Results 37,901-37,920 of 49,836 for speaker:Stephen Donnelly

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Pharmacy Services (1 Jun 2023)

Stephen Donnelly: I thank the Deputy. I suggest that is exactly what we are doing. We have met the IPU and spoken to pharmacists around the country. I tasked the Department with putting together a package of enhanced practice for pharmacists. That includes minor ailments, flu, access to contraception, medicine shortage protocols to enable pharmacists to substitute medications, and so forth. We have a...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Pharmacy Services (1 Jun 2023)

Stephen Donnelly: No. We are progressing things this year but I cannot yet tell the Deputy when these things will happen, to the month. I am determined we move quickly on this. There is a lot of advantage to be had here, especially with GPs under so much pressure. I cannot give the Deputy an exact timeline because there are clinical governance issues that need to be worked through. There are training...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Health Services Staff (1 Jun 2023)

Stephen Donnelly: I thank the Deputy and acknowledge his ongoing work on behalf of patients and families with a rare disease diagnosis. We are fully committed to doing everything possible to assist people living with a rare disease and to support their families as well. Good progress was made under the national rare disease plan, including the establishment of a national clinical programme for rare diseases...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Health Services Staff (1 Jun 2023)

Stephen Donnelly: Starting, if I may, with the patient liaison, the Deputy and I had a really positive and useful meeting with patients and families who are dealing with rare diseases. The point they were making was that there is all manner of frustrations, blockages and complications in the system and they would really benefit from having someone within the HSE who engages with them and can take on board...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Health Services Staff (1 Jun 2023)

Stephen Donnelly: I will have to come back to Deputy Durkan on that. With regard to Deputy Pádraig O'Sullivan's question, the short answer is "Yes". We can do more and we can move faster. I believe we are now moving faster. The article in The Lancetreferenced by the Deputy quite rightly looked at Ireland's slower response historically. A lot of money has been put in place in the last three years. As...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Industrial Disputes (1 Jun 2023)

Stephen Donnelly: Yes, I can. I acknowledge the dedication, professionalism and commitment of our medical scientists all across the country. As the Deputy says, we are a year on now since the MLSA engaged in two days of industrial action on 18 and 24 May of last year. That was for their claim for pay parity between medical scientists and clinical biochemists. I am very happy to report that important open...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Industrial Disputes (1 Jun 2023)

Stephen Donnelly: I thank the Deputy. I agree. The assessment and the report concluded that critically there were no material differences in qualifications and duties in responsibilities between medical scientist grades across laboratory specialists and biochemist grades. Small differences were highlighted particularly in regard to the educational requirements. The assessor gave recommendations for...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Industrial Disputes (1 Jun 2023)

Stephen Donnelly: Progress is being made. The representative body has been engaging through last year. As I said, they met in February and in March. They are back into the WRC. The pay anomaly has been addressed in regard to the laboratory aids. Good progress is being made to that effect. The workforce has gone up since before the pandemic. It increased by about 7% since pre-pandemic levels which is...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: General Practitioner Services (1 Jun 2023)

Stephen Donnelly: I thank Deputy Pringle. I checked in when I saw your question. The advice I have from the Department is that there was an acknowledgement and a response to the correspondence. That is the advice I have from the Department. If that is not correct we need to chase that up because certainly the view is that correspondence has issued. We need to make sure that has been received. If it has...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: General Practitioner Services (1 Jun 2023)

Stephen Donnelly: Yesterday, fair enough, well then he should have had a response earlier than that. I have no issue saying that at all. I thank him for getting in touch with me on it. Increasing the medical workforce is a top priority for me and for the Department. As Deputy Smith and I were just talking about, I want to see a doubling of healthcare college places. The 2018 capacity review in regard...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: General Practitioner Services (1 Jun 2023)

Stephen Donnelly: The HSE is working in collaboration with the Irish Medical Council, IMC, to identify potential regions for recruitment of doctors around the world who meet the IMC registration standards. Any such recruitment needs to be in line with our ethical guidelines. We are a signatory, as the Deputy will be aware, of the WHO's global code on the recruitment of international health professionals....

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: General Practitioner Services (1 Jun 2023)

Stephen Donnelly: We are looking to bring in GPs from around the world. We are not excluding Cuba from that. The HSE and the ICGP would welcome the inclusion of doctors from many additional countries, and Cuba is no different. The two bodies have been doing a lot of work with South Africa and various South American countries with a view to bringing over GPs from those locations. There is no issue in doing...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Health Services Staff (1 Jun 2023)

Stephen Donnelly: I acknowledge the hugely important role section 39 organisations and their workers play in our health and social care services. They are absolutely essential in providing services, including to people with disabilities and older people in the community. A process of engagement to examine the pay of workers in community and voluntary organisations was committed to by the Government in...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Health Services Staff (1 Jun 2023)

Stephen Donnelly: There is a process and there has been agreement, as the Deputy will be aware on the biggest 300, which was very welcome. Initially, it was the first 50, then it was another 250. We need to find a way to deal with this while balancing two things. On the one hand they are private organisations but, on the other, we largely fund them. We cannot divorce ourselves from their ability to pay...

Seanad: Capital Investment in the Health Service: Statements (1 Jun 2023)

Stephen Donnelly: I welcome our esteemed guests from Mayo too. They are all very welcome. It is better than being in school, doing schoolwork and homework, is it not? It is way better. I thank the Acting Chairperson and Senators for the opportunity to discuss with the Seanad today the very substantial capital investment in our health and social care services. This Government is absolutely committed to...

Seanad: Capital Investment in the Health Service: Statements (1 Jun 2023)

Stephen Donnelly: I thank colleagues for their contributions. I have been trying to piece together responses to the various projects that have been raised. I acknowledge the Seanad's position on the naming of the children’s hospital. The advice I have is different. That is an ongoing consideration for Government. On women’s health centres, the answer is "Yes", but not in the way laid out in...

Seanad: Capital Investment in the Health Service: Statements (1 Jun 2023)

Stephen Donnelly: Yes but we just need to be careful that it does not slow things down.Those involved locally have a very understandable instinct to ask why, if we are building it, we cannot just add the other thing that we need. In Galway, that meant nothing happened for years. We can of course look at this with an open mind. Colleagues raised the issue of timing. The public spending code was not fit for...

Seanad: Capital Investment in the Health Service: Statements (1 Jun 2023)

Stephen Donnelly: I do not know about that. I will need to get back to the Senator on it.

Seanad: Capital Investment in the Health Service: Statements (1 Jun 2023)

Stephen Donnelly: We will revert to the Senator.

Written Answers — Department of Health: Freedom of Information (23 May 2023)

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.