Results 7,281-7,300 of 27,613 for speaker:Heather Humphreys

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (25 Sep 2019)

Heather Humphreys: I thank the Deputy for raising this matter. I was horrified to hear about the attack on Mr. Kevin Lunney, a decent, hard-working man whom I have known for many years. As a director of the Quinn group of companies, he supports the employment of more than 800 people in the Ballyconnell area. It is important that people should be able to go to and return from work without this type of...

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (25 Sep 2019)

Heather Humphreys: Apologies. It was a special statutory body. It is something to which the Government will give consideration. There is currently a task force in place to tackle cross-Border crime. The joint agency task force was established by the Fresh Start agreement and it is led by senior officials from An Garda Síochána, the PSNI, the Revenue Commissioners and people from revenue and...

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (25 Sep 2019)

Heather Humphreys: Like Deputy Brendan Smith, I am well aware of the issues at the Border. This type of behaviour is totally unacceptable and puts fear into the heart of everybody. The Deputy mentioned Mr. Paul Quinn. I drove past an area not far from where he was tortured not too long ago and somebody pointed out to me the spot at which Mr. Quinn had been killed. It puts the hair standing on the back of...

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (25 Sep 2019)

Heather Humphreys: I thank the Deputy for raising this matter. Given the current political uncertainty in London, there is a significant risk of a no-deal Brexit. We do not want such an outcome, but Ireland cannot move away from an agreed and negotiated position to an unknown and untested solution. The responsibility to avoid a no-deal outcome lies with the United Kingdom because it will never be the choice...

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (25 Sep 2019)

Heather Humphreys: Cross-Border travel for citizens is protected by the common travel area. It is important that people know that there is an agreement in place, that they can travel over and back every day to their place of work or to see their friends along the Border. We are an absolutely committed member of the European Union, membership of which has served the country extremely well. We will remain a...

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (25 Sep 2019)

Heather Humphreys: Nobody wants to see anyone on a trolley. It is acknowledged that the numbers on trolleys in University Hospital Limerick are unacceptably high. The HSE is working actively with the UHL group to ease congestion in the hospital, with the focus on facilitating transfers to level 2 hospitals, providing assistance at rehabilitation units and primary care services and the prioritisation of...

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (25 Sep 2019)

Heather Humphreys: I will ensure the Minister for Health hears the concerns the Deputy has raised.

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (25 Sep 2019)

Heather Humphreys: It is also important to put trolley figures in context. The hospital system is operating at close to full capacity. The number of patients attending emergency departments continues to increase year on year. Attendances in 2018 were up 3.5% on 2017 and this reflects increasing demand for unscheduled care, especially by patients in the 75 and over age group. Planning for winter 2019 to 2020...

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (25 Sep 2019)

Heather Humphreys: This group will carry out a comparative analysis of unscheduled care performance across the nine hospital sites and the relevant community healthcare organisations that were the subject of specific, focused support through winter 2018 and 2019. I will bring the concerns the Deputy has to the attention of the Minister for Health.

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (25 Sep 2019)

Heather Humphreys: As I understand it, there is no embargo but the Deputy spoke about issues with the hospital and trolleys. Since 2017, however, an additional 267 acute beds have been opened. The capacity programme for 2019 provides for a number of increases, namely, the provision of 75 acute beds and 70 community beds under the winter plan. Some 47 additional beds will include four high-dependency unit...

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (25 Sep 2019)

Heather Humphreys: I can give the Deputy an update on the position in Galway. The design for the new emergency department at University Hospital Galway is at an advanced stage. There is a seven-storey building which will include paediatrics and maternity services.

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (25 Sep 2019)

Heather Humphreys: I will get to the Deputy's question in a second. The hospital is awaiting planning permission. It is most likely that an application will be lodged with An Bord Pleanála. The Deputy asked me a specific question about posts.

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (25 Sep 2019)

Heather Humphreys: I cannot answer her because I do not have the answer.

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (25 Sep 2019)

Heather Humphreys: What I will do is bring the Deputy's specific concerns about the issue she has raised to the Minister for Health. I thank her for raising it.

Ceisteanna ar Reachtaíocht a Gealladh - Questions on Promised Legislation (25 Sep 2019)

Heather Humphreys: As the Deputy noted, the National Council for Curriculum and Assessment undertook a review of this issue because the Minister for Education and Skills had asked it to do so. The Department received the NCCA's report in July and the Minister is giving it full consideration within his Department. It includes consideration of some very useful proposals made by the NCCA for how we can promote...

Ceisteanna ar Reachtaíocht a Gealladh - Questions on Promised Legislation (25 Sep 2019)

Heather Humphreys: There is a reasonable expectation that people who can pay for services should pay. Having said that, I do not agree with the type of behaviour about which the Deputy has spoken. There is a need for compassion. People's personal circumstances need to be accounted for. This type of heavy-handed approach is not acceptable. There are those, however, who can pay but will not pay. Some...

Ceisteanna ar Reachtaíocht a Gealladh - Questions on Promised Legislation (25 Sep 2019)

Heather Humphreys: I thank the Deputy for raising this matter. The HSE's mental health budget has been increased by more than €276 million since 2012. An additional €84 million for mental health services was announced in budget 2019, bringing the total available close to €1 billion, of which some €55 million was provided to progress new developments. I will bring to the Minister's...

Ceisteanna ar Reachtaíocht a Gealladh - Questions on Promised Legislation (25 Sep 2019)

Heather Humphreys: For the past two years I have been working with the Minister for Finance, Deputy Paschal Donohoe, to ensure Ireland will have the necessary supports in place to help businesses to prepare for a hard Brexit. I continue to work with the Minister in preparation of budget 2020. Significant funding has been put in place to support Irish businesses as they prepare for Brexit. In 2018 Enterprise...

Ceisteanna ar Reachtaíocht a Gealladh - Questions on Promised Legislation (25 Sep 2019)

Heather Humphreys: A lot of people commute from County Meath to Dublin. That is why as part of the future jobs initiative, a whole-of-government initiative, I have been looking more at the issue of remote working and developing hubs to where people can come to work in co-working spaces. I accept the Deputy's comments about the difficulties which I will raise with the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport,...

Ceisteanna ar Reachtaíocht a Gealladh - Questions on Promised Legislation (25 Sep 2019)

Heather Humphreys: As I said, it is acknowledged that trolley numbers in University Hospital Limerick are unacceptably high. The HSE is working actively with the University of Limerick hospital group to ease congestion at the hospital, with the focus on facilitating transfers to level two hospitals, assistance from rehabilitation units and primary care services and the prioritisation of diagnostics to aid...