Results 41,061-41,080 of 49,836 for speaker:Stephen Donnelly

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Hospital Facilities (9 Nov 2023)

Stephen Donnelly: I thank the Deputy. I am aware that he is asking this question on behalf of Deputy Troy. I might use this opportunity to congratulate Deputy Troy and his wife on the birth of their baby last night. It is a joyous occasion indeed. With regard to the beds, it is well recognised that there is a need to improve patient flow and ensure sufficient capacity for both scheduled and unscheduled...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Hospital Facilities (9 Nov 2023)

Stephen Donnelly: I thank both Deputies. Deputy McAuliffe should note that we had 18 responses from Ireland and abroad to the expression of interest in 2023, all with a view to rapid build. All concerned bring different versions of the technology. In parallel, we have also commenced the detailed design work. The HSE has recently published a standardised questionnaire with a view to procuring the design...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Hospital Facilities (9 Nov 2023)

Stephen Donnelly: The Mater hospital is a good example of how this can be done. The Deputy is absolutely correct that it is a congested site but we opened the Rock wing there recently. It is a state-of-the-art facility. Some rapid-build technology was used and the process was very efficient. Those responsible probably got the wing built several years quicker than a similar project might have been built in...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Hospital Services (9 Nov 2023)

Stephen Donnelly: I thank the Deputy for the question and her support of the national maternity strategy. It is making a big difference. As she will be aware, I have set the progression of women’s healthcare services as a top priority of the Government. We have seen unprecedented investment in women’s healthcare and know this funding is making a big difference in gynaecology, endometriosis,...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Hospital Services (9 Nov 2023)

Stephen Donnelly: The allocation of resources for next year is not at the same level that it was at for this year or 2022. The focus is on building capacity across the system. For example, I know the Deputy and her party are signed up to the safe nurse staffing framework. That is fully funded to roll out to every ward in every hospital around the country. It is to finish rolling out; a lot of work has been...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Hospital Services (9 Nov 2023)

Stephen Donnelly: I fully agree, which is why we put such a focus in women's health services on the gynaecological waiting lists and rolling out this new national network of the see-and-treat gynaecology clinics. The clinics that are fully up and running are having it really important effect on the long waiting lists, as the Deputy mentioned, in hospitals such as the Rotunda, Letterkenny and many others...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Hospital Facilities (9 Nov 2023)

Stephen Donnelly: The RCSI Hospital Group contains model 2, model 3 and model 4 hospitals with one specialist hospital, the Rotunda Maternity Hospital. The hospitals in the main serve populations in five counties – Dublin, Meath, Louth, Cavan and Monaghan. The budget for the hospitals in the group increased by 11% between 2019 and last year. There has also been very significant capital support. ...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Hospital Facilities (9 Nov 2023)

Stephen Donnelly: I agree that in recent years the hospital in Dundalk has done well in dealing with discharged patients. The hospital team outlined to me that, exactly as the Deputy said, it has good relations and good connections in place. It is a clinically appropriate setting for patients to be discharged to. Broadly, we know we need to increase community beds. The Minister of State, Deputy Butler,...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Hospital Facilities (9 Nov 2023)

Stephen Donnelly: If the Deputy wants to send me a note on that, I will get back to him with detailed points on it. We are very much aware of the long waiting lists for orthodontics. It is one of the areas that is funded in the waiting list action plan. Good progress has been made, as he said, for the children most in need of the most urgent care. I would like to see the waiting list action plan expanded...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Hospital Services (9 Nov 2023)

Stephen Donnelly: I thank the Deputy for his question and join him in acknowledging the work that Tipperary University Hospital does. The hospital has gone from strength to strength in serving the needs of the population. There has been, as he will be aware, a very big increase in the amount going into the hospital from the Government, and rightly so. In fact, the budget has gone up nearly 30% since...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Hospital Services (9 Nov 2023)

Stephen Donnelly: Any projects working their way through the process will be assessed on a project-by-project basis, as they always have been. When we look at Tipperary, Clonmel, the hospital there and the county as a whole, what we see in terms of health services is a story of more and better services being provided. We have gone through the very big increase in funding, staff and services for Tipperary...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Hospital Services (9 Nov 2023)

Stephen Donnelly: I certainly will look into it. The Deputy can give the details to me or the Minister of State, Deputy Butler, and we will certainly take a look. The Minister of State and I are very much aware that while there are millions more home care hours being delivered and they are providing an awful lot of support to individuals and families right across the country,l a little more than 3,000 people...

Ceisteanna ar Pholasaí nó ar Reachtaíocht - Questions on Policy or Legislation (9 Nov 2023)

Stephen Donnelly: I think we could do with a live fact checker for Deputy Doherty's contributions to the Dáil. He said I refused to come in here; the Minister of State, Deputy Butler came in.

Ceisteanna ar Pholasaí nó ar Reachtaíocht - Questions on Policy or Legislation (9 Nov 2023)

Stephen Donnelly: He said I refused to meet the GPs.

Ceisteanna ar Pholasaí nó ar Reachtaíocht - Questions on Policy or Legislation (9 Nov 2023)

Stephen Donnelly: In fact, I wrote back to the GPs immediately and on the basis of their concerns and the urgency they raised, I said that on a Dáil sitting day I could meet them here or we would do a video conference call. They declined that offer. The offer stands. My understanding is that the issues raised are serious. What we have done is we have immediately sent an expert team into Letterkenny...

Written Answers — Department of Health: Assisted Human Reproduction (8 Nov 2023)

Stephen Donnelly: As the Deputy will be aware, the Health (Assisted Human Reproduction) Bill 2022 was introduced to, and passed Second Stage in, the Dáil in March 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 undertaken within the...

Written Answers — Department of Health: Health Services (8 Nov 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.

Written Answers — Department of Health: Health Services (8 Nov 2023)

Stephen Donnelly: Expansion of the National Newborn Bloodspot (NBS) Programme remains a priority for me as Minister for Health and I am pleased to note that the National Screening Advisory Committee (NSAC) continues to make progress in this regard, as noted by the Deputy. NSAC is an independent expert group considers and assesses evidence in a robust and transparent manner, and against internationally...

Written Answers — Department of Health: Hospital Staff (8 Nov 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.

Written Answers — Department of Health: Hospital Staff (8 Nov 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.