Results 28,361-28,380 of 36,764 for speaker:Enda Kenny

Written Answers — Department of An Taoiseach: Departmental Offices (10 Feb 2015)

Enda Kenny: No staff from my Department or under the aegis of my Department are based in Government Buildings at Abbeyleix Road, Portlaoise, County Laois.

Leaders' Questions (11 Feb 2015)

Enda Kenny: I do not want to comment on the details of a particular case. In some cases, a card was refused on the basis of income. The Keane report commissioned by the Minister considered whether cards could be granted on the basis of an illness and it indicated that this was not morally, ethically or in any case justified. The application process goes back to the element of discretion. An...

Leaders' Questions (11 Feb 2015)

Enda Kenny: Nobody believes that parents should be stressed or put under pressure in respect of their children. That is one of the reasons the Government has the objective of introducing universal health insurance in the long term. In the short term, nobody wishes to see parents stressed by difficulties with their children. Clearly, a far greater degree of discretion has been applied because 22,000...

Leaders' Questions (11 Feb 2015)

Enda Kenny: The important issue is whether there is an outstanding treatment, facility or product that either of the two children needs, because parents need to know that they are not blocked from access to the treatment and facilities. In the second case, my understanding is that everything the child requires is being made available. If Deputy Calleary has different information on outstanding...

Leaders' Questions (11 Feb 2015)

Enda Kenny: We cannot have a situation where people are put under that pressure. The Keane report was commissioned to report on whether to give medical cards on the basis of an illness and it said that cannot be.

Leaders' Questions (11 Feb 2015)

Enda Kenny: Therefore, one goes back to the income threshold and discretion after that. It is in the application of the discretion that the Deputy's question, which is a valid one, must be dealt with. As the Deputy has raised the matter, I hope the people dealing with this can tell us what is outstanding for either of the children in terms of treatment, facility or product.

Leaders' Questions (11 Feb 2015)

Enda Kenny: No, I do not accept the Deputy's assertion. The Government is acutely aware of the challenges and difficulties in the health service. That is why an extra €650 million was put into the system for 2015. It is also the reason the Minister established a specific unit to deal with the emergency department trolley numbers. There were 400 at 8 o'clock this morning, and obviously that...

Leaders' Questions (11 Feb 2015)

Enda Kenny: This is one factor that feeds into the problem. I listened to an eminent medic say this morning that the attitude of the Government is that it will be all right on the day as we have had this problem for years. The fact is, however, that the Government takes this very seriously. It is not in anybody's best interests to have people on trolleys, particularly elderly people. I have had...

Leaders' Questions (11 Feb 2015)

Enda Kenny: I have made the point that the Government put more than €600 million extra into the health budget this year. It takes time for that spend to filter out in terms of treatment for patients and facilities.

Leaders' Questions (11 Feb 2015)

Enda Kenny: I am surprised that Deputy Adams did not get a letter back from me. I will see that he gets it today.

Leaders' Questions (11 Feb 2015)

Enda Kenny: I will answer the Deputy's question in the letter.

Leaders' Questions (11 Feb 2015)

Enda Kenny: Deputy Griffin brought this to my attention yesterday.

Leaders' Questions (11 Feb 2015)

Enda Kenny: I thank Deputy Fleming for raising this matter, which is very sensitive and important in many locations in rural Ireland.

Leaders' Questions (11 Feb 2015)

Enda Kenny: Monster meetings began with a Kerryman many years ago.

Leaders' Questions (11 Feb 2015)

Enda Kenny: I am not sure whether that one is considered to be a monster meeting or not.

Leaders' Questions (11 Feb 2015)

Enda Kenny: This is an issue that needs to be considered very carefully.

Leaders' Questions (11 Feb 2015)

Enda Kenny: Deputy Fleming mentioned four, three and two-teacher schools, and some that have become one-teacher schools. The Government has no intention of closing any schools. The problem is that in many areas, the demographics over the next period are going to mean a continued drop in the number of children who are born-----

Leaders' Questions (11 Feb 2015)

Enda Kenny: The pupil-teacher ratio is one issue. The number of children born and living and eligible to go to school in any locality is another. Where I come from, there has been a huge drop in numbers in many rural areas. There are 14 one-teacher schools in the county at the moment.

Leaders' Questions (11 Feb 2015)

Enda Kenny: I do not support the concept of one-teacher schools. They are not in the best interests of children. The numbers can be very small and the schools do not have all of the facilities or the competitive peer activity that children would expect in school.

Leaders' Questions (11 Feb 2015)

Enda Kenny: This is an issue that needs to be looked at very carefully and in the longer term. I did not hear any proposition coming from the monster meeting in Kerry except "Do something about it."