Results 9,541-9,560 of 11,572 for speaker:Mary Butler

Written Answers — Department of Health: Mental Health Services (29 Nov 2023)

Mary Butler: As this is a service matter, I have asked the Health Service Executive to respond directly to the Deputy as soon as possible. As the Deputy may be aware, management and administrative grade staff in the Fórsa union in the HSE commenced industrial action on Friday, 6 October. As a consequence of this industrial action, members in these grades are not engaging with political forums or...

Written Answers — Department of Health: Eating Disorders (29 Nov 2023)

Mary Butler: As this is a service matter, I have asked the Health Service Executive to respond directly to the Deputy as soon as possible. As the Deputy may be aware, management and administrative grade staff in the Fórsa union in the HSE commenced industrial action on Friday, 6 October. As a consequence of this industrial action, members in these grades are not engaging with political forums or...

Written Answers — Department of Health: Health Services Staff (30 Nov 2023)

Mary Butler: As this is a service matter, I have asked the Health Service Executive to respond directly to the Deputy as soon as possible. As the Deputy may be aware, management and administrative grade staff in the Fórsa union in the HSE commenced industrial action on Friday, 6 October. As a consequence of this industrial action, members in these grades are not engaging with political forums or...

Written Answers — Department of Health: Health Service Executive (30 Nov 2023)

Mary Butler: As this is an operational matter, I have asked the Health Service Executive to respond to the Deputy directly, as soon as possible. As the Deputy may be aware, management and administrative grade staff in the Fórsa union in the HSE commenced industrial action on Friday, 6 October. As a consequence of this industrial action, members in these grades are not engaging with political...

Written Answers — Department of Health: Nursing Homes (30 Nov 2023)

Mary Butler: As this is an operational matter, I have asked the Health Service Executive to respond to the Deputy directly, as soon as possible. As the Deputy may be aware, management and administrative grade staff in the Fórsa union in the HSE commenced industrial action on Friday, 6 October. As a consequence of this industrial action, members in these grades are not engaging with political...

An tOrd Gnó - Order of Business (5 Dec 2023)

Mary Butler: I thank the Deputy for his question. It is good to see you back in good health again.

An tOrd Gnó - Order of Business (5 Dec 2023)

Mary Butler: The HSE is actively working with Traveller organisations, providing a variety of supports. I recently met the National Traveller Mental Health Network. I was outside to meet those who were outside. I also met Patrick's parents. I have to commend the bravery of Patrick's parents, Michelle and Pat McDonagh, who allowed the cameras into their home and showed the distress and anxiety that...

Confidence in the Minister for Justice: Motion (5 Dec 2023)

Mary Butler: The party of political opportunism strikes again. Those in Sinn Féin were not so opportunistic back in 2020 when they had the chance to go into government. They chose instead to avoid the responsibility and leave the job of leading the country through a pandemic to someone else, thankfully. Sinn Féin decided they would take the course that benefited them most. They chose to sit...

Seanad: Public Health (Tobacco Products and Nicotine Inhaling Products) Bill 2023: Report and Final Stages (5 Dec 2023)

Mary Butler: I thank all of the Senators for their valuable contributions to the debate on this important Bill. Data from the Global Burden of Disease study shows that the smoking of combustible products remains the biggest single cause of disability and death in Ireland. We have made important progress with this Bill to further reduce those harms with the introduction of a licensing system and the...

Saincheisteanna Tráthúla - Topical Issue Debate: Employment Rights (6 Dec 2023)

Mary Butler: I thank the Deputy on behalf of the Department of Education for the question and for giving me the opportunity to provide the House with an outline of the home tuition scheme, which is an important resource for a small number of children who require this particular support. The home tuition scheme is one of the many ways in which the Department of Education and the National Council for...

Saincheisteanna Tráthúla - Topical Issue Debate: Employment Rights (6 Dec 2023)

Mary Butler: I accept the thrust of the Deputy’s question. It probably does not only sit, as he said, with the Department of Education. It is an example of it. The Department of Social Protection has determined home tutors are engaged under a contract for service and are therefore self-employed and subject to PRSI class 7. The Department of Education continues to keep all these issues under...

Seanad: Nithe i dtosach suíonna - Commencement Matters: Disease Management (6 Dec 2023)

Mary Butler: I thank the Senator for raising this really important issue. As we know, diabetes is a complex and pervasive condition that can require management across the healthcare service. This includes care delivered by general practice and community specialists, hospital inpatient specialist care, as well as self-management support. As we know, many people can live very well with diabetes and can...

Seanad: Nithe i dtosach suíonna - Commencement Matters: Disease Management (6 Dec 2023)

Mary Butler: I would like to see it earlier than 2025. In September 2019, Sláintecare integration funding was allocated to the HSE to design and procure a national diabetes registry and develop a full specification plan for a national diabetes registry. It was intended that the registry would be in place in 2021, but the project was paused, as we can all understand, because of Covid-19. As I said,...

Seanad: Nithe i dtosach suíonna - Commencement Matters: Waste Management (6 Dec 2023)

Mary Butler: The latest report on waste statistics for 2021 from the EPA showed a concerning trend. To be honest, many people were disappointed because, as the Senator said, we would have assumed we were the best in class for packaging recycling because we were for a long time. The concerning trend showed that recycling rates did not keep pace with increasing levels of waste generation. Before I read...

Seanad: Nithe i dtosach suíonna - Commencement Matters: Waste Management (6 Dec 2023)

Mary Butler: The Senator hit the nail on the head when she said we are talking to those who want to do more but there are some people who do not want to do anything or very little. I think it starts in the schools with the green flag initiative. I was delighted when my local school, Portlaw National School, recently acquired its 12th green flag. Many generations of kids in the school have gone through...

Seanad: Nithe i dtosach suíonna - Commencement Matters: School Transport (6 Dec 2023)

Mary Butler: As a mother who always depended on school transport, I can hear the frustration in Senator O’Reilly’s voice. It depends where you live. People in large towns and cities do not realise how important school transport is until their children need it. For 18 years, I have been putting my youngsters on a school bus. They would not have secondary school only for that. I...

Seanad: Nithe i dtosach suíonna - Commencement Matters: School Transport (6 Dec 2023)

Mary Butler: I understand the Senator's frustration. It must be acknowledged that 149,000 children travelled to school on a school bus last year. Many of them had additional needs and were accompanied on the bus. It is an enormous logistical operation. As the country is at full employment, there are issues with getting home care and the same applies with getting bus drivers. We often hear reference...

Seanad: Nithe i dtosach suíonna - Commencement Matters: Hospital Services (6 Dec 2023)

Mary Butler: I thank the Senator for the opportunity to address the House on this important matter. I listened to what he had to say, and I read the response I am about to read yesterday evening. I suppose both of us could write the response at this stage. We have been invested in this with many of our colleagues for a long time. I commend the campaign groups, especially those with lived experience...

Seanad: Nithe i dtosach suíonna - Commencement Matters: Hospital Services (6 Dec 2023)

Mary Butler: It is important to reiterate those 24. For the second cath lab or any lab to open, you have to staff it. Twenty-four staff were funded. They are in place, 22 permanent and two agency, which is fantastic. We are seeing the fruits of that. Both cath labs are open five days per week and the additional hours this provides mean the waiting list for elective procedures in the cath labs is one...

Seanad: Health Insurance (Amendment) Bill 2023: Second and Subsequent Stages (6 Dec 2023)

Mary Butler: I am pleased to have this opportunity to address the House on behalf of the Minister for Health, Deputy Stephen Donnelly, on Second Stage of the Health Insurance (Amendment) Bill 2023. The Bill was published on 16 November and concluded its passage through the Dáil on 29 November. This is an annual, technical Bill, comprising seven sections, all of which are focused on specific areas...