Results 3,581-3,600 of 7,823 for speaker:Jim Daly

Written Answers — Department of Health: Home Care Packages Provision (7 Feb 2018)

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

Written Answers — Department of Health: Palliative Care Services Provision (7 Feb 2018)

Jim Daly: The Night Nursing Service is operated by the Irish Cancer Society for cancer patients and by the Irish Hospice Foundation for non-cancer patients. This service plays a vital role in ensuring quality and continuity of care at the end of life stage, and enables people who wish to die at home to do so. Night Nursing is accessed by referral through community-based specialist palliative...

Written Answers — Department of Health: Mental Health Services Provision (7 Feb 2018)

Jim Daly: Thanks to improved lifestyles and increased healthcare, people in Ireland are living longer lives. An estimated 55,000 people in Ireland have a form of dementia, and this figure is expected to nearly treble to 150,000 by 2046. While the majority of people with dementia are aged over 65, it is important to remember that one in ten people diagnosed with dementia are under 65. As a response to...

Written Answers — Department of Health: Mental Health Services Provision (7 Feb 2018)

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

Seanad: Commencement Matters: Hospital Appointments Administration (7 Feb 2018)

Jim Daly: I thank the Senator for raising this issue which, as he said, was referred to at the committee meeting earlier. When one thinks about it, it is an incredible statistic. As many as 2,000 people a day are not turning up for their appointments, at a time when we have chronic waiting lists. Clearly, there is a serious issue to be addressed. I, therefore, genuinely welcome the opportunity to...

Seanad: Commencement Matters: Hospital Appointments Administration (7 Feb 2018)

Jim Daly: From my knowledge, that is the correct figure; there are in the region of 3.2 million outpatient appointments per annum. There is feedback from the hospitals which are using the text messaging system that it has had a positive impact, which is encouraging. The HSE is anxious to have a national standardised system that it can apply in all hospitals in order that they can all learn what is...

Seanad: Mental Health (Amendment) Bill 2016: Committee Stage (7 Feb 2018)

Jim Daly: I thank Senator Joan Freeman and acknowledge her contribution, not only on this legislation but to the cause in general. I welcome every opportunity we get to highlight the issues and challenges faced in the mental health system. I do not mind hearing about the bad stories and more of them because they all give me an insight. It is important that we all maintain a balance when speaking...

Seanad: Mental Health (Amendment) Bill 2016: Committee Stage (7 Feb 2018)

Jim Daly: The Senator is happy to withdraw amendments Nos. 2 and 3.

Seanad: Mental Health (Amendment) Bill 2016: Committee Stage (7 Feb 2018)

Jim Daly: I will work with the Senator in the interim to facilitate the amendments. I want to be clear that the Government welcomes amendments Nos. 1 and 4 which have been tabled by Senator Freeman. These replace the original section 2 of her Bill with revised provisions. While we have concerns about the text, we support the aims of these provisions. As I have already said, Senator Kelleher's...

Seanad: Mental Health (Amendment) Bill 2016: Committee Stage (7 Feb 2018)

Jim Daly: I did not have time to elaborate.

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: Eating Disorders (8 Feb 2018)

Jim Daly: An individual who has concerns about eating disorders should attend his or her general practitioner, GP, in the first instance for primary care screening assessment and examination. The GP may then make recommendations, which may include referral to the secondary care mental health services for full eating disorder assessment. Nationally, outpatient mental health services for adults...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: Eating Disorders (8 Feb 2018)

Jim Daly: I accept what the Deputy is saying. Of our population, 5% will suffer from eating disorders. That is a large cohort. Anorexia nervosa has the highest mortality rate of any mental health issue, with a figure of 10% attributed to it. The Deputy referred to staffing challenges. I am acutely aware of them. More than 2,000 posts in mental health services have been approved since 2012, but...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: Eating Disorders (8 Feb 2018)

Jim Daly: If we enhance community supports and services as well as increase and make more widely available lower level supports, we can prevent many of these cases escalating to the acute level. For too long, too much of the debate and focus has been on the extreme end of mental health. We need to build a community base, give assistant psychologists and therapists an increased role and deal with...

Other Questions: Suicide Prevention (8 Feb 2018)

Jim Daly: I thank Deputy Kelleher for the opportunity to address this serious issue. Suicide prevention is a priority for the Government. Since 2012, we have increased the funding for the National Office for Suicide Prevention from less than €4 million to more than €12 million. While there has been a very welcome reduction in national suicide rates, I acknowledge that the rate in County...

Other Questions: Suicide Prevention (8 Feb 2018)

Jim Daly: I appreciate that this is a sensitive matter and one about which the Deputy is very passionate. One of the challenges I have seen since coming to the Ministry is the myriad services which exist but which are not joined up. There is no up-to-date or real directory of services available. If I wake up with a mental health issue in west Cork or the Deputy wakes up with one in Wexford, the...

Other Questions: Suicide Prevention (8 Feb 2018)

Jim Daly: We are aware of those challenges. We are trying to give GPs access to consultants so they can immediately advise them. GPs will be the front line in many of these cases. To be fair, they cannot know everything that is right to do so if we can get them immediate access to a consultant in the mental health area, it would be a positive step. The Connecting for Life strategies are very...

Other Questions: Home Care Packages Provision (8 Feb 2018)

Jim Daly: I assure the Deputy story-telling was never my forte and I do not intend to start now. Since being appointed as Minister of State with responsibility for older people, I have made improved access to home support services a key priority. Progress in this area is reflected in the additional funding made available for winter 2017, the increased funding and level of activity planned for...

Other Questions: Home Care Packages Provision (8 Feb 2018)

Jim Daly: I do not need to go to Dublin to understand the challenges in the provision of home care. I am a practising politician. It is one of the beauties of our democracy that Ministers and Ministers of State also have constituencies to run. I meet people every week in my village who cannot access home care and who need it. I am well aware of the challenges. That is why we have decided the...

Other Questions: Home Care Packages Provision (8 Feb 2018)

Jim Daly: I will look into it for the Deputy. I am not aware of it but I will look into it.

Written Answers — Department of Health: Mental Health Services Provision (8 Feb 2018)

Jim Daly: The reduction in the numbers of children admitted to adult psychiatric units has been a priority for the HSE Mental Health Services over recent years. The HSE has to allow for some operational flexibility surrounding emergency placements in Adult Units, particularly where very short-term placements take place. Full account is taken of all relevant factors such as the preferences of all...