Results 32,281-32,300 of 49,836 for speaker:Stephen Donnelly

Written Answers — Department of Health: General Practitioner Services (19 Oct 2022)

Stephen Donnelly: GPs are self-employed practitioners and therefore may establish practices at a place of their own choosing. There is no prescribed ratio of GPs to patients and the State does not regulate the number of GPs that can set up in a town or community. Under the GMS scheme, the HSE contracts GPs to provide medical services without charge to medical card and GP visit card holders....

Written Answers — Department of Health: Dental Services (19 Oct 2022)

Stephen Donnelly: The Dental Treatment Services Scheme (DTSS) provides dental care, free of charge, to medical card holders aged 16 and over. I am aware that a significant number of dentists chose to leave the Scheme during the pandemic, which led to difficulties for medical card patients in accessing dental care in some parts of the country, including in counties Kildare, Laois and Offaly. The numbers of...

Written Answers — Department of Health: Hospice Services (19 Oct 2022)

Stephen Donnelly: In December 2021 the Government agreed, subject to the necessary approvals and requirements under the Public Spending Code being met, a new National Elective Ambulatory Care Strategy. We are developing additional capacity will be provided through dedicated, standalone Elective Hospitals in Cork, Galway and Dublin. The locations chosen will allow for new facilities of a size and scale to...

Written Answers — Department of Health: Departmental Data (19 Oct 2022)

Stephen Donnelly: As this is a service matter, I have asked the Health Service Executive to respond to the Deputy directly, as soon as possible.

Written Answers — Department of Health: Covid-19 Pandemic (19 Oct 2022)

Stephen Donnelly: As this is a service matter, I have asked the Health Service Executive to respond to the deputy directly.

Written Answers — Department of Health: Vaccination Programme (19 Oct 2022)

Stephen Donnelly: The immunisation programme in Ireland is based on the advice of the National Immunisation Advisory Committee (NIAC). The committee's recommendations are based on the prevalence of the relevant disease in Ireland and international best practice in relation to immunisation. The ages at which vaccines are recommended in the immunisation schedule are chosen by the NIAC in order to give each child...

Written Answers — Department of Health: Departmental Consultations (19 Oct 2022)

Stephen Donnelly: The Winter Plan 2022/23 was prepared by the HSE and published on the 11th of October 2022. As Minister for Health, I requested that the HSE consult with a wide variety of stakeholders while developing the plan to ensure that their experience's informed the Plan. As the development of the Winter Plan is a service matter, I have asked the Health Service Executive to respond to the deputy...

Written Answers — Department of Health: Assisted Human Reproduction (19 Oct 2022)

Stephen Donnelly: As the Deputy will be aware, the Health (Assisted Human Reproduction) Bill 2022 (“the AHR Bill”) passed Second Stage in the Dáil on March 23rd 2022 and has been referred to the Select Committee on Health for Third Stage.  The focus of this Bill is on the regulation, for the first time in this country, of a wide range of assisted human reproduction (AHR) practices...

Written Answers — Department of Health: Budget 2023 (19 Oct 2022)

Stephen Donnelly: A significant fund of up to €100m has been allocated this year to support community based service providers who are such an essential pillar in the provision of Health services across country.  This fund is being made available in recognition of the challenges being faced by the sector in delivering and maintaining key health and social care services against a backdrop of...

Written Answers — Department of Health: Medical Cards (19 Oct 2022)

Stephen Donnelly: Under the Health Act 1970, eligibility for a medical card is based primarily on means. The Act obliges the HSE to assess whether a person is unable, without undue hardship, to arrange general practitioner services for himself or herself and his or her family, having regard to his or her overall financial position and reasonable expenditure. The issue of granting medical or GP visit cards...

Ceisteanna ar Pholasaí nó ar Reachtaíocht - Questions on Policy or Legislation (19 Oct 2022)

Stephen Donnelly: No, it is not.

Ceisteanna ar Pholasaí nó ar Reachtaíocht - Questions on Policy or Legislation (19 Oct 2022)

Stephen Donnelly: More than 124,000 people have received the bonus, which is welcome. However, I am not satisfied on two fronts. First, the Defence Forces, the Fire Brigade and prison nurses have yet to be paid. I have instructed the Department of Health to take that back from the HSE and expedite that payment in the coming weeks. Second, the HSE is nervous of making payments and overpayments to section 39...

Ceisteanna ar Pholasaí nó ar Reachtaíocht - Questions on Policy or Legislation (19 Oct 2022)

Stephen Donnelly: The €100 million fund, as the Deputy is aware, is being allocated to section 39 organisations and others, including nursing homes, specifically to address the issues the Deputy has just raised. It is for additional costs, for example, driving patients from home to clinical settings. I cannot comment on the individual organisation just yet. If Deputy Murphy sends me a note on it, I...

Priority Questions: Health Services Staff (20 Oct 2022)

Stephen Donnelly: I thank the Deputy for raising the issue. Like him, I recognise that there are challenges facing general practice in terms of capacity, including out-of-hours services, and importantly therefore for the people who matter in all of this, which is their patients and the communities they serve. Historically, out-of-hours services have been something that GPs have provided. We know that more...

Priority Questions: Health Services Staff (20 Oct 2022)

Stephen Donnelly: I am very open to the idea of the HSE directly employing GPs. It is something we should pursue. We know there are some areas in particular that are affected, such as rural areas. For example, I am involved at the moment with an issue in certain parts of Galway concerning out-of-hours GP coverage. There is a role for directly employed GPs in some urban areas, in particular areas that are...

Priority Questions: Health Services Staff (20 Oct 2022)

Stephen Donnelly: We are in agreement that we need more GPs. It is relevant that the number of places for GPs has more than doubled in the past decade and we are continuing to increase it. That is going to go some of the way. In part, that will provide more GPs and more cover, which is needed and, in part, it will allow for a different work-life balance for GPs. What younger GPs say to me is that in the...

Priority Questions: Hospital Waiting Lists (20 Oct 2022)

Stephen Donnelly: Before I respond, I welcome to the Gallery the girls and boys from sixth class in the Harold School. When I made that comment, I was not referring to Sinn Féin, although I stand to be corrected. We all focus on the total number of people on waiting lists but my point, which I imagine the Deputy will agree with, was that the number that matters is the number of people who have been...

Priority Questions: Hospital Waiting Lists (20 Oct 2022)

Stephen Donnelly: I agree in terms of capacity. The hospitals, Community Care and the HSE all said we need record levels of investment and we need to add record levels of capacity, which is exactly what has happened. By the end of this year, compared to the start of Covid-19, there will be more than 1,000 extra hospital beds in the system. We will have funded approximately an extra 250,000 diagnostic scans...

Priority Questions: Hospital Waiting Lists (20 Oct 2022)

Stephen Donnelly: I agree with that, with one caveat, which is that we have a long-term plan. The Deputy will be aware that as part of the waiting list action plan, the chief clinical officer, Dr. Colm Henry, is leading out on 37 new models of care. The Deputy and I have discussed the need for record investment in capacity, which is happening. However, I think we are also probably in agreement about the...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Covid-19 Pandemic (20 Oct 2022)

Stephen Donnelly: I would like to express my sympathy against to all those who lost friends, family and other loved ones during the pandemic, including the many who were residents of nursing homes. Since the start of the pandemic, the national response has continuously evolved to take account of emerging evidence and lessons nationally and internationally. Throughout, there has been a specific focus on...