Results 7,581-7,600 of 45,608 for speaker:Simon Harris

Written Answers — Department of Health: Inniúlacht sa Ghaeilge sa Státseirbhís (13 Oct 2016)

Simon Harris: Molaim Ceisteanna Uimh. 142 go 144, cuimsitheach, a fhreagairt le chéile. Tá rún daingean ag mo Roinn a chinntiú gur féidir freastal a mhéad is féidir ar chustaiméirí ar mian leo a gcuid gnó a dhéanamh trí mheán na Gaeilge. Ba é 395 dhuine an líon iomlán daoine a bhí ag obair sa Roinn ag deireadh...

Written Answers — Department of Health: Hospital Waiting Lists (13 Oct 2016)

Simon Harris: Under the Health Act 2004, the Health Service Executive (HSE) is required to manage and deliver, or arrange to be delivered on its behalf, health and personal social services. Section 6 of the HSE Governance Act 2013 bars the Minister for Health from directing the HSE to provide a treatment or a personal service to any individual or to confer eligibility on any individual. The National...

Written Answers — Department of Health: Medicinal Products Availability (13 Oct 2016)

Simon Harris: I understand that officials in my Department have clarified with the Deputy's office that the drug in question is Vimizim. The HSE has statutory responsibility for decisions on pricing and reimbursement of medicines under the community drugs schemes, in accordance with the Health (Pricing and Supply of Medical Goods) Act 2013. Prior to deciding whether to reimburse a medicine, the HSE...

Written Answers — Department of Health: Hospitals Capital Programme (13 Oct 2016)

Simon Harris: Funding has been made available in the current Capital Plan to bring these projects to the design and planning stage. The Renal Dialysis Unit has attained planning permission and the expansion of the Intensive Care Unit is currently at design stage. Further funding is dependent on the costing and timing of the projects, the availability of resources in the context of many other demands...

Written Answers — Department of Health: Hospital Appointments Status (13 Oct 2016)

Simon Harris: Under the Health Act 2004, the Health Service Executive (HSE) is required to manage and deliver, or arrange to be delivered on its behalf, health and personal social services. Section 6 of the HSE Governance Act 2013 bars the Minister for Health from directing the HSE to provide a treatment or a personal service to any individual or to confer eligibility on any individual. The scheduling...

Written Answers — Department of Health: Medicinal Products Reimbursement (13 Oct 2016)

Simon Harris: Under the Health (Pricing and Supply of Medical Goods) Act 2013, the HSE has statutory responsibility for the administration of the community drug schemes, including discretionary hardship arrangements; therefore, the matter has been referred to the HSE for attention and reply to the Deputy.

Written Answers — Department of Health: Health Services Staff (13 Oct 2016)

Simon Harris: I have asked the HSE to respond to the Deputy directly on this matter.

Written Answers — Department of Health: Ambulance Service Provision (13 Oct 2016)

Simon Harris: I propose to take Questions Nos. 152 to 155, inclusive, together. In relation to the specific queries raised by the Deputy, as these are service matters, I have asked the HSE to respond to you directly.

Written Answers — Department of Health: Ambulance Service Data (13 Oct 2016)

Simon Harris: I propose to take Questions Nos. 156 and 157 together. With regard to the specific queries raised by the Deputy, as these are service matters, I have asked the HSE to respond to you directly.

Ceisteanna - Questions (resumed) - Priority Questions: Ambulance Service Provision (18 Oct 2016)

Simon Harris: The main role of the national ambulance service is to respond to emergency 999 or 112 calls. It also provides an interhospital transfer service through the intermediate care service. There is a significant requirement for transfers of non-urgent patients for various clinical reasons, including transfers between hospitals, between residential and acute settings and transfers for...

Ceisteanna - Questions (resumed) - Priority Questions: Ambulance Service Provision (18 Oct 2016)

Simon Harris: The HSE is carrying out a policy review and it will be able to advise me on whether these services represent value for money. It is about more than value for money. At the moment the service is essential. We need our public ambulances, our national ambulance service and Dublin fire brigade ambulances to pick up emergency cases and answer the 999 or 112 calls. In 2015, there were 308,000...

Ceisteanna - Questions (resumed) - Priority Questions: Ambulance Service Provision (18 Oct 2016)

Simon Harris: It might upset the Deputy to know that I agree with her on this.

Ceisteanna - Questions (resumed) - Priority Questions: Ambulance Service Provision (18 Oct 2016)

Simon Harris: I want to see investment in the public ambulance service and a reduction in reliance on private ambulance services. The Lightfoot report on capacity states that, even if we put in place all the extra ambulances and all the extra paramedics, we will still not have adequate provision in this country because of the geographic dispersal of our population. We need to invest in the national...

Ceisteanna - Questions (resumed) - Priority Questions: Health Services Staff (18 Oct 2016)

Simon Harris: I appreciate Deputy Brassil asking this question because it provides me with an opportunity to provide once-and-for-all clarity on the misinformation that is being spread by some on this. Not only will I be implementing in full the decisions taken earlier by my predecessor, the Minister for Social Protection, Deputy Varadkar, I will be implementing them to the last letter, the last full stop...

Ceisteanna - Questions (resumed) - Priority Questions: Health Services Staff (18 Oct 2016)

Simon Harris: I could not agree more. As Deputy Brassil will be aware, in the rest of the English speaking world the title of physical therapist and physiotherapist are interchangeable and their users are qualified physiotherapists. We have excellent physiotherapists in this country and I want to protect their title. In Ireland, however, the title is also used by a number of practitioners who are not...

Ceisteanna - Questions (resumed) - Priority Questions: Health Services Staff (18 Oct 2016)

Simon Harris: I sincerely thank Deputy Brassil. This is an important issue for many professionals working throughout the country. It is an issue of public safety, and patient safety as well. We as a country have done a lot of work in recent years in terms of patient safety, the establishment of CORU and ensuring patients know exactly what they are accessing in terms of qualifications when they use a...

Ceisteanna - Questions (resumed) - Priority Questions: Accident and Emergency Departments (18 Oct 2016)

Simon Harris: The short answer is yes. The Deputy raises an important issue in terms of trying to ensure we have parity of access to our health services for all patients. We have seen in other waiting list areas where we have, through State expenditure, supported our patients accessing health services. My commitment is to beef up the public health service, but we must also acknowledge where there is...

Ceisteanna - Questions (resumed) - Priority Questions: Accident and Emergency Departments (18 Oct 2016)

Simon Harris: That is the closest I will ever get to a compliment from Deputy Kelly. It started off well but I wanted to start off well because I did not want to dismiss the Deputy's idea. There is merit in scoping out this issue. Discussions would be needed on the type of procedures, how it would work, how we would make sure we do not divert resources from public hospitals, and how we make sure that we...

Ceisteanna - Questions (resumed) - Priority Questions: Accident and Emergency Departments (18 Oct 2016)

Simon Harris: Of course the Deputy knows it is more complicated than just making that decision. We have to look at what we would like to do in the private hospitals rather than what would be done.

Ceisteanna - Questions (resumed) - Priority Questions: Accident and Emergency Departments (18 Oct 2016)

Simon Harris: I do not think he is suggesting that we would replicate the way decisions were made about banking debt in regard to health policy.