Results 7,241-7,260 of 15,268 for speaker:Kathleen Lynch

Seanad: Protection of Life During Pregnancy Bill 2013: Committee Stage (Resumed) (18 Jul 2013)

Kathleen Lynch: Down through the centuries, if women were to do what Senator say they do then we would not be here.

Seanad: Protection of Life During Pregnancy Bill 2013: Committee Stage (Resumed) (18 Jul 2013)

Kathleen Lynch: There are some 100,000 women out there-----

Seanad: Protection of Life During Pregnancy Bill 2013: Committee Stage (Resumed) (18 Jul 2013)

Kathleen Lynch: Doctors and nurses are trained in the same way as they have always been trained. We are legislating for what is already in place. We cannot put an absolute price on life and I am amazed to hear it here.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Health and Children: Quarterly Meeting with Department of Health and HSE: Discussion on Health Issues (25 Jul 2013)

Kathleen Lynch: I have worked with Mary since long before I entered Government. She has given longer service than most of us and has been incredible in terms of organising committees.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Health and Children: Quarterly Meeting with Department of Health and HSE: Discussion on Health Issues (25 Jul 2013)

Kathleen Lynch: Thank you. I will try to be as brief as possible because I am aware that members of the committee want to ask questions. On the question of perinatal depression and pregnancy-related depression, we have only three perinatal psychiatrists in the country. In the context of the debate we have had in recent months, the president of the College of Psychiatrists of Ireland has put forward a very...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Health and Children: Quarterly Meeting with Department of Health and HSE: Discussion on Health Issues (25 Jul 2013)

Kathleen Lynch: Once the work has been done - the meetings have taken place and people are happy to be on board - we will take another look at where it has progressed at the start of next year. If we think all of the work is done on it, then we will have no difficulty in publishing it but it is important that we get it right. It is not something that can be changed in future, nevertheless it is essential...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Health and Children: Quarterly Meeting with Department of Health and HSE: Discussion on Health Issues (25 Jul 2013)

Kathleen Lynch: In response to Deputy Maloney's question on the mobility allowance, we set out knowing the difficulty this would cause. There are people who would never be able to leave their homes but for this particular allowance and we have been conscious of that from the outset. The communications concerning it got a bit mixed up and people became worried when there was no need to worry. We hope to...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Health and Children: Quarterly Meeting with Department of Health and HSE: Discussion on Health Issues (25 Jul 2013)

Kathleen Lynch: I cannot and do not intend to micromanage services. We are the policy makers and we must ensure that the policy framework is in place to ensure people have access to a safe service. We also fight for the budgets required to allow that to happen. It would be ridiculous to micromanage a service. I would spend my life running around the hundreds of services provided in this country. That is...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Health and Children: Quarterly Meeting with Department of Health and HSE: Discussion on Health Issues (25 Jul 2013)

Kathleen Lynch: I apologise to Deputy Dowds. His question was not on my list. The number of school leavers increased to 832 this year. They are split between day care services and training places, as anyone familiar with the area will know. To date we have managed to place 673 people and we require placements for 159. Additional funding of €4 million was provided this year for the four different...

Topical Issue Debate: Community Nursing Units (18 Sep 2013)

Kathleen Lynch: I thank Deputy Stanley for raising this issue. He is correct that significant concerns have been expressed on this issue over the past two years but I think he will acknowledge that the reversal of the original decision was a good thing. It is important that we take our time when we make our decisions. There are six public nursing units in counties Laois and Offaly, namely, Abbeyleix...

Topical Issue Debate: Community Nursing Units (18 Sep 2013)

Kathleen Lynch: I agree that we cannot wait another two years for a decision, but I am not certain the decision will be made by the HSE. It will make a recommendation and ultimately the Minister will make the decision.

Topical Issue Debate: Community Nursing Units (18 Sep 2013)

Kathleen Lynch: I hope it will be done very shortly, as people need to know exactly what the future holds for them. We have 129 public nursing units in the State. Very good research and work have been done in the past two years and we have discovered that we have sufficient beds for now, but I agree that there will come a point when we will not have enough because of our ageing population, which is a...

Topical Issue Debate: Community Nursing Units (18 Sep 2013)

Kathleen Lynch: I cannot give an exact answer, but I will commit to making further inquiries as a result of this question and try to get an answer for the Deputy.

Topical Issue Debate: HIQA Reports (18 Sep 2013)

Kathleen Lynch: I am taking this matter on behalf of the Minister for Health and thank the Deputy for raising it. I just asked the Minister for Finance when the Crimean war occurred and he told me that it was around 1880. That was when Florence Nightingale decided washing one's hands and being clean were important to prevent infection. Perhaps we should call this the Florence Nightingale campaign and...

Topical Issue Debate: HIQA Reports (18 Sep 2013)

Kathleen Lynch: Sometimes the most difficult changes to make are cultural and attitude changes - they are not the most expensive but they are often the most difficult. A few years ago, we were all encouraged, as patients - which I am sure we all will be at some stage of our lives - to ask clinicians whether they had washed their hands. However, it is not quite that simple when a patient is solely reliant...

Written Answers — Department of Health: Mental Health Services Provision (18 Sep 2013)

Kathleen Lynch: As this is a service matter this question has been referred to the HSE for direct reply.

Written Answers — Department of Health: Suicide Prevention (18 Sep 2013)

Kathleen Lynch: Suicide is a tragedy that we are constantly working to prevent and also working to give more support to the families affected. Dealing with the current high levels of suicide and deliberate self-harm is a priority for this Government and in this regard significant additional funding has been provided in recent years to address this issue. Reach Out our National Strategy for Action on...

Written Answers — Department of Health: Mental Health Services Provision (18 Sep 2013)

Kathleen Lynch: As this is a service matter this question has been referred to the HSE for direct reply.

Written Answers — Department of Health: Mental Health Services Funding (18 Sep 2013)

Kathleen Lynch: I propose to take Questions Nos. 1298, 1346, 1428, 1566 and 1567 together. This Government has prioritised the reform of our mental health services in line with A Vision for Change and is committed in particular to the delivery of more and better quality care in the community. In 2012, a special allocation of €35 million was provided for mental health to be used primarily to further...

Written Answers — Department of Health: Nursing Home Services (18 Sep 2013)

Kathleen Lynch: The Health Act, 2007 introduced a significant change to how residential care settings for older people are inspected and registered. Since July, 2009 the Health Information and Quality Authority (HIQA) is the statutory independent body responsible for the registration and inspection of all residential care services for older people. This responsibility is underpinned by a comprehensive...