Results 10,261-10,280 of 24,635 for speaker:Mary Harney

Pharmacy Bill 2007 [Seanad]: Report and Final Stages (4 Apr 2007)

Mary Harney: This debate is taking place at 9.50 p.m. Those of us fortunate enough to live in the Dublin region will be able to travel home tonight, whereas at least two of the Deputies present have probably been away from home for the past couple of days. This is not easy for men or women and much more could be done to make parliamentary structures more family friendly. While such changes could...

Pharmacy Bill 2007 [Seanad]: Report and Final Stages (4 Apr 2007)

Mary Harney: I move amendment No. 6a: In page 13, between lines 43 and 44, to insert the following: "(7) The Minister may not refuse to appoint to the Council a person nominated under paragraph (a) or (b) of subsection (3) or selected under paragraph (f) (as read with subsection (5)) or (g) of subsection (3).".

Pharmacy Bill 2007 [Seanad]: Report and Final Stages (4 Apr 2007)

Mary Harney: With regard to the accounting profession, the supervisory body was established because there are different branches of accountancy which each has regulatory functions. At the tribunals, the role of accountants in signing off on audited accounts was seriously questioned in many cases. It could be argued that if the accountants had done their job, many of the tribunals would not have been...

Pharmacy Bill 2007 [Seanad]: Report and Final Stages (4 Apr 2007)

Mary Harney: It is not in any way the same.

Pharmacy Bill 2007 [Seanad]: Report and Final Stages (4 Apr 2007)

Mary Harney: The purpose of that was to supervise how the bodies operated. The Deputy is not suggesting a supervisory body that will supervise how the Pharmaceutical Society of Ireland or the Medical Council regulate. He is suggesting that we have a body at the level of which the various regulatory bodies would meet. These bodies have very separate functions. One does not need to prescribe in law for...

Pharmacy Bill 2007 [Seanad]: Report and Final Stages (4 Apr 2007)

Mary Harney: Every time there is a problem in this country, people either call for more legislation or some other body. Sometimes we simply need to make the bodies that exist work. This proposal is too prescriptive and bureaucratic.

Pharmacy Bill 2007 [Seanad]: Report and Final Stages (4 Apr 2007)

Mary Harney: We set up a group to consider whether we would have State regulation of accountants or whether we would do something——

Pharmacy Bill 2007 [Seanad]: Report and Final Stages (4 Apr 2007)

Mary Harney: Patient safety is at the heart of all this.

Pharmacy Bill 2007 [Seanad]: Report and Final Stages (4 Apr 2007)

Mary Harney: These bodies must regulate in the public interest. They are not representative bodies for either the doctors or the pharmacists. They exist to regulate the profession in the public interest and to support the profession. They have very separate functions. Perhaps some day we will have one regulatory body for all health care professions.

Pharmacy Bill 2007 [Seanad]: Report and Final Stages (4 Apr 2007)

Mary Harney: The Deputy made this point on Committee Stage last week. It would be extraordinarily bureaucratic, excessively prescriptive and unnecessary. There is sufficient authority for the Pharmaceutical Society of Ireland and the Medical Council to engage with each other. There is no difficulty with that. If we begin legislating and formalising that——

Pharmacy Bill 2007 [Seanad]: Report and Final Stages (4 Apr 2007)

Mary Harney: I am not trying to be unfair to the Deputy as I know he has been helpful but he raised this earlier and I did not agree to it. With regard to consulting, which was raised by Deputy McManus, of course this will happen. Again, I do not believe we need to be prescriptive with regard to who one consults and when one consults them. In fact, as with the Medical Practitioners Bill, there has been...

Pharmacy Bill 2007 [Seanad]: Report and Final Stages (4 Apr 2007)

Mary Harney: I accept the amendment.

Pharmacy Bill 2007 [Seanad]: Report and Final Stages (4 Apr 2007)

Mary Harney: I assure Deputies that consultation is the norm nowadays. Not much can happen without consultation, but there are some areas where it does not happen. We dealt with a health insurance risk equalisation Bill some time ago and there were reasons that there could not be consultation on that matter. Generally speaking, however, apart from occasions when somebody could get an advantage through...

Pharmacy Bill 2007 [Seanad]: Report and Final Stages (4 Apr 2007)

Mary Harney: The argument is the same. Consulting is the norm.

Pharmacy Bill 2007 [Seanad]: Report and Final Stages (4 Apr 2007)

Mary Harney: Amendment No. 11 relates to amendment No. 10 in using "shall" which makes the Minister do something and saying that, before doing so, the Minister should consult with the pharmacy sector. Is that right?

Pharmacy Bill 2007 [Seanad]: Report and Final Stages (4 Apr 2007)

Mary Harney: I gave a recent example off the top of my head in which there was no consultation. There may be times when one would not consult but the norm is to consult. Good practice in the making of legislation and good business in the art of politics mean that people consult. The great strength of this democracy is that we consult with people affected by legislation and listen to their views. One...

Pharmacy Bill 2007 [Seanad]: Report and Final Stages (4 Apr 2007)

Mary Harney: Deputy McManus referred to the late sitting. Many people have worked since 7.30 a.m. or 8 a.m. today and I wish we had a longer period to debate the legislation. However, there is a broad consensus and I do not detect great disagreement about the legislation, as everybody acknowledges the need for it. I gave a commitment, which it was important to honour, to introduce the legislation this...

Pharmacy Bill 2007 [Seanad]: Report and Final Stages (4 Apr 2007)

Mary Harney: I thank the House and, in particular, the Bills Office for facilitating the speedy passage of this legislation. It is historic from the perspective of the pharmacy profession and pharmacists and I thank everybody involved. I am sorry it was so rushed but we have produced a good piece of modern legislation for the regulation of the profession and pharmacies.

Written Answers — Hospital Waiting Lists: Hospital Waiting Lists (4 Apr 2007)

Mary Harney: Statutory responsibility for the collation, management and publication of data on waiting times for surgical procedures rests with the National Treatment Purchase Fund (NTPF). My Department has, therefore, asked the Chief Executive of the NTPF to reply directly to the Deputy in relation to the information requested on neurology, urology, ophthalmology and plastic surgery waiting lists. As...

Written Answers — Appointments to State Boards: Appointments to State Boards (4 Apr 2007)

Mary Harney: The information requested by the Deputy is presently being compiled by my Department and will be forwarded to her as soon as it is finalised.