Results 7,241-7,260 of 24,635 for speaker:Mary Harney
- Government Record: Motion (Resumed). (5 Jul 2006)
Mary Harney: I am pleased to contribute to what is effectively a motion of no confidence in the Government. There is much interest in the World Cup. I was pleased last night to watch some of the match between Germany and Italy. This debate reminds me somewhat of bumble bee soccer. Everybody is swarming around the ball, they are all over the pitch, there is no coherence, no co-ordination, no strategy and...
- Government Record: Motion (Resumed). (5 Jul 2006)
Mary Harney: ââage of consent, Great Southern Hotels, school examinations, health reform. There is such incoherence among the three parties opposite that the plane would never take off and if it did, it would crash into the first mountain. I wish to highlight some of the transformation that has taken place in Ireland during the past nine years. Unemployment is down from 10.9% to 4.3%; instead of 1.4...
- Government Record: Motion (Resumed). (5 Jul 2006)
Mary Harney: I will deal with that issue. Those people do not pay any tax on â¬304 per week.
- Government Record: Motion (Resumed). (5 Jul 2006)
Mary Harney: When one factors in what one calls stealth taxes and inflation, the average single person on the average industrial wage takes home â¬180 more than nine years ago.
- Government Record: Motion (Resumed). (5 Jul 2006)
Mary Harney: I want to concentrate on three other issues where the Government's track record must be acknowledged. First, is the reduction in income tax which means we have the lowest income tax on work in all the European Union, second is the job record, and third is consistent poverty. Some 250,000 people have been removed from consistent poverty during the past nine years, down from 310,000 to 60,000.
- Government Record: Motion (Resumed). (5 Jul 2006)
Mary Harney: Let us take insurance reform. When we started to reform insurance, we did not get involved with simple woolly ideas. We got involved in serious structural change. We had a plan. We faced down the vested interests and even though parties opposite wanted me to allow everybody to get their legal costs, which would have meant no change, we resisted that. What has happened? Motor insurance has...
- Government Record: Motion (Resumed). (5 Jul 2006)
Mary Harney: In June the number awaiting admission on trolleys was down by 39%.
- Government Record: Motion (Resumed). (5 Jul 2006)
Mary Harney: I shall list all the hospitals, as of Monday last, where there was nobody waiting more than three to six hours for admission to a hospital bed, which is the international standard. It is a long list of hospitals: St. Luke's in County Kerry, St. John's in Tullamore, South Infirmary in Cork, south Tipperary, Portlaoise, Navan, Roscommon, Cashel, Nenagh, Louth County Hospital, Portiuncula,...
- Government Record: Motion (Resumed). (5 Jul 2006)
Mary Harney: It is not. Comparing like with like, we have turned the corner. What is important about health reform? Members opposite criticise the establishment of the Health Service Executive.
- Government Record: Motion (Resumed). (5 Jul 2006)
Mary Harney: Everybody must acknowledge that one entity, which is what the Health Service Executive has become, is better than 58 bodies.
- Government Record: Motion (Resumed). (5 Jul 2006)
Mary Harney: I have given but three examples recently of what that reform is delivering. In cancer care, everybody in the country, regardless of where they are treated, will get quality assured care. At total of 60% of breast surgery in this country in 2002 was performed by surgeons who did fewer than ten cases per year. That is highly dangerous and will change. It would not have changed under the old...
- Government Record: Motion (Resumed). (5 Jul 2006)
Mary Harney: For as long as I have been a Member, I have heard people say that is the solution but nobody put it into practice.
- Government Record: Motion (Resumed). (5 Jul 2006)
Mary Harney: My time is limited. As Ed Murrow, the US journalist said, do not confuse slogans with solutions. The Opposition is strong on slogans, but very poor on solutions. For the remainder of our mandate, we will focus on solutions. Many of the challenges society faces are challenges that come from success. The Government, with its coherent vision for the future and its coherent economic policy,...
- Written Answers — Hospitals Building Programme: Hospitals Building Programme (5 Jul 2006)
Mary Harney: The Taoiseach, Professor Brendan Drumm and I met with the leaders of the Protestant Churches and representatives of the Adelaide Hospital Society on 28 June 2006 to discuss a number of issues relating to the Adelaide and Meath Hospital incorporating the National Children's Hospital, Tallaght. The delegation expressed concern at the implications for the National Children's Hospital of the...
- Written Answers — Cancer Incidence: Cancer Incidence (5 Jul 2006)
Mary Harney: The Central Statistics Office has informed my Department that under the International Classification of Diseases Version 9 (ICD-9), mesothelioma deaths are included in code 163, Malignant Neoplasm of Pleura. The number of deaths with this underlying cause in the last 5 years is as follows: Year No. of deaths 2001 15 2002 19 2003 18 2004 24 2005 23
- Written Answers — Cancer Incidence: Cancer Incidence (5 Jul 2006)
Mary Harney: The Deputy's question with regard to the Health Service Executive has been forwarded to the Executive for consideration and direct reply. The Deputy may wish to note that the Health and Safety Authority comes under the aegis of the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment.
- Written Answers — Hospital Services: Hospital Services (5 Jul 2006)
Mary Harney: The Deputy's question relates to the management and delivery of health and personal social services, which are the responsibility of the Health Service Executive under the Health Act 2004. Accordingly, my Department has requested the Parliamentary Affairs Division of the Executive to arrange to have this matter investigated and to have a reply issued directly to the Deputy.
- Written Answers — Medical Cards: Medical Cards (5 Jul 2006)
Mary Harney: In my Department's press release of 26 June 2006 I announced the increase in the basic income guidelines for the GP visit card to 50 per cent above the medical card income guidelines. The press release listed a range of examples based on persons with different earnings and expenses and in different family situations â this information is correct. The following table gives details of these...
- Written Answers — Legislative Programme: Legislative Programme (5 Jul 2006)
Mary Harney: The Misuse of Drugs Regulations 1988, arising under the Misuse of Drugs Acts 1977 and 1984 set out in Schedules 1 to 5 the specific restrictions, exemptions and obligations which apply to various controlled substances. Substances included in Schedule 1 have the highest level of control whereas substances in Schedule 5 are subject to less stringent controls. Schedule 1 mainly includes...
- Written Answers — Hospital Services: Hospital Services (5 Jul 2006)
Mary Harney: I presume that the Deputy is referring to a recommendation contained in a report by consultants who were engaged by the Health Service Executive (HSE) to undertake a review of acute hospital services in the former North Eastern Health Board area. The review, which commenced in March 2006, has recently been completed and the report has been considered by the Board of the HSE. It concludes that...