Results 8,421-8,440 of 10,459 for speaker:Bertie Ahern

Order of Business (2 Oct 2007)

Bertie Ahern: It will come forward in 2008.

Written Answers — Appointments to State Boards: Appointments to State Boards (2 Oct 2007)

Bertie Ahern: I propose to take Questions Nos. 164 to 166, inclusive, together. The main bodies under the remit of my Department are the National Statistics Board, the National Centre for Partnership and Performance, the National Economic and Social Council and the National Economic and Social Forum. Details of their respective memberships and recent appointments are attached at Appendix A. The Law...

Leaders' Questions (3 Oct 2007)

Bertie Ahern: I will tell Deputy Kenny some of the facts about the health service and answer some of his questions.

Leaders' Questions (3 Oct 2007)

Bertie Ahern: Some 120,000 people work in the health service as of this morning.

Leaders' Questions (3 Oct 2007)

Bertie Ahern: If Fine Gael Members do not want to listen, there is no point in me saying anything.

Leaders' Questions (3 Oct 2007)

Bertie Ahern: If the Deputy wants to come to the House and criticise everything in the health service then so be it, but I will give him some of the facts of the situation. As I said, 120,000 work in the health service and they deal with 100,000 patients per month. Both the adult and children's waiting lists, as produced by the HSE, are at record lows right across the system. Some 100,000 inpatient and...

Leaders' Questions (3 Oct 2007)

Bertie Ahern: That is a simple fact according to the people who deal with the issue. If Deputy Kenny wants to say that the people dealing with the issue know nothing, while he knows everything, that is fine. The National Treatment Purchase Fund has stated there is no need for anyone to wait more than three months for an operation and that it is unacceptable that they should do so. If people in such a...

Leaders' Questions (3 Oct 2007)

Bertie Ahern: They are not management staff. The case in Cavan that Deputy Kenny mentioned arose because a consultant was on holidays and no locum has been put in. The HSE must manage within its budget and these are some of the effects of that.

Leaders' Questions (3 Oct 2007)

Bertie Ahern: Not very many years ago legislation was introduced by Fine Gael, which I supported, so there is no criticism of that, under which health boards could not exceed their allocation and must manage within that.

Leaders' Questions (3 Oct 2007)

Bertie Ahern: Deputy McCormack is not the leader of Fine Gael.

Leaders' Questions (3 Oct 2007)

Bertie Ahern: The HSE must get itself into line by the end of the year. There is no alternative to that. It accepts it has an obligation to do it. This time last year the HSE had underspent and there was a race to spend the money it had in the last few months of the year. I was criticised because its capital programme was not spent. This year it has its management together——

Leaders' Questions (3 Oct 2007)

Bertie Ahern: It has got its systems and structures together. It has spent its capital programme and it is on target with regard to its capital programme. It is not in the same position as it was last year. Deputy Kenny's allegation that the HSE is not providing a top quality service in most areas of health is untrue. UCD did a very large and comprehensive survey of the health service, taking in more...

Leaders' Questions (3 Oct 2007)

Bertie Ahern: I can only give the factual position. A total of 100,000 inpatient and day care procedures are done in the public hospital system every month, more than 1 million annually. This is not a big country. The figures are, therefore, impressive. At the end of September, which is right up to date, there were 19,083 adults and 2,320 children waiting for more than three months for hospital treatment.

Leaders' Questions (3 Oct 2007)

Bertie Ahern: Those figures include both medical and surgical areas. Across the entire public hospital system that is a total of 21,403. The breakdown in regard to adults is 8,026 waiting three to six months, 6,046 waiting six to 12 months, and 5,011 waiting longer than 12 months. In the case of children the breakdown is 1,020 waiting three to six months, 784 waiting six to 12 months and 516 waiting...

Leaders' Questions (3 Oct 2007)

Bertie Ahern: We have doubled the number of consultants. I presume they are doing their best to administer the services.

Leaders' Questions (3 Oct 2007)

Bertie Ahern: In regard to some of the short-term difficulties the HSE is having, it must get itself within its annual budget which is employing 120,000 people and spending €14 billion. It must manage its budget the same as every other agency. It has agreed to do that.

Leaders' Questions (3 Oct 2007)

Bertie Ahern: A number of points have been raised. I am glad Deputy Gilmore acknowledges our health service is good and that he agrees, as I do, that the more efficient that service is in treating patients, the better. Ministers and official members of the health committee have made considerable efforts to improve the service and to ensure an efficient structure. I must acknowledge — it is easy to...

Leaders' Questions (3 Oct 2007)

Bertie Ahern: The Government has stated that frontline services should not be affected——-

Leaders' Questions (3 Oct 2007)

Bertie Ahern: ——and that resources which must be clawed back must be taken from non-emergency areas. The Government has told the HSE that where difficulties arise, they should be addressed in conjunction with the staff under the partnership programme which deals with such issues. The HSE has taken our advice and is seeking to address its problems in an organised manner. The reality is that...

Leaders' Questions (3 Oct 2007)

Bertie Ahern: He cited an example of funding allocated to his Department for the provision of ambulances in rural areas and suggested this might be of assistance to the HSE. The Minister is directly engaged in the provision of funding, under the aegis of programmes operated by his Department, to assist the HSE and I believe this is the right thing to do.