Results 4,281-4,300 of 9,393 for speaker:Alex White

Protection of Life During Pregnancy Bill 2013: Report Stage (Resumed) (10 Jul 2013)

Alex White: We had a good discussion on this issue on Committee Stage. I pointed out then that one of the things this Government or any Government needs when introducing any legislation - not just this legislation, or this type of legislation - is to be sure it can tell the Oireachtas that it is constitutionally sound. On the face of it that sounds a bit harsh and legalistic, but it is still the case...

Protection of Life During Pregnancy Bill 2013: Report Stage (Resumed) (10 Jul 2013)

Alex White: I did not suggest it was defined. It is not defined, but I can see philosophically a case for the Deputies' proposal. I can understand where they are coming from in this regard. The necessary implication of the definition they propose, "a foetus which has reached that stage of development at which, if born, it would be capable of life outside the womb" seems to me, unless somebody can...

Protection of Life During Pregnancy Bill 2013: Report Stage (Resumed) (10 Jul 2013)

Alex White: It simply is not sustainable to suggest that. What we think ourselves is one matter but we have to act within the limits of the Constitution. Are people claiming that it was the intention of the people in Article 40.3.3oto confine the protection given to the unborn to the foetus above 23 or 24 weeks? One cannot say that in the teeth of what the people decided in 1983, much as one would...

Protection of Life During Pregnancy Bill 2013: Report Stage (Resumed) (10 Jul 2013)

Alex White: Some Members advocated that but I did not hear Deputy Shortall advocate it. I heard her advocating for a referendum on another aspect.

Protection of Life During Pregnancy Bill 2013: Report Stage (Resumed) (10 Jul 2013)

Alex White: The only way it can be addressed is by referendum.

Protection of Life During Pregnancy Bill 2013: Report Stage (Resumed) (10 Jul 2013)

Alex White: I apologise for interrupting Deputy Clare Daly earlier because it is not fair to interrupt Members in full flow. It was late at night but I was not reproaching her for not putting it into her Bill. I was doing the opposite. If it were possible to do this, then she would have done it in her two Bills. I was simply making the point that it demonstrates that she went to the trouble of...

Written Answers — Department of Health: Primary Care Strategy (10 Jul 2013)

Alex White: The implementation of the Primary Care Strategy is a priority for this Government. The objective is to develop services in the community which will give people direct access to integrated multi-disciplinary teams of general practitioners, nurses, physiotherapists, occupational therapists and others. At the end of May 2013, some 418primary care teams were in operation, holding clinical team...

Written Answers — Department of Health: Medical Card Eligibility (10 Jul 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: Medical Card Appeals (10 Jul 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: Medical Card Appeals (10 Jul 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: Medical Aids and Appliances Provision (10 Jul 2013)

Alex White: The Health Information and Quality Authority (HIQA) conducted a Health Technology Assessment (HTA) of intermittent pneumatic compression (IPC) for severe peripheral arterial disease at the request of the Health Service Executive (HSE). This HTA was published on the 26th of June 2013. Arising from the findings of the HTA, HIQA’s advice to the HSE was that, despite some promising results...

Written Answers — Department of Health: Medical Aids and Appliances Provision (10 Jul 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: Patient Files (10 Jul 2013)

Alex White: As this is a service matter, I have arranged for the question to be referred to the Health Service Executive for direct reply to the Deputy.

Protection of Life During Pregnancy Bill 2013: Report Stage (Resumed) (11 Jul 2013)

Alex White: Deputy Kelleher put the point correctly. There is no answer to his point-----

Protection of Life During Pregnancy Bill 2013: Report Stage (Resumed) (11 Jul 2013)

Alex White: -----because the plain meaning of a gestational limit must mean that the test of a real and substantial risk goes out the window after it is reached. How could the Deputy be wrong on that? It is manifestly against the intention of the legislation to introduce such limits. They would undermine the legislation and change the meaning, giving a right with one hand and taking it back with the...

Protection of Life During Pregnancy Bill 2013: Report Stage (Resumed) (11 Jul 2013)

Alex White: That is it.

Protection of Life During Pregnancy Bill 2013: Report Stage (Resumed) (11 Jul 2013)

Alex White: Exactly.

Protection of Life During Pregnancy Bill 2013: Report Stage (Resumed) (11 Jul 2013)

Alex White: Within this grouping, amendments aim to add urgency to the wording set out in the Bill, through the use of terms such as "forthwith" and "immediately". In addition, these amendments propose to reduce the timeframe specified in the Bill for the review process. As discussed on Committee Stage, legal advice has been received to the effect that the legal meaning of the term "forthwith" is...

Protection of Life During Pregnancy Bill 2013: Report Stage (Resumed) (11 Jul 2013)

Alex White: I listened carefully to what the Deputy said and respect where he is coming from on this issue. However, we do not propose to accept the amendment.

Protection of Life During Pregnancy Bill 2013: Report Stage (Resumed) (11 Jul 2013)

Alex White: Section 20 of the Bill covers the area of notifications and sets out in some detail the records which are to be kept on procedures carried out under the legislation and the contents thereof. It is my belief that section 20 as it stands more than adequately covers the amendments proposed by the Deputies and therefore there is no need for the detail proposed. For this reason, I cannot accept...