers — Department of Health: Hospital Waiting Lists (8 May 2019)

Simon Harris: I wish to acknowledge the distress overcrowded Emergency Departments (EDs) cause to patients, their families and frontline staff working in very challenging working conditions in hospitals throughout the country. The hospital system is currently operating at close to full capacity. The number of patients attending Emergency Departments continues to increase year on year, with...

Written Answers — Department of Health: National Children's Hospital Expenditure (8 May 2019)

Simon Harris: The Government recently outlined how the additional €99m necessary this year for the timely provision of the new children’s hospital will be accommodated. The Government decided that €24m of this additional funding required in 2019 is to be provided from the health capital allocation. The Health Service Executive is currently developing its Capital Plan for 2019. Once...

Written Answers — Department of Health: Vaccination Programme (8 May 2019)

Simon Harris: Zostavax is authorised for use across the EU since 2007 for the prevention of herpes zoster (shingles) and herpes zoster related post-herpetic neuralgia in individuals 50 years of age or older. It is a live attenuated vaccine and is, therefore, not suitable for certain individuals (including patients who are immunosuppressed). The Health Products Regulatory Authority (HPRA) has advised...

CervicalCheck: Statements (9 May 2019)

Simon Harris: I thank the House for giving me the opportunity to provide an update on matters related to CervicalCheck. It is over a year since issues related to the CervicalCheck audit emerged. I welcome the opportunity to address a range of issues that have arisen in the past year and outline the work that is well under way in my Department, the HSE and the National Cancer Registry of Ireland to...

CervicalCheck: Statements (9 May 2019)

Simon Harris: Obviously, I do not agree with the Deputy on the free repeat smear test but in the interests of time, I will not rehearse the argument we have had many times. In my opening statement, I outlined why I believed it was the appropriate action to take. I do not have any more up-to-date figures available to me now but I am checking whether we can get them. If we can do so during the debate, I...

CervicalCheck: Statements (9 May 2019)

Simon Harris: It is still my intention for the HPV test to be introduced by the end of the year. We have reached an agreement with MedLab whereby it already uses the HPV test with regard to its backlog, which is an important point.

CervicalCheck: Statements (9 May 2019)

Simon Harris: I ask, with the agreement of the House, that we show each other a bit of flexibility because when a major question such as this is asked I will not rush my words because it is important. I am happy to be flexible.

CervicalCheck: Statements (9 May 2019)

Simon Harris: On theex gratia payment I take the Deputy's point. My position is that the scheme is very much under way and the letters of invitation issued to women yesterday. With regard to the recent court judgment I am limited in what I can say because the House should not discuss cases that are still technically before the courts. What I will say in light of the public and medical concern that has...

CervicalCheck: Statements (9 May 2019)

Simon Harris: It was exactly because of the Deputy's last point that I decided to bring in a free repeat smear test. People on a TD's income and the like could have afforded to go to the doctor and pay for a repeat smear test. Some of the Deputy's constituents would not have been able to do that, however, and I was not going to allow an apartheid to exist in relation to reassurance. The circumstances of...

CervicalCheck: Statements (9 May 2019)

Simon Harris: I thank Deputy Kelly for the questions. I have no knowledge that-----

CervicalCheck: Statements (9 May 2019)

Simon Harris: -----Dr. Scally is working to anything other than the terms of reference. I cannot remember the date but I told Deputy Kelly in the House on a previous occasion, when he put the proposition to me, that additional laboratories had been identified which had previously been used in our screening programme but which were not, to the best of my knowledge, still in use. Dr. Scally provided me...

CervicalCheck: Statements (9 May 2019)

Simon Harris: 10 o’clock As the Deputy has acknowledged in his comments, I am not going to pre-empt the Attorney General's consideration of what the legal landscape looks like-----

CervicalCheck: Statements (9 May 2019)

Simon Harris: -----but I hear the point made by the Deputy. As Minister for Health, I have a number of priorities here and I need to make sure they are complementary and not competing. The first is to make sure we are looking after women who were wronged and the second is to make sure we protect our screening programmes. I am aware that the Deputy is also passionate about that.

CervicalCheck: Statements (9 May 2019)

Simon Harris: The impact of the judgment on our health service will need to be considered very carefully. It has been acknowledged by many patient advocates and some of their legal teams that not all of the cases will be negligent. How one proves negligence is an issue with which many of us have been grappling. There is an important point to be made with regard to the Meenan tribunal legislation. It...

CervicalCheck: Statements (9 May 2019)

Simon Harris: Yes. Once we pass the legislation. We have seen the waiver of pre-legislative scrutiny and I believe we can pass that legislation before the summer recess.

CervicalCheck: Statements (9 May 2019)

Simon Harris: I thank Deputy Funchion for grouping the questions. The Deputy has made a fair point about the Meenan legislation. The Deputy has quite rightly indicated that people cannot, nor would they wish to, have two claims or go through two processes. I believe Deputy Funchion is asking me whether it is possible for a woman who had gone through the courts to have her experience documented by the...