Results 5,441-5,460 of 6,821 for speaker:Seán Kyne

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Health: Challenges Facing Emergency Departments in Public Hospitals: HSE (17 Jan 2023)

Seán Kyne: In Galway, the temporary emergency department has been open since late summer or early autumn. In fairness, that has helped and it is certainly a better environment for patients. That is welcomed. As that temporary emergency department has opened, it has allowed ten beds to be provided in the old emergency department, if you like, which has also improved flow. That is not to say there are...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Health: Challenges Facing Emergency Departments in Public Hospitals: HSE (17 Jan 2023)

Seán Kyne: I thank Ms Day. One of the measures the witnesses mentioned is the additional rostering of senior decision makers as part of the arrangements and escalation actions the national crisis management teams have promoted. Is this something local hospitals or hospital groups should be doing ordinarily, as routine? Is it being done, or has it been done prior to this, in some hospitals as a...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Health: Challenges Facing Emergency Departments in Public Hospitals: HSE (17 Jan 2023)

Seán Kyne: During the Covid period, there was a huge emphasis on hand hygiene in all public buildings, places of worships and shops. Towards the end of the period, that was becoming lax. One would go to get hand sanitiser and it would not be available. Should there be a refocus on that issue in such settings, which are places of maximum throughput, every winter? Should there be a greater focus,...

Seanad: An tOrd Gnó - Order of Business (24 Jan 2023)

Seán Kyne: I welcome you, a Chathaoirligh, to the Chair officially at the start of the season. I also welcome the new Leader and wish her well for the term ahead in the next two and half years or so. On numerous occasions I have raised the issue of Inland Fisheries Ireland. I thought I would not need to start the new year talking about Inland Fisheries Ireland, but unfortunately I do. Last year...

Seanad: An tOrd Gnó - Order of Business (25 Jan 2023)

Seán Kyne: I have called previously for a debate on the capital health plan. Many projects are in planning but we had a debate at the Joint Committee on Health this morning, not on capital infrastructure but on the unique health identifier, etc. The comment was made by the witnesses appearing before the committee that they will still need five, seven or eight years to develop that system even if they...

Seanad: Wind Energy: Statements (25 Jan 2023)

Seán Kyne: I welcome the Minister. In May 2020, his predecessor, Deputy Richard Bruton, announced seven offshore renewable energy projects that were designated as relevant projects. Before Christmas those projects received and were granted Ireland's first maritime area consents, MACs, from the Department, which is welcome. The Sceirde Rocks project off the coast of Connemara was included. I...

Seanad: Nithe i dtosach suíonna - Commencement Matters: Special Educational Needs (26 Jan 2023)

Seán Kyne: I thank the Cathaoirleach's office for selecting this matter for debate. I congratulate the Minister of State, Deputy Carroll MacNeill, on her well-deserved appointment. I know she will do a tremendous job. Ábalta Special School is a day school based in Parkmore in Galway for students with autism and complex associated needs. Students in the school range in age from four to 18....

Seanad: Nithe i dtosach suíonna - Commencement Matters: Special Educational Needs (26 Jan 2023)

Seán Kyne: I thank the Minister of State for the response. I acknowledge the interest shown by the Minister of State, Deputy Madigan, in this matter and her meeting with the principal and stakeholders. The written response states that "the Department is currently assessing options with a view to identifying the optimum solution for the long-term accommodation needs" and that as part of this...

Seanad: Emergency Department Waiting Times and Hospital Admissions: Statements (Resumed) (26 Jan 2023)

Seán Kyne: I welcome the Minister, Deputy Donnelly, to the House. I do not have the passion of Senator Cassells on the matter this morning. While one person on a trolley is one too many, things have not been as bad in Galway this year as they were in previous years. There is a reason for this. The temporary emergency department in Galway opened in the autumn and it has improved the situation. It...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Health: Electronic Health Records: Discussion (25 Jan 2023)

Seán Kyne: I welcome Dr. Kennan and the other witnesses. I did not get an opportunity to say it in the first session, but I have often said to the Secretary General of the Department of Health that he is in a unique position given that he was previously Secretary General of the Department of Public Expenditure. It is important to know whether Mr. Watt stands over the refusal in 2018 of the business...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Health: Electronic Health Records: Discussion (25 Jan 2023)

Seán Kyne: Dr. Kennan mentioned a lady in the midlands. Thankfully, she was in a position to hand over her phone and to give the code of her phone to someone to open it and access her information. That same lady could have been in an accident, maybe unrelated to her incident. If she fell and banged her head, and was unconscious, she would not be in a position to do the very basics. What do the...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Health: Electronic Health Records: Discussion (25 Jan 2023)

Seán Kyne: We passed the Health Identifiers Act in 2014. I remember speaking on it at the time. I thought this was the precursor for everything in terms of implementing this. When I go my local GP or speak to the staff on the phone, I am asked for my name and for my date of birth in case there is confusion, for example if there is somebody with the same name in the area. GP offices have all of a...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Health: Electronic Health Records: Discussion (25 Jan 2023)

Seán Kyne: We have the 2014 Act that allows for identification numbers.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Health: Electronic Health Records: Discussion (25 Jan 2023)

Seán Kyne: I assume it would be relatively simple to do this even at a local hospital. My GP is located outside of Galway city. I believe the emergency department or the Saolta Hospital Group in UHG could easily do this through the PPS number or whatever. It has been said that a PPS number cannot be used. Surely with permission from a patient, a PPS number could be used to access records. Simply,...

Seanad: UL Hospitals Group: Motion (1 Feb 2023)

Seán Kyne: I welcome the Minister. I acknowledge my colleagues, Senators Conway, Byrne and Ahearn, for tabling this comprehensive Private Members' motion. It is unusual to have such a specific regional topic brought before the Houses. It is important to acknowledge that, because the Fine Gael group decided to use its slot, which comes up every number of weeks, to highlight a specific hospital in a...

Seanad: An tOrd Gnó - Order of Business (2 Feb 2023)

Seán Kyne: The general scheme of the registration of short-term tourist letting Bill is undergoing pre-legislative scrutiny at the moment. In his opening statement on 25 January, the principal officer at the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage stated: As the committee is aware, large numbers of properties have been withdrawn from the long-term rental market in recent years for use as...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Health: Cancer Treatment Services: Discussion (1 Feb 2023)

Seán Kyne: I welcome the team from the HSE. Let me give the testimony of an individual I know. We will call him Paddy. He is not even 50. A number of years ago, he was not feeling well for about three months and eventually asked his partner to ring the doctor to make an appointment. She rang the doctor and the doctor said Paddy was no longer a member of the practice. She said Paddy was but the...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Health: Cancer Treatment Services: Discussion (1 Feb 2023)

Seán Kyne: Is there a difference between men and women? Anecdotally, men are less likely to get regular checkups? Is that in fact true? Is there a change or improvement?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Health: Cancer Treatment Services: Discussion (1 Feb 2023)

Seán Kyne: Reference was made to a welcome fall in the mortality rate, which is likely to be attributable to a combination of factors, including reduced incidence, earlier detection and better treatments. Reference was also made to the importance of tobacco controls. Is Dr. Faul concerned that this trend is reversing somewhat among younger people now? Are the controls declining in impact, even though...