Results 6,661-6,680 of 9,393 for speaker:Alex White

Health (General Practitioner Service) Bill 2014: Second Stage (28 May 2014)

Alex White: The framework agreement will deal with all of those issues.

Health (General Practitioner Service) Bill 2014: Second Stage (28 May 2014)

Alex White: As can I.

Health (General Practitioner Service) Bill 2014: Second Stage (28 May 2014)

Alex White: It is an agreement.

Written Answers — Department of Health: Medical Card Eligibility (28 May 2014)

Alex White: The interest rate, to which the Deputy refers, is only relevant to the supplementary assessment process for medical cards for persons aged 70 years and over, where means testing is on a gross income basis. For the purposes of assessment for this medical card, savings or similar investments of €36,000 for a single person or €72,000 for a couple are disregarded. For amounts in...

Written Answers — Department of Health: Medical Card Applications (28 May 2014)

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 (28 May 2014)

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: General Practitioner Services (28 May 2014)

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 (28 May 2014)

Alex White: Under the Health Act, 1970, eligibility for a medical card is founded primarily on the undue financial hardship test and every application must be assessed on that basis. Under the legislation, determination of an individual's eligibility for a medical card is the responsibility of the HSE. The 1970 Health Act obliges the HSE to assess whether a person is unable, without undue hardship, to...

Written Answers — Department of Health: Medical Card Reviews (28 May 2014)

Alex White: I am aware that HSE has a very structured protocol in place for the review process and makes every effort to ensure on-going engagement with clients during this process. A person (and their dependants, if it applies), the subject of a medical card/GP visit card eligibility review assessment, will continue to have their eligibility extended pending the outcome of a review assessment, provided...

Written Answers — Department of Health: Medical Card Applications (28 May 2014)

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...

Health (General Practitioner Service) Bill 2014: Second Stage (Resumed) (29 May 2014)

Alex White: We have a basis for resolving it. We have agreed a basis for talking.

Health (General Practitioner Service) Bill 2014: Second Stage (Resumed) (29 May 2014)

Alex White: I thank the Deputies for their contributions on this Second Stage debate. The contributions were extremely thoughtful, not just on what is provided for in the Bill but also on the broader issue of medical cards, the awarding of medical cards and the allocation of resources generally. It has been a very good debate. The Government is committed to introducing, on a phased basis, a universal...

Health (General Practitioners Service) Bill 2014: Referral to Select Committee (29 May 2014)

Alex White: I move:That the Bill be referred to the Select Sub-committee on Health pursuant to Standing Order 82A(3)(a) and 6(a) and 126(1).

Topical Issue Debate: Energy Conservation (29 May 2014)

Alex White: I thank Deputy Stanton for raising this important and interesting issue. The national energy efficiency action plan sets a public sector energy efficient target of a 33% reduction of energy usage to be achieved by 2020. The HSE is working to comply with the Government's green procurement guidelines, which require public bodies to ensure that a minimum building energy rating of B3 is...

Topical Issue Debate: Energy Conservation (29 May 2014)

Alex White: I am not sure if I can add too much to what I said already other than to see if we can at least obtain for the Deputy some more detail and specific answers to the issues he raised. If he has received the same response today as he did in December it is unfortunate. Let us see if there is any more detail we can get. I never have any difficulty in either telephoning or calling to hotels in...

Topical Issue Debate: Mental Health Services Provision (29 May 2014)

Alex White: I am taking this important matter on behalf of the Minister of State, Deputy Kathleen Lynch. I thank the Deputy for raising it. The HSE is proceeding to modernise and reform mental health services across HSE West, including the Galway and Roscommon areas. A key factor in this reform was the recognition that the previous overall stock of 79 psychiatric beds across Galway and Roscommon was...

Topical Issue Debate: Mental Health Services Provision (29 May 2014)

Alex White: I do not propose to add very much to what I said in my initial response. From what I have been told, I understand there was a visit last Thursday by the Health and Safety Authority of relevance to this issue. A meeting between the HSA and senior management took place on Friday and some immediate issues were addressed, including updating certain policies. It was agreed that the HSE would...

Topical Issue Debate: College Closures (29 May 2014)

Alex White: I am taking this matter on behalf of my colleague, the Minister for Education and Skills, Deputy Quinn, and I thank Deputy Clare Daly for raising it. The Department of Education and Skills was informed by All Hallows College of its intention to wind down its operations. The President of the college indicated to the Department that its closure will be handled in an orderly manner. As the...

Topical Issue Debate: College Closures (29 May 2014)

Alex White: As the Deputy acknowledged, All Hallows is a private college. It is a fine institution and the Deputy did a great job describing it. I know All Hallows and its history very well because I grew up just a stone's throw from it. Everything the Deputy said about it, its history and its contribution to education is absolutely correct. As I noted earlier, the Department provides the college...

Topical Issue Debate: College Closures (29 May 2014)

Alex White: I understand that point now, I did not grasp it earlier. Certainly, I will communicate that to the Minister for Education and Skills. The Deputy raises what is absolutely a fair point in that respect. I have no wish to speak directly on behalf of the Minister for Education and Skills but the Minister must operate in respect of the future planning and configuration of higher education on...