Results 7,341-7,360 of 11,979 for speaker:Billy Kelleher

Committee on Health and Children: Select Sub-Committee on Health: Public Health (Standardised Packaging of Tobacco) Bill 2014: Committee Stage (17 Feb 2015)

Billy Kelleher: I move amendment No. 5:In page 10, to delete lines 5 to 8 and substitute the following: “(2) An alpha-numeric code as prescribed by the Minister may be printed, in accordance with regulations under subsection (3), on a cigarette.”. The amendment relates to the appearance of cigarettes. We are talking about individual cigarettes as opposed to the packet. We suggest that while...

Committee on Health and Children: Select Sub-Committee on Health: Public Health (Standardised Packaging of Tobacco) Bill 2014: Committee Stage (17 Feb 2015)

Billy Kelleher: Will that be done through regulation? Is it possible that the regulations would ensure what I seek to be included in the Bill? If the matter is covered by regulation, I am happy to withdraw the amendment.

Committee on Health and Children: Select Sub-Committee on Health: Public Health (Standardised Packaging of Tobacco) Bill 2014: Committee Stage (17 Feb 2015)

Billy Kelleher: I thank the Minister. I am happy to withdraw the amendment in view of the Minister’s assurances that the matter will be dealt with by regulation.

Committee on Health and Children: Select Sub-Committee on Health: Public Health (Standardised Packaging of Tobacco) Bill 2014: Committee Stage (17 Feb 2015)

Billy Kelleher: I thank Deputy Mitchell O’Connor.

Committee on Health and Children: Select Sub-Committee on Health: Public Health (Standardised Packaging of Tobacco) Bill 2014: Committee Stage (17 Feb 2015)

Billy Kelleher: For the sake of clarity – I do not advocate the measure – there was an exemption for cigars in the regulation under the 2002 Act. A cigar company manufactures cigars in Ballaghaderreen in County Roscommon, or Mayo, depending on whom one supports. The question is whether there is potential to exempt cigars under regulation or whether they will be governed directly by the...

Committee on Health and Children: Select Sub-Committee on Health: Public Health (Standardised Packaging of Tobacco) Bill 2014: Committee Stage (17 Feb 2015)

Billy Kelleher: I can accept the Minister's point. We need to broaden the debate as the issue is not just tobacco but nicotine. Nicotine is being consumed through vaping. Once a person is addicted to nicotine it can lead him or her towards the path of smoking and tobacco substitutes. We will have to confront this issue at some stage. The concern is that a young person may start out by vaping, thinking...

Topical Issue Debate: National Centre for Medical Genetics (18 Feb 2015)

Billy Kelleher: The National Centre for Medical Genetics was established in 1994 and is the only publicly funded genetics service in Ireland. There have been two external reviews of the service, most recently an external review undertaken by Professors Donnai and Newman which reported in May 2014 - a report that is still unpublished - which made 19 recommendations. From this the HSE and Crumlin hospital...

Topical Issue Debate: National Centre for Medical Genetics (18 Feb 2015)

Billy Kelleher: If the reports were published and the recommendations acted upon, at least we would have a start to ensuring that we have a proper genetic service in this country. The important issue is that genetics and genomic medicine have developed rapidly over the last five years and will continue to do so. We need to have a foundation laid as medical science and technologies advance in the whole area...

Written Answers — Department of Health: Health Insurance (18 Feb 2015)

Billy Kelleher: 168. To ask the Minister for Health further to Parliamentary Question No. 228 of 5 February 2015, if he will provide details of the clarifications his Department provided to the Central Bank of Ireland to assist it in its understanding of the interaction between the private health insurance market and the health system [7304/15]

Written Answers — Department of Health: Medical Card Data (18 Feb 2015)

Billy Kelleher: 170. To ask the Minister for Health if he will provide, in tabular form, for 1 February 2014; and 1 February 2015, for each local health area, the number of medical cards in circulation; the number of general practitioner cards in circulation; the number of which were issued on the basis of the exercise of discretion; and the number of which allocated to people over 70 years of age. [7311/15]

Written Answers — Department of Health: Nursing Homes Support Scheme Applications (18 Feb 2015)

Billy Kelleher: 174. To ask the Minister for Health the number of persons currently awaiting placement under the fair deal scheme; the average waiting time; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [7317/15]

Written Answers — Department of Health: Rare Diseases (18 Feb 2015)

Billy Kelleher: 175. To ask the Minister for Health if he will provide the details of the membership of the oversight implementation group for the national rare disease plan; the number of times the group met in 2014; the number of meetings so far in 2015; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [7319/15]

Written Answers — Department of Health: Medical Card Data (19 Feb 2015)

Billy Kelleher: 158. To ask the Minister for Health as of 1 February 2015, the number of medical cards issued; the number of general practitioner cards issued; and the number for each type of card issued on a discretionary basis. [7614/15]

Written Answers — Department of Health: National Treatment Purchase Fund Waiting Times (19 Feb 2015)

Billy Kelleher: 159. To ask the Minister for Health the reason his predecessor's instruction that the National Treatment Purchase Fund publish its monthly waiting list report, at the same time as the Health Service Executive publishes its monthly performance report, is no longer in force. [7615/15]

Written Answers — Department of Health: National Treatment Purchase Fund Waiting Times (19 Feb 2015)

Billy Kelleher: 160. To ask the Minister for Health if the National Treatment Purchase Fund published a waiting list report for December 2014. [7616/15]

Written Answers — Department of Health: Maternity Services (19 Feb 2015)

Billy Kelleher: 161. To ask the Minister for Health if he will provide in tabular form all public-voluntary hospitals that conduct pre-natal tests; if he will provide for each month in 2014 the number of such tests in each of those hospitals; and if he will provide for each hospital in each month in 2014 the number of tests where the hospital was required to seek the test results abroad. [7617/15]

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Health and Children: VHI: Chairman Designate (19 Feb 2015)

Billy Kelleher: I welcome Mr. Downey and wish him well as chairman designate of the VHI board. It is a challenging and exciting time for the health insurance market as the economy recovers and we try to encourage more people to try to take out private health insurance. Three little letters not mentioned in Mr. Downey’s presentation are UHI, universal health insurance. Where does he see VHI fitting...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Health and Children: VHI: Chairman Designate (19 Feb 2015)

Billy Kelleher: Mr. Downey was a member of the board and has a deep knowledge of the workings of the organisation. It is important that the chairman has a clear vision of where VHI is going in the context of Government policy and the issue he raised about Central Bank authorisation. In the short to medium term VHI is the dominant player in the health insurance market. Many organisations, even the Health...

Topical Issues: Maternal Mortality (24 Feb 2015)

Billy Kelleher: The second Maternal Death Enquiry, MDE, Ireland report has just been published at UCC. It makes the point that due to the relatively small number of maternal deaths in Ireland, fluctuation in annual mortality rates is inevitable and should be treated with caution so rates for maternal deaths, MMR, occurring in Ireland are presented in the UCC report over three-year periods. For the three...

Topical Issues: Maternal Mortality (24 Feb 2015)

Billy Kelleher: I thank the Minister for his reply and concur with him that our maternity services are very safe and on a par with the best internationally. In regard to the recommendation relating to ethnic minorities, I do not wish to be alarmist but in the context of the divergence in the statistics between the Irish and UK gold standard, will the Minister ensure greater monitoring in this area such that...