Results 5,321-5,340 of 9,393 for speaker:Alex White

Seanad: Health (Alteration of Criteria for Eligibility) (No. 2) Bill: Second Stage (5 Dec 2013)

Alex White: Fianna Fáil did not favour it before the election but now throws it at us for not doing so.

Seanad: Health (Alteration of Criteria for Eligibility) (No. 2) Bill: Second Stage (5 Dec 2013)

Alex White: Fianna Fáil is using it as a stick to beat us with but it did not advocate the provision before. The taxation system is an important instrument to achieve equity in society and the economy rather than means testing something as vital as health care. The health care system is bedevilled by the means-test culture. I say that personally but hopefully not just on my own behalf. We want to...

Seanad: Health (Alteration of Criteria for Eligibility) (No. 2) Bill: Second Stage (5 Dec 2013)

Alex White: Having universal access to a GP without fees is the best way of doing so. I am grateful for Sinn Féin's qualified support of the measure but I do not quite understand Fianna Fáil's position. I have no doubt that we will have further opportunities to discuss the matter.

Seanad: Health (Alteration of Criteria for Eligibility) (No. 2) Bill: Second Stage (5 Dec 2013)

Alex White: We will see if Fianna Fáil still opposes such a progressive measure when it is rolled out in the spring of next year. I thank the Senators for their contributions. Senator Colm Burke rightly praised the Government's planned approach to reforms. As I have said and shall repeat, my vision of universal primary care is one of full universal access to GP care without fees. It should be the...

Seanad: Adjournment Matters: Medical Card Appeals (5 Dec 2013)

Alex White: I thank Senator Moran for raising this issue. By the end of October last, there were over 1,860,000 medical cards issued by the Health Service Executive, HSE. This represents an increase of over 60% in the number of medical cards, or 700,000 individuals, since the end of 2005. Over 40% of the national population now holds a medical card, compared to 27% at the end of 2005. Under the...

Seanad: Adjournment Matters: Medical Card Appeals (5 Dec 2013)

Alex White: I understand the Senator’s points. I do not know the individual specific circumstances of the case. There is a process in place for an appeal. It is a matter for the appeals officer to make a decision. I can only advise the House on what the processes are and how they should be invoked in these circumstances. The Minister does not have a role in this.

Seanad: Adjournment Matters: Medical Card Appeals (5 Dec 2013)

Alex White: There are clear processes in place. If the process is not working in the way I have advised then, of course, I would have a role in ensuring the process is properly and correctly followed. As for the individual case in question, that is matter for appeal.

Written Answers — Department of Health: Medical Card Applications (10 Dec 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 Eligibility (10 Dec 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 Eligibility (10 Dec 2013)

Alex White: The Government is committed to introducing, on a phased basis, a universal GP service within its term of office, as set out in the Programme for Government and the Future Health strategy framework. It became clear that the legal and administrative framework required to provide a robust basis for eligibility for a GP service based on having a particular medical condition, as outlined in...

Written Answers — Department of Health: Medical Card Delays (10 Dec 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: Health Services Provision (10 Dec 2013)

Alex White: The information sought by the Deputy is not readily available. However, I have asked the Health Service Executive to supply this information to me and I will forward it to the Deputy as soon as possible.

Written Answers — Department of Health: Medical Card Eligibility (10 Dec 2013)

Alex White: Regulation (EC) 883/04 and Implementing Regulation 987/09 provide for the coordination of social security systems, including healthcare, within the EU/EEA and Switzerland, with the aim of ensuring the free movement of persons. This objective of the Regulation is to ensure that persons exercising their right to move and to stay freely within the EU/EEA and Switzerland do not suffer...

Written Answers — Department of Health: General Practitioner Services (10 Dec 2013)

Alex White: The OECD Health Data 2013 shows the average number of General Practitioners (GPs) per 1,000 population across OECD countries in 2011 was approximately 0.70. It also shows that Ireland had approximately 0.72 GPs per 1,000 population in 2011. It should be noted that figures for some countries exclude trainees, while others (including Ireland) include all registered GPs. On 20th November...

Written Answers — Department of Health: Health Services Provision (10 Dec 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.

Written Answers — Department of Health: Medical Card Reviews (10 Dec 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 Eligibility (10 Dec 2013)

Alex White: The Government recognises that the living costs of an individual living alone are more than half the living costs of a couple living together and this is reflected, inter alia, through the provision of the Living Alone Increase and differential income limits for medical cards for persons aged under 70 years between individuals and couples. In that context, the over-70s income limit for a...

Written Answers — Department of Health: Medical Card Applications (10 Dec 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: Prescription Charges (10 Dec 2013)

Alex White: As announced in Budget 2014, it has become necessary to increase the prescription charge due to the very difficult and challenging economic environment which requires the Government to achieve additional savings in health expenditure with €666 million of savings targeted in 2014. The increase in prescription charges will account for €43 million of this target. The Government is...

Written Answers — Department of Health: Long-Term Illness Scheme Coverage (10 Dec 2013)

Alex White: I propose to take Questions Nos. 507 and 508 together. There are no plans to extend the list of conditions covered by the Long Term Illness Scheme. Under the Drug Payment Scheme, no individual or family pays more than €144 per calendar month towards the cost of approved prescribed medicines. The scheme significantly reduces the cost burden for families and individuals incurring...