Results 6,661-6,680 of 21,128 for speaker:James Reilly

Hospital Services (8 Nov 2011)

James Reilly: I am not sure what was the supplementary question.

Hospital Services (8 Nov 2011)

James Reilly: I made the position clear. I made clear why we face the position in which we find ourselves. It is due to the current economic fiasco left by the preceding Government. The health sector, just like any other of the spending Departments, must make savings and we have had to make very unpleasant decisions to stay within budget. These are not decisions that I particularly like but they must...

Health Services (8 Nov 2011)

James Reilly: The figure of €320 million to which the Deputy refers is the overall projected overrun in the HSE Vote. The latest Vote data have reduced this forecast to €300 million. The HSE was required to make gross savings of €962 million in its national service plan this year. The plan which was approved in December 2010 requires the HSE to operate within the limits of its Voted allocation and...

Health Services (8 Nov 2011)

James Reilly: I made it very clear that I would be a far more hands-on Minister than my predecessor. The budgetary problems to which the Deputy alluded exist for the obvious reason I mentioned, namely, the performance of the Deputy's Government. Notwithstanding this, there is good news. Ultimate the buck stops with me; that is what I stated I would do and the Secretary General and the HSE report in....

Health Services (8 Nov 2011)

James Reilly: Excuse me. I did not interrupt the Deputy. Perhaps he would like to hear some good news for the people of Cork and Cork University Hospital in particular. It has introduced new theatre practices, and their use in only five theatres, which is only 5% of all theatres in the country, has already yielded considerable savings. It uses its medical admissions unit in such a way that one quarter...

Accident and Emergency Services (8 Nov 2011)

James Reilly: Immediately following my appointment, I set about establishing the special delivery unit, SDU, to unblock access to acute services by improving the flow of patients through the system. The SDU was established in June and quickly began work with the HSE to put in place a systematic approach to eliminate excessive waiting in emergency units. The SDU is establishing an infrastructure based on...

Accident and Emergency Services (8 Nov 2011)

James Reilly: I am not aware of subsidies going to private consultants. I want to correct Deputy Boyd Barrett. The figures he alluded to are an improvement on the 569 people in our accident and emergency units in January. We are going about this in a systematic way. As I said, we cannot change things overnight. I have told the House that no man is an island and, in the same way, no part of the health...

Health Services (8 Nov 2011)

James Reilly: The Department of Health, the HSE and the Department of Education and Skills co-operate on a regular basis in progressing disability issues. In 2006 a cross-sectoral team was established to provide for a joint approach by both Departments to the implementation of the Disability Act 2005 and the Education for Persons with Special Education Needs - EPSEN - Act 2004. The team includes senior...

Health Services (8 Nov 2011)

James Reilly: This area requires closer co-operation between the Departments of Education and Skills, Children and Youth Affairs, and Health. That is why I proposed to my ministerial colleagues that we should have a principal officer appointed across the three Departments, with the lead coming from the Department of Health. They have accepted this in principle. The matter has not been finalised but is...

Health Services (8 Nov 2011)

James Reilly: We are certainly seeking to protect front-line staff in that area. We are discussing the moratorium in terms of flexibility regarding key positions of the kind in question. I am aware of circumstances in which we have not been able to provide the speech and language services and behavioural therapy that should go with the classes provided. I am addressing this internally in the Department...

European Court of Human Rights Judgment (8 Nov 2011)

James Reilly: I propose to take Questions Nos. 44 and 73 together. I assure the Deputy that the Government is committed to the implementation of the action plan on the ABC v. Ireland judgment. As the Deputy is aware, the Government submitted an action plan to the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe on 16 June 2011, as required by the European Court of Human Rights. The action plan outlined...

European Court of Human Rights Judgment (8 Nov 2011)

James Reilly: The Government has many priorities. While this is a hugely important issue, the survival of the economy and the maintenance of a reasonable health service are but two priorities with which we are dealing on a daily basis. Notwithstanding this, we gave a commitment in the programme for Government that we would form a special advisory group and when that group is in place, the names of its...

European Court of Human Rights Judgment (8 Nov 2011)

James Reilly: As the Deputy is well aware, this is a very sensitive and thorny issue for many people. It is also divisive. The judgment is clear and we have given a commitment to meet its terms. We will obtain the best advice available to us in the form of an expert group, the terms of reference of which will be published. The group will publish its report which will be available to everyone to examine...

European Court of Human Rights Judgment (8 Nov 2011)

James Reilly: The Deputy is correct to say the Irish people have voted twice. The interpretation of this court case is a separate issue pertaining to how that is to be put into place. The matter is not as simple as she would like to paint it.

Accident and Emergency Services (8 Nov 2011)

James Reilly: I propose to take Questions Nos. 45, 46, 59, 71 and 85 together. I have said clearly on many occasions that the situation in our hospital emergency departments, where people must wait for unacceptably long periods on trolleys, will not be allowed to continue. For this reason, as I have already outlined to the House, one of my first actions as Minister for Health was to set about...

Accident and Emergency Services (8 Nov 2011)

James Reilly: The Deputy is correct to note that I raised these issues while in Opposition. I guarantee him that the special delivery unit is keeping a close eye on all these hospitals and it is reporting to me on a weekly and, sometimes, a daily basis. The provisions we are putting in place have been recommended by the hospital itself. We have priced them and they are only being made available under...

Accident and Emergency Services (8 Nov 2011)

James Reilly: I acknowledge the concerns expressed by the Deputy regarding Roscommon hospital. However, I have investigated with HIQA and the HSE every option for keeping the hospital. I was told it was not safe to keep the emergency department open and that is the long and the short of it. I stated previously that I will be honest with the House in indicating whether a decision is based on safety or...

Accident and Emergency Services (8 Nov 2011)

James Reilly: I will take the contribution from the Deputy in the spirit in which it is offered. There is a plan and I have outlined some of it to the Deputy. It is being implemented and must be given time to work. If we are not achieving the desired effect when we review it a number of weeks hence, we will take further initiatives. The plan covers much of what the Deputy has mentioned. Beds have been...

Accident and Emergency Services (8 Nov 2011)

James Reilly: The figures will be made available. I understand the report is to be published in the next few weeks and the Deputy will then have an opportunity to scrutinise the figures. However, I must restate the decision of the HSE to close the emergency department, on foot of HIQA's recommendation, was based on its assessment of the position prior to any of those figures becoming available. The...

Accident and Emergency Services (8 Nov 2011)

James Reilly: It is very straightforward. As I do not wish to show any disrespect to an individual, I will not discuss the individual case mentioned. The supposition on the Deputy's part that somebody might have survived had they gone to the hospital in Ennis which did not have the backup support that was available in Limerick is erroneous and not factual by any means. All the evidence shows that...