Results 341-360 of 527 for speaker:Mary Wallace

Written Answers — Food Safety: Food Safety (27 Jan 2009)

Mary Wallace: I propose to take Questions Nos. 321 and 322 together. The Food Safety Authority of Ireland (FSAI) implements national food safety policy. This allows the Department of Health & Children and the Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food to concentrate on the formulation of national policy and to represent Ireland's interests at international level. The FSAI will soon be amalgamated with...

Written Answers — Food Supplements: Food Supplements (27 Jan 2009)

Mary Wallace: I propose to take Questions Nos. 324 and 375 together. The Food Supplements Directive, 2002/46/EC, has been transposed into Irish law by Statutory Instrument No. 506 of 2007. That legislation is implemented by the Health Service Executive, under a Service Contract Agreement with the Food Safety Authority of Ireland (FSAI). This ensures that consumers in Ireland are protected by the...

Written Answers — Food Labelling: Food Labelling (27 Jan 2009)

Mary Wallace: General labelling is currently governed by Directive 2000/13/EC, which makes compulsory the indication of particulars of the place of origin or provenance only where failure to give such particulars might mislead the consumer to a material degree as to the true origin or provenance of the foodstuff. Under Article 18 of the Directive, national provisions can only be justified on grounds of...

Written Answers — Health Services: Health Services (27 Jan 2009)

Mary Wallace: As this is a service matter it has been referred to the Health Service Executive for direct reply.

Written Answers — Alcohol Advertising Codes: Alcohol Advertising Codes (27 Jan 2009)

Mary Wallace: I can inform the Deputy that letters of invitation to join the Consultative Panel on the Codes on Alcohol Marketing, Communications and Sponsorship will be issued in the coming days.

Child Protection: Motion (Resumed) (28 Jan 2009)

Mary Wallace: I welcome the opportunity to speak in this important debate. The revelations surrounding the case heard in the Roscommon Circuit Court last week have shocked all of us and have placed a focus on child protection. It is important that we keep in mind our deep concern, as the Minister of State at the Department of the Environment, Heritage and Local Government, Deputy Michael Finneran, has...

Written Answers — Food Labelling: Food Labelling (29 Jan 2009)

Mary Wallace: General labelling is currently governed by Directive 2000/13/EC, which makes compulsory the indication of particulars of the place of origin or provenance only where failure to give such particulars might mislead the consumer to a material degree as to the true origin or provenance of the foodstuff. During 2008, the Department of Health & Children, on behalf of the Department of Agriculture,...

Seanad: Hospital Services. (29 Jan 2009)

Mary Wallace: As we are in the form for praising each other I would like to say that the Senator's contribution was well researched and that he presented an excellent case. As I read through the report before me, I find that his thought process is similar to the position of the Department of Health and Children and the Health Service Executive on developing these services throughout the country. There...

Seanad: Schools Building Projects (29 Jan 2009)

Mary Wallace: I thank the Senator for raising the important matter of a second level school in Kinvara as it provides an opportunity to outline to the House the Government's strategy for capital investment in education projects and the current position regarding the provision of a new second level school in Kinvara, County Galway. Modernising facilities in our building stock and the need to respond to...

Written Answers — Health Service Procurement: Health Service Procurement (3 Feb 2009)

Mary Wallace: The information requested is being provided by the Health Service Executive and will be forwarded to the Deputy directly.

Written Answers — Food Safety: Food Safety (4 Feb 2009)

Mary Wallace: Parliamentary Question No. 205 of 25 November 2008 was answered in full. However, I understand that the Deputy is referring to Parliamentary Question No. 144 of 10 December 2008 which asked about "the number of bottled water plants that have been inspected in 2007 and 2008 out of the total number, by category; the number of infringements that were found; the nature of the infringements; and...

Written Answers — Tobacco-Related Diseases: Tobacco-Related Diseases (4 Feb 2009)

Mary Wallace: I regard the reduction of tobacco use in Ireland as a key public health priority. The Department of Health and Children is pursuing a range of measures aimed at reducing tobacco use. Price has also been identified as an effective tobacco control measure, particularly in preventing young people's initiation and subsequent addiction to tobacco. The minimum price of cigarettes below which...

Written Answers — EU Directives: EU Directives (10 Feb 2009)

Mary Wallace: The Food Supplements Directive, 2002/46/EC, has been transposed into Irish law by Statutory Instrument No. 506 of 2007. That legislation is implemented by the Health Service Executive, under a Service Contract Agreement with the Food Safety Authority of Ireland (FSAI). This ensures that consumers in Ireland are protected by the harmonised EU rules on the sale of food supplements, in...

Written Answers — Food Safety: Food Safety (10 Feb 2009)

Mary Wallace: The information requested is being provided by the Health Service Executive and will be forwarded to the Deputy directly.

Hospital Services. (11 Feb 2009)

Mary Wallace: I thank Deputy Mattie McGrath for raising this important issue. The Government is committed to ensuring the delivery of the best quality health services possible, in an effective and efficient way. Ensuring patient safety is of paramount importance, such that people can have confidence in the care they receive and can expect the best possible outcomes. Patient safety and quality must be...

Visa Applications. (11 Feb 2009)

Mary Wallace: In March 2007 the UK introduced a visa waiver test to assess the effectiveness of its visa regime. Travel to the UK from every country outside of the EEA and Switzerland was measured against a range of criteria, including illegal immigration, crime and security concerns. In July 2008 the results of this test were assessed and the UK then entered into a six month period of dialogue with the...

Special Educational Needs. (11 Feb 2009)

Mary Wallace: I am glad the Deputy has raised this matter, because it provides us with an opportunity to clarify a few issues. I will take the Adjournment matter this evening on behalf of the Minister for Education and Science, which is about the decision of the Department to suppress a number of mild general learning disability classes in primary schools. A total of 128 classes are being suppressed in...

Written Answers — Tobacco Products: Tobacco Products (11 Feb 2009)

Mary Wallace: The Public Health (Tobacco) (Registration) Regulations 2009 (S.I. No. 41 of 2009) and the Public Health (Tobacco) (Self Service Vending Machines) Regulations 2009 (S.I. No. 42 of 2009) were finalised last week and will be available on my Department's website this week. The Public Health (Tobacco) (Retail Signs) Regulations 2009 provide for the sign to be displayed at a premises where tobacco...

Written Answers — Smoking Ban: Smoking Ban (11 Feb 2009)

Mary Wallace: Last July, I announced that further provisions of the Public Health (Tobacco) Acts 2002 and 2004 are to be commenced from 1 July 2009. From that date there will be no advertising or display of tobacco products in retail outlets and tobacco products must be stored in a closed container. There will be tighter controls on the operation of vending machines and anyone wishing to sell tobacco...

Written Answers — Product Labelling: Product Labelling (17 Feb 2009)

Mary Wallace: My Department is developing proposals on the labelling of all alcohol containers advising of the risks of consuming alcohol during pregnancy. The labelling of foodstuffs, including alcohol products, is subject to European regulation and scrutiny so the proposals will have to take this into account.