Results 3,061-3,080 of 3,871 for speaker:Catherine Byrne

Seanad: Children's Health Bill 2018: Committee and Remaining Stages (19 Sep 2018)

Catherine Byrne: I do not intend to accept amendments Nos. 45 and 48 as the provisions are not required to be specific. Under the Bill, the remuneration of CEOs and allowances for the CEO and board members must ultimately be approved by the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform. Section 10 of the Bill requires the board to keep a proper record of accounts of all incomes and expenditures of the body and...

Seanad: Children's Health Bill 2018: Committee and Remaining Stages (19 Sep 2018)

Catherine Byrne: I want to add a point to the record before the vote is taken. Making this information public is good practice. The Minister will be keen to ensure that it is in the interest of transparency and accountability. There is also no reason to not publish it as it would fall to be released under the freedom of information legislation if so required. It should also be noted that the Bill does not...

Seanad: Children's Health Bill 2018: Committee and Remaining Stages (19 Sep 2018)

Catherine Byrne: These amendments relate both to the appointment of a CEO and to whom that person would be accountable. They also relate to the appearance of that CEO before the Committee of Public Accounts. I do not intend to accept the amendments. In line with the usual practice, the appointment of the CEO of a state body will be a matter for the Minister rather than the Oireachtas. With regard to the...

Seanad: Children's Health Bill 2018: Committee and Remaining Stages (19 Sep 2018)

Catherine Byrne: I thank all Members for their co-operation. I also want to particularly thank all of the departmental staff for the work they have put into this. It is a complex document but in a number of years from now, we will have a hospital of which we can all be proud, and which will improve the quality of life for children from all parts of the country. That is something that we all want and I...

Saincheisteanna Tráthúla - Topical Issue Debate: Nursing Homes Support Scheme (20 Sep 2018)

Catherine Byrne: I am taking this issue on behalf of the Minister of State, Deputy Daly, who apologises for not being present. I thank Deputy Brassil for raising this matter. The nursing homes support scheme, NHSS, also known as fair deal, is a statutory scheme providing financial assistance for affordable and accessible long-term residential care for those applicants who satisfied a care needs...

Saincheisteanna Tráthúla - Topical Issue Debate: Nursing Homes Support Scheme (20 Sep 2018)

Catherine Byrne: I do not underestimate any older person. My mother lived a long life to the age of 89, and she was well capable of making decisions herself. I do not underestimate that. I said in the reply clearly that local government officials and the Departments of Health and Housing, Planning and Local Government are examining a number of options that may be introduced in the future. However, the...

Saincheisteanna Tráthúla - Topical Issue Debate: Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services (20 Sep 2018)

Catherine Byrne: On behalf of the Minister of State, Deputy Daly, I thank the Deputies for raising this matter. He apologises that he cannot be present. One of the Government’s priorities is ensuring appropriate and accessible mental health services for children who need them. This is reflected by a budget 2018 allocation of an additional €35 million for new developments, bringing total...

Saincheisteanna Tráthúla - Topical Issue Debate: Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services (20 Sep 2018)

Catherine Byrne: I hear Deputy Buckley's frustration and concerns.

Saincheisteanna Tráthúla - Topical Issue Debate: Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services (20 Sep 2018)

Catherine Byrne: I know and I am not taking it as a personal attack. I have read the reply I have been given and, unfortunately, I cannot answer some of the specific questions asked by Deputies Buckley and Browne but I have taken note of them and, as always when I am asked to come into the Chamber, I will go directly to the Minister whose place I have taken. I will raise the concerns raised. In reading the...

Seanad: Commencement Matters: Hospital Waiting Lists (20 Sep 2018)

Catherine Byrne: I thank Senator Murnane O'Connor for raising this matter and apologise on behalf of the Minister for Health, Deputy Harris, who cannot be here this morning as he is attending a meeting in the Department. I am sorry but that is the truth. At the outset, I wish to convey my sympathies to any family experiencing delays in receiving timely treatment in our hospitals. I can only imagine the...

Written Answers — Department of Health: Obesity Strategy (25 Sep 2018)

Catherine Byrne: The initiative that the Deputy has raised is relevant to the national Obesity Policy and Action Plan being implemented under the aegis of the Department of Health. A Healthy Weight for Ireland’, the Obesity Policy and Action Plan (OPAP), was launched in September 2016 under the auspices of the Healthy Ireland agenda. The OPAP covers a ten year period up to 2025 and aims to reverse...

Written Answers — Department of Health: National Drugs Strategy (25 Sep 2018)

Catherine Byrne: Measuring the overall effectiveness of the response to the drug problem is an important objective of public policy. Resources should be direct towards interventions and strategies which are most likely to lead to a reduction in problem substance use and an improvement in public health, safety and well-being. The national drugs strategy, Reducing Harm, Supporting Recovery,commits to...

Seanad: Commencement Matters (Resumed): Obesity Strategy (25 Sep 2018)

Catherine Byrne: I thank the Senator for tabling this Commencement matter. I know how much the issue means to her. I have heard her speak many times about the issue of obesity and know that she has a real passion to ensure, through A Healthy Weight for Ireland, we will proceed to implement our strategy to tackle obesity. I thank the Senator for giving me the opportunity to speak to the House about the...

Seanad: Commencement Matters (Resumed): Obesity Strategy (25 Sep 2018)

Catherine Byrne: I understand the Senator's frustration with the annual report. I had hoped I would have been able to give a little more information on that in my reply this afternoon. I will proceed, however, to look at it again. On the code of practice and its voluntary nature, one might say that when it was launched it was conservative. In the meantime, however, there has been much action on the code of...

Seanad: Commencement Matters (Resumed): National Drugs Strategy (25 Sep 2018)

Catherine Byrne: I thank Senator Warfield for his interesting and touching contribution on the initiative in respect of drug-taking at festivals. I also thank him for giving me the opportunity to update the House on harm-reduction measures. Through its strategy, Reducing Harm, Supporting Recovery, the Government is committed to a health-led approach to drug use. While the advice from the Department of...

Seanad: Commencement Matters (Resumed): National Drugs Strategy (25 Sep 2018)

Catherine Byrne: I thank Senator Warfield. I know how well he understands these problems. Like many of us who have come from communities where drugs have had a significant impact on families, friends and young people, the new strategy will take on some of these issues. As we continue to draw down on the actions and strategy, particularly with the working group on personal drug use, at the end of the year...

Seanad: Commencement Matters: Medicinal Products Availability (27 Sep 2018)

Catherine Byrne: On behalf of the Minister, Deputy Simon Harris, I thank the Senator for raising this matter. Medicines play a vital role in improving the overall health of Irish patients. Ensuring access to new and innovative medicines in a timely manner is a key objective of the health service. The challenge is to deliver on the objective in an affordable and sustainable way. However, new medicines...

Seanad: Commencement Matters: Medicinal Products Availability (27 Sep 2018)

Catherine Byrne: I say to the Senator and the parents that I do not believe any of us in this Chamber or elsewhere wants to see seriously ill children suffer. The Minister is true to his word. He has said he will fix this problem and I believe that will happen. The timeframe is crucial for everybody present. I did not know about the meeting with the Minister. I will inform him that the Senator has raised...

Seanad: Commencement Matters: Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services Provision (27 Sep 2018)

Catherine Byrne: As Senator Devine's colleague in the same constituency, I am all too familiar with the issues she raises. The work done by staff in the child and adolescent mental health services is challenged daily by the shortage of professionals in the service. On behalf of the Minister of State, Deputy Jim Daly, I thank the Senator for raising this matter. It is the policy of the HSE, as reflected in...

Seanad: Commencement Matters: Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services Provision (27 Sep 2018)

Catherine Byrne: I thank Senator Devine and bow to her expertise in this area as I know she spent some working in that area of medicine. I cannot give the Senator answers to her questions but I will follow up with the Minister of State, Deputy Daly, and ask him to revert to her. I am also concerned that there are numerous children who have to wait a long time to access CAMHS. The Minister of State is...