Results 4,081-4,100 of 9,393 for speaker:Alex White

Seanad: Health (Amendment) Bill 2013: Committee and Remaining Stages (25 Jun 2013)

Alex White: Are we dealing with the Senator's second amendment?

Seanad: Health (Amendment) Bill 2013: Committee and Remaining Stages (25 Jun 2013)

Alex White: I understand that but I had thought there were amendments that proposed to delete sections. I suppose I misread my instructions. I apologise. Section 53A of the Health Act 1970 enables the HSE to charge a person in an acute setting if he or she is no longer receiving medically acute care and treatment. The charge applicable is the average cost of long-term residential care in public...

Seanad: Health (Amendment) Bill 2013: Committee and Remaining Stages (25 Jun 2013)

Alex White: Under section 53B there is provision for charges for long-term residential care services under the Nursing Home Support Scheme Act 2009. This is a technical amendment resulting from the repeal of section 53 of the Health Act to which the House has agreed. The new section 53C provides for charges to be raised for acute public inpatient services in public hospitals at a rate of €80 per...

Seanad: Health (Amendment) Bill 2013: Committee and Remaining Stages (25 Jun 2013)

Alex White: I am advised that the actual or economic cost involved is approximately of the order of €1,000 per day. We are asking that the citizen involved would make a co-payment, essentially a contribution to that cost. Under the Bill we are setting an absolute ceiling of one quarter of the cost, which will be approximately €250. That is the absolute ceiling. I reiterate to the House...

Seanad: Health (Amendment) Bill 2013: Committee and Remaining Stages (25 Jun 2013)

Alex White: The Bill will update and replace existing arrangements for charging for long-stay inpatient services other than acute hospital care or services covered under the fair deal nursing home support scheme. The Bill essentially continues existing arrangements for people in a range of residential settings who contribute towards the cost of their maintenance. The Bill is putting these arrangements...

Seanad: Health (Amendment) Bill 2013: Committee and Remaining Stages (25 Jun 2013)

Alex White: I take the points the Senator has raised. The costs that are set out in the schedule are the economic costs of the provision of the service. It is not unreasonable to look at some of them and gasp. However, I am instructed they represent the economic cost of the provision of the service. Everybody is concerned about the issue, not least the Minister. Today the Minister announced the...

Seanad: Adjournment Matters: NAMA Staff Recruitment (25 Jun 2013)

Alex White: The Senator has raised the matter of referring to the Garda national bureau of criminal investigation the fact that an ex-employee of NAMA has now taken up employment with a private sector entity with which NAMA has previously engaged in a business transaction. It is unclear on what basis the Senator believes that this is a matter that the Minister for Finance should refer to the bureau....

Seanad: Adjournment Matters: NAMA Staff Recruitment (25 Jun 2013)

Alex White: I do not think I can advance the matter any further.

Seanad: Adjournment Matters: Post Office Network (25 Jun 2013)

Alex White: The Department of Social Protection is a key player in the payment services sector in Ireland. The manner in which payments are made to customers impacts on the State, notably in respect of costs. As with all of its activities, the Department is compelled to look at any scope for efficiencies in how it makes payments to ensure it provides value for its customers and for the economy at...

Seanad: Adjournment Matters: Post Office Network (25 Jun 2013)

Alex White: Senator Conway raises an important issue. I agree with him when he says that not everything is about the bottom line. The post office has a crucial role to play, not just in rural Ireland, although it is most important in rural Ireland, but also in urban centres and provincial towns. There is no suggestion or intention on the part of the Government to do anything other than uphold the...

Written Answers — Department of Health: Medical Card Applications (26 Jun 2013)

Alex White: The Health Service Executive has been asked to examine this matter and to reply to the Deputy as soon as possible. The Health Service Executive operates the General Medical Services scheme, which includes medical cards and GP visit cards, under the Health Act 1970, as amended. It has established a dedicated contact service for members of the Oireachtas specifically for queries relating to...

Written Answers — Department of Health: Primary Care Services Provision (26 Jun 2013)

Alex White: As the Deputy's question relates to service matters, I have arranged for the question to be referred to the Health Service Executive for direct reply to the Deputy.

Written Answers — Department of Health: Hospital Charges (26 Jun 2013)

Alex White: At present, private in-patients in public hospitals are subject to maintenance charges that generally range from €586 to €1,046 per day when they are accommodated in a private designated bed. However, if a private designated bed is not available and a private in-patient is accommodated in a public bed, the maintenance charge is currently not levied, although the private...

Written Answers — Department of Health: Hospital Appointment Delays (26 Jun 2013)

Alex White: The Health Service Executive has been asked to examine this matter and to reply to the Deputy as soon as possible.

Written Answers — Department of Health: Community Audiology Service (26 Jun 2013)

Alex White: The Health Service Executive Community Audiology service administers and monitors hearing tests for adults who are at risk for hearing loss. Appointments for the audiology service are sent in a strict chronology according to clinical priorities and date of receipt of referral. The HSE has been asked to examine this matter and to reply to the Deputy as soon as possible.

Written Answers — Department of Health: Regulation of Health and Social Care Professions (26 Jun 2013)

Alex White: I propose to take Questions Nos. 233 and 234 together. Prices charged for privately procured hearing aids are a matter of private contract. The Department of Health has no role in relation to setting such prices. The Irish Society of Hearing Aid Audiologists (ISHAA), the body which represents the majority of private sector hearing aid audiologists, has introduced a voluntary registration...

Written Answers — Department of Health: Medicinal Products Availability (26 Jun 2013)

Alex White: Yasmin and Yaz are prescription-only combined oral contraceptives which are authorised for use in Ireland and across the EU since 2000 and 2008, respectively. It is well established for many years that combined contraceptives carry a very small risk of clots, known as venous thromboembolism. Detailed information about the risk of clots is clearly outlined in the product information for...

Written Answers — Department of Health: General Practitioner Services (26 Jun 2013)

Alex White: The Programme for Government provides for the introduction of a new General Medical Services (GMS) General Practitioner (GP) contract with an increased emphasis on the management of chronic conditions, such as asthma, diabetes and cardiovascular conditions. It is envisaged that the new contract, when finalised, will focus on prevention and will include a requirement for GPs to provide care...

Written Answers — Department of Health: Chronic Disease Management Programme (26 Jun 2013)

Alex White: The HSE is developing integrated chronic disease management programmes to improve patient access and to manage patient care in an integrated manner across service settings, resulting in best health outcomes, enhanced clinical decision making and the most effective use of resources. The Asthma and Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD) Clinical Care Programmes are of particular...

Protection of Life During Pregnancy Bill 2013: Second Stage (Resumed) (27 Jun 2013)

Alex White: I agree.