Results 6,861-6,880 of 9,393 for speaker:Alex White

Written Answers — Department of Health: Medical Card Reviews (19 Jun 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: Orthodontic Service Waiting Lists (19 Jun 2014)

Alex White: The Government has decided that the numbers employed across the public service must be reduced in order to meet fiscal and budgetary targets. In order to mitigate the impact on frontline services of the reduction in employment numbers, the priority is to reform how health services are delivered in order to ensure a more productive and cost effective health system. The Haddington Road...

Written Answers — Department of Health: Medical Card Applications (19 Jun 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 Applications (19 Jun 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 Applications (19 Jun 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 Applications (19 Jun 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 (19 Jun 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 Reviews (19 Jun 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...

Committee on Health and Children: Select Sub-Committee on Health: Health (General Practitioner Service) Bill 2014: Committee Stage (19 Jun 2014)

Alex White: I thank the Chairman for allowing me to make some introductory remarks to outline the legislative proposal for the members of the committee. I am very pleased to discuss the details of the Bill with the committee today. I acknowledge the support expressed for this Bill on Second Stage from all parties and Independent Members in the Dáil, when we had a very well-informed debate....

Committee on Health and Children: Select Sub-Committee on Health: Health (General Practitioner Service) Bill 2014: Committee Stage (19 Jun 2014)

Alex White: Obviously, I am in the hands of the Chair as to whether an amendment is or is not in order. It is not a matter for me but for the Chairman. However, I have considerable sympathy, certainly in principle, for the issue raised by Deputy Ó Caoláin and commented on by Deputy Naughten. I have met a number of groups, including representatives of the Our Children's Health campaign with...

Committee on Health and Children: Select Sub-Committee on Health: Health (General Practitioner Service) Bill 2014: Committee Stage (19 Jun 2014)

Alex White: May I respond briefly?

Committee on Health and Children: Select Sub-Committee on Health: Health (General Practitioner Service) Bill 2014: Committee Stage (19 Jun 2014)

Alex White: On the Deputy's last point, I will not go back on what I said about having sympathy for the point raised by Deputy Caoimhghín Ó Caoláin which was supported by the Deputy and, perhaps, Deputy Seamus Healy. For example, if we were to consider in the context of the Bill a provision that referred to a serious illness or a serious congenital condition, we would be immediately...

Committee on Health and Children: Select Sub-Committee on Health: Health (General Practitioner Service) Bill 2014: Committee Stage (19 Jun 2014)

Alex White: This provides me with a good opportunity to address that issue. Under existing contractual arrangements, where it is necessary for blood samples to be taken as part of the normal diagnostic process, the patient should not be charged. That may not be sufficiently clear in the contract, which means that the new contract we want to agree with general practitioners will provide an opportunity...

Committee on Health and Children: Select Sub-Committee on Health: Health (General Practitioner Service) Bill 2014: Committee Stage (19 Jun 2014)

Alex White: We passed legislation last year to provide for a better exchange of data between various State agencies, including the Department of Social Protection, Revenue and the HSE on the Primary Care Reimbursement Service, PCRS. If I am not mistaken, there were provisions in one or other of the statutes we passed last year for the over 70s, although they were not confined to them. There should be a...

Committee on Health and Children: Select Sub-Committee on Health: Health (General Practitioner Service) Bill 2014: Committee Stage (19 Jun 2014)

Alex White: I note the Deputy's point.

Committee on Health and Children: Select Sub-Committee on Health: Health (General Practitioner Service) Bill 2014: Committee Stage (19 Jun 2014)

Alex White: One of the things we must do to make primary care work is to provide universal access to GP services. While I do not want to paraphrase or misrepresent anything Deputy Kelleher said in his earlier contribution, it is not entirely clear to me whether he agrees with a universal health care system. I am not trying to provoke an argument but to have the debate he said we should have. There...

Committee on Health and Children: Select Sub-Committee on Health: Health (General Practitioner Service) Bill 2014: Committee Stage (19 Jun 2014)

Alex White: I do not propose to add anything to my comments.

Committee on Health and Children: Select Sub-Committee on Health: Health (General Practitioner Service) Bill 2014: Committee Stage (19 Jun 2014)

Alex White: I want to be helpful.

Committee on Health and Children: Select Sub-Committee on Health: Health (General Practitioner Service) Bill 2014: Committee Stage (19 Jun 2014)

Alex White: There have been briefings arising from the Government's decision on Tuesday. I am not sure if the matter was raised in the Dáil yesterday.

Committee on Health and Children: Select Sub-Committee on Health: Health (General Practitioner Service) Bill 2014: Committee Stage (19 Jun 2014)

Alex White: I do not want to be unhelpful to the committee but I am in the Chairman's hands. There is a proper forum to deal with the broader question of the Government decision on discretionary medical cards, and I am not really sure if this is the occasion.