Results 8,581-8,600 of 24,567 for speaker:Róisín Shortall

Medicinal Products (16 May 2012)

Róisín Shortall: Shortages of essential medicines are a source of concern not only in Ireland but also throughout Europe and the rest of the world. It is a global problem affecting health systems in all countries and impacting on patients worldwide. Medicines shortages can be the result of one, several or any combination of factors throughout the pharmaceutical supply chain such as manufacturing...

Medicinal Products (16 May 2012)

Róisín Shortall: As I stated, cost is but one of the elements taken into consideration. Whatever recommendation is made by the National Centre for Pharmacoeconomics is but one element in the decision making process. Other issues of concern include clinical effectiveness. This is the main factor taken into consideration. Cost-effectiveness, severity of disease, unmet needs, policy considerations, available...

Medicinal Products (16 May 2012)

Róisín Shortall: My understanding is that tysabri is prescribed on the basis of clinical indications. If there are regional variations, I am not aware of them. I will check and revert to the Deputy later in the day. I agree absolutely with the Deputy that we need to be very vigilant about the prices charged for medicines. In many cases where new drugs are coming onto the market, the suppliers have a...

General Practitioner Services (16 May 2012)

Róisín Shortall: I propose to take Questions Nos. 6 and 37 together. The programme for Government commits to reforming the current public health system by introducing universal health insurance with equal access to care for all. As part of this reform programme the Government is committed to introducing universal GP care within the term of office of this Government. I have established the universal primary...

General Practitioner Services (16 May 2012)

Róisín Shortall: That issue of a limit being placed on incontinence pads should never have arisen and that decision has been reversed. It is no longer the case. It was unfortunate it happened, it should not have happened, and it has been dealt with. On contractual changes, it is not envisaged there will need to be a change to the GP contract to begin the process of introducing free GP care. It is true what...

General Practitioner Services (16 May 2012)

Róisín Shortall: As I outlined, in situations where people are dying, special arrangements are in place to provide medical card cover, details of which have been circulated to all Members of this House.

General Practitioner Services (16 May 2012)

Róisín Shortall: Let us be clear about that.

General Practitioner Services (16 May 2012)

Róisín Shortall: The Government is committed to introducing free GP care within its term and it will be over a four-year period. The issue is the phasing of that and identifying the best way in order that we can do it in a controlled way to ensure the budget does not run out of control and the system is geared up. We are aware that primary care is underdeveloped. We want to see more GPs involved and more...

General Practitioner Services (16 May 2012)

Róisín Shortall: On the bigger questions about funding and the model, as Deputy Ó Caoláin will be aware, the Minister, Deputy Reilly, established the UHI implementation group earlier this year. That expert group, drawn from a wide range of expertise in different fields, has been tasked with drawing up a White Paper on UHI, and the aim is to have that White Paper before the end of the year. Separately, I...

General Practitioner Services (16 May 2012)

Róisín Shortall: It will be a four-step process at least.

Prescription Charges (16 May 2012)

Róisín Shortall: Who?

Mental Health Services (16 May 2012)

Róisín Shortall: I thank the Deputy for raising this important issue that poses challenges for us a country. I hope we will all agree on tackling this issue in a meaningful way in the coming months. The finding to which the Deputy refers comes from a joint Headstrong/UCD survey entitled '"My World", which interviewed more than 14,000 young people between the ages of 12 and 25, the objective of which was to...

Mental Health Services (16 May 2012)

Róisín Shortall: There is no doubting we have an unhealthy relationship with alcohol in this country. There is a cultural problem with alcohol and we must address this matter in a comprehensive way. That is why the strategy was drawn up and we are now working on implementing different aspects of that strategy. It is my intention to bring a memo to Government before the summer to provide for a number of...

Medical Cards (16 May 2012)

Róisín Shortall: I thank the Deputy for raising this issue as it provides me with an opportunity to report on what is taking place in the processing of medical card applications. Members will be aware that a decision was made some years ago to centralise the processing of all medical card applications. This was to be done on a phased basis. Last July a decision was taken by the HSE to centralise the...

Medical Cards (16 May 2012)

Róisín Shortall: While a good deal of progress has been made in recent months in clearing the backlog, glitches remain in the system. There are particular difficulties with document handling and filing and these must be ironed out fully. We are working on these issues and there is now a good quality control system in place. I accept the Deputy's point that sometimes it is easier to start from scratch....

Written Answers — Long-Term Illness Scheme: Long-Term Illness Scheme (16 May 2012)

Róisín Shortall: I propose to take Questions Nos. 14 and 19 together. There are no plans to extend the list of conditions covered by the Long Term Illness Scheme. Under the Drug Payment Scheme, no individual or family pays more than €132 per calendar month towards the cost of approved prescribed medicines. The scheme significantly reduces the cost burden for families and individuals incurring ongoing...

Written Answers — Pharmacy Services: Pharmacy Services (16 May 2012)

Róisín Shortall: Shortages of essential medicines are currently a cause of concern not just in Ireland but throughout Europe and the rest of the world. It is a global problem affecting health systems in all countries and impacting on patients world-wide. Medicines shortages can be the result of one, several or any combination of factors throughout the pharmaceutical supply chain such as manufacturing...

Written Answers — Medical Cards: Medical Cards (16 May 2012)

Róisín Shortall: I propose to take Questions Nos. 32 and 55 together. Under the Health Act 2008, automatic entitlement to a medical card for persons aged 70 and over ended on 31st December 2008. With effect from 1st January 2009, the income thresholds for those aged 70 and over are €700 (gross) per week (€36,500 per year) for a single person and €1,400 (gross) per week (€73,000 per year) for a...

Written Answers — General Medical Services Scheme: General Medical Services Scheme (16 May 2012)

Róisín Shortall: The Programme for Government provides for the introduction of a new General Medical Services (GMS) contract with General Practitioners (GPs) with an increased emphasis on the management of chronic conditions such as diabetes and cardiovascular conditions. It is envisaged that the new contract, when finalised, will focus on prevention and will include a requirement for GPs to provide care as...

Written Answers — Medical Cards: Medical Cards (16 May 2012)

Róisín Shortall: I acknowledge that a number of difficulties arose with the processing of medical cards at the centralised application office in the final quarter of last year. These difficulties gave rise to a very large backlog and long delays for both new applicants and medical card renewals. A number of factors gave rise to these problems including, · the processing of medical cards was centralised...