Results 5,401-5,420 of 24,635 for speaker:Mary Harney

Order of Business. (2 Mar 2006)

Mary Harney: Nothing really changes. The week I became Minister for Health and Children, Deputy McManus was saying these kinds of things and the tune goes on and on.

Order of Business. (2 Mar 2006)

Mary Harney: We fundamentally changed the manner in which health services are delivered when we introduced that legislation. It was a radical step which in time will be seen as having been extremely significant. Those responsible for managing services are accountable for the money spent.

Order of Business. (2 Mar 2006)

Mary Harney: It was opposed by both main Opposition parties and many people in official Ireland.

Order of Business. (2 Mar 2006)

Mary Harney: Expecting somebody to deliver services without being accountable for the money is crazy.

Order of Business. (2 Mar 2006)

Mary Harney: I am responsible for health policy and in this House every week I answer a couple of hundred questions and I am more than happy to do so.

Order of Business. (2 Mar 2006)

Mary Harney: Operational issues, such as some of the issues to which the Deputy referred, are matters for the Health Service Executive and are handled all the time by the executive. I have experience where Deputies ring me and I ring them back with information. The following week I receive a parliamentary question even though I have given them the information. I will not embarrass any of them because one...

Order of Business. (2 Mar 2006)

Mary Harney: If people want information, they will get it, and I assure Deputy McManus that there is no question of my not answering parliamentary questions.

Order of Business. (2 Mar 2006)

Mary Harney: Operational issues are a matter for the HSE, as the Deputy knows.

Hospital Staff. (2 Mar 2006)

Mary Harney: Under the terms of the 1997 consultant contract, each consultant is contracted to work within the normal working week from Monday to Friday. Most consultants are also available on an on-call basis outside these hours. In 2003, the national task force on medical staffing recommended that health professionals should work as part of a multidisciplinary team centred on delivering quality patient...

Hospital Staff. (2 Mar 2006)

Mary Harney: The Deputy is correct. The idea is to provide a 24-hour, seven-day service delivered, rather than led, by the consultants. There are 4,000 non-consultant hospital doctors and 2,000 consultants working in this country and we need to change that ratio around if we are to have consultant delivered services. The commitment in the current contract is for 39 hours to public service work and we want...

Hospital Staff. (2 Mar 2006)

Mary Harney: Unless we can change the current consultant contract, it is not feasible to negotiate the extension of the working day either from a personnel perspective or a financial perspective. To address one issue in isolation is not satisfactory. Consultants have a contract of employment that lasts their working career. Either side can break or alter the contract, but there are serious financial...

Departmental Investigations. (2 Mar 2006)

Mary Harney: I propose to take Questions Nos. 2 and 5 together. The report of the Lourdes Hospital inquiry, chaired by Judge Maureen Harding Clark, was published on Tuesday, 28 February. The inquiry was established by the Government in 2004, following the decision of the Medical Council to remove Dr. Michael Neary from the register of medical practitioners, having found him guilty of professional...

Departmental Investigations. (2 Mar 2006)

Mary Harney: There is no doubt that the women come first. It is heartbreaking to hear their stories at first hand, as I did yesterday and on a previous occasion, and to hear of the experience of so many women, many of them as young as 20 years of age, when this happened. It is just incredible. It is extraordinary, as many have acknowledged, including the Deputy, that this went undetected for so long. That...

Departmental Investigations. (2 Mar 2006)

Mary Harney: To the best of my knowledge, legislation will not be necessary for a redress scheme but it might be necessary to pursue insurers. However, we do not need to wait for that legislation to proceed with the scheme. In other words, we can pursue the legislation while the scheme is under way. I am determined to ensure, if possible, that the State pursues the insurers and that the taxpayer does not...

Departmental Investigations. (2 Mar 2006)

Mary Harney: The Government has not yet approved the compensation scheme but I have indicated my strong support for one, as has the Taoiseach. The women will not be left waiting; they must come first. However, if it is the case that we need legislation to pursue insurers, we can do that at the same time and it should not cause delay. I envisage that the State would pay the compensation and would then seek...

Infectious Diseases. (2 Mar 2006)

Mary Harney: I am satisfied with progress on preparations for a possible flu pandemic and with public health actions in response to a possible outbreak of avian flu in Ireland. The health sector's role in regard to avian flu relates to the human health implications that would arise were there to be an outbreak of avian flu. Guidance on the investigation and management of suspected human cases has...

Infectious Diseases. (2 Mar 2006)

Mary Harney: I totally disagree. We have shown in recent times, in particular with regard to how the foot and mouth disease was handled, that we are very good, as a country, at handling emerging issues of this kind and can work closely together. Our planning is very much in line with that of the World Health Organisation. We follow its instructions and the 2004 plan is in line with its instructions. The...

Infectious Diseases. (2 Mar 2006)

Mary Harney: I am quoting Professor Hall, who said it was 40 years since the last pandemic and that nobody could say for certain when it will happen, and that it could be 40 years from now. It is not significant that the disease transferred to a cat in Germany. Last year 45 tigers had to be put down in Bangkok zoo because they ate raw, infected chicken — I stress that it was raw, infected chicken and...

Health Services. (2 Mar 2006)

Mary Harney: The Government is fully committed to the implementation of the principles contained in the primary care strategy, which provides a template for the reform and development of primary care services. The chief executive officer of the HSE has also emphasised the importance of developing primary care services, both as the appropriate service for the delivery of the majority of people's health and...

Health Services. (2 Mar 2006)

Mary Harney: Obviously the Deputy is ill informed, as there are three in each local health office. In Dublin we have nine local health offices, which would mean 27 in Dublin. I recently discussed the matter with Dr. Seán Maguire who is spearheading the project for the HSE. I believe he is familiar to the Deputy. Perhaps I can ask him to communicate to the Deputy the precise location of the discussions...