Results 10,821-10,840 of 24,635 for speaker:Mary Harney

Written Answers — Cancer Incidence: Cancer Incidence (27 Jun 2007)

Mary Harney: The aim of the National Cancer Control Strategy, which was published in June 2006, is to reduce our cancer incidence, morbidity and mortality rates relative to other Member States of the European Union. This Government is committed to investing significantly in the implementation of the Strategy to build on the improvements we have made in recent years, particularly the improvements in...

Written Answers — Hospital Staff: Hospital Staff (27 Jun 2007)

Mary Harney: My Department has not issued guidelines on the nursing and midwifery complements for maternity hospitals. Subject to overall parameters set by Government the Health Service Executive has the responsibility for determining the composition of its staffing complement. In this regard, it is a matter for the HSE to manage and deploy its human resources to best meet the requirements of its Annual...

Written Answers — Hospital Services: Hospital Services (27 Jun 2007)

Mary Harney: I propose to take Questions Nos. 80 and 87 together. Operational responsibility for the management and delivery of health and personal social services is a matter for the Health Service Executive (HSE) and funding for all health services has been provided as part of its overall Vote. The HSE monitors the level of elective activity in each acute hospital. A month on month comparison of...

Written Answers — Nursing Home Inspections: Nursing Home Inspections (27 Jun 2007)

Mary Harney: The well-being of older people living in nursing homes is of critical concern. Formal standards are a key requirement for inspection and registration. The present standards for nursing homes are set out in the 1993 Care and Welfare Regulations and the Health Service Executive (HSE) inspects private nursing homes on the basis of these standards. In 2006 a HSE Working Group produced a...

Written Answers — Health Repayment Scheme: Health Repayment Scheme (27 Jun 2007)

Mary Harney: The health repayment scheme was launched in August 2006 and is administered by the Health Service Executive (HSE) in conjunction with the appointed Scheme Administrator KPMG/McCann Fitzgerald. The position at 15th June, 2007 was that 3,200 offers of repayment, with a value of approximately €60m have been issued by the scheme administrator. Arising from these offers approximately 1,800...

Written Answers — Health Service Staff: Health Service Staff (27 Jun 2007)

Mary Harney: I propose to take Questions Nos. 84, 90, 101, 106 and 178 together. The independent chairman of the negotiations, Mr Mark Connaughton SC., has put forward proposals for a Framework Agreement between the employing authorities in the health service and consultants. I have recently met with the organisations representing the consultants, the Irish Hospital Consultants Association and the Irish...

Written Answers — Medical Cards: Medical Cards (27 Jun 2007)

Mary Harney: The Programme for Government commits, in the context of the application and assessment process for a medical card or GP visit card, to a doubling of the income limit eligibility of parents of children under 6 years of age. My Department is at present considering the steps required to enable this commitment to be implemented. As is normal practice, the timeframe for implementing the Programme...

Written Answers — Infectious Diseases: Infectious Diseases (27 Jun 2007)

Mary Harney: MRSA is not a notifiable disease. The Health Surveillance Centre of the HSE collects data on MRSA but this would not be regarded as a comprehensive national surveillance system. However, key personnel have now been employed by the HSE in this area and it is expected that a national hospital HCAI surveillance system will be in place in the near future. This will provide inter hospital...

Written Answers — Northern Ireland Issues: Northern Ireland Issues (27 Jun 2007)

Mary Harney: The Research, EU and International Unit in my Department has responsibility for overseeing and coordinating North/South co-operation in the health sector and for direct liaison with the Department of Health, Social Services and Public Safety, DHSSPS. There is regular on-going contact between officials from the Unit and their counterparts in the DHSSPS. to ensure that co-operation continues...

Written Answers — Health Services: Health Services (27 Jun 2007)

Mary Harney: I propose to take Questions Nos. 89, 128, 149 and 171 together. The Primary Care Strategy aims to develop services in the community to give people direct access to integrated multi-disciplinary teams of general practitioners, nurses, home helps, physiotherapists, occupational therapists and others. It has been estimated that up to 95% of people's health and social services needs can be...

Written Answers — Mental Health Services: Mental Health Services (27 Jun 2007)

Mary Harney: "A Vision for Change" the Report of the Expert Group on Mental Health Policy, which was launched in January 2006, recommends that mental health promotion programmes should focus on those interventions known to enhance protective factors and decrease risk factors for developing mental health problems. During 2006, the National Office for Suicide Prevention progressed planning for an all-island...

Written Answers — Health Service Reform: Health Service Reform (27 Jun 2007)

Mary Harney: In March 2007 the Comptroller and Auditor General produced a report on the operation of the medical consultants' contract. The report found that there was limited follow-through on the obligations set out in the contract concerning clinical audit. The report indicated that consultants have a pivotal role to play in this area and consequently future contractual arrangements should address the...

Written Answers — Health Services: Health Services (27 Jun 2007)

Mary Harney: Under Section 37 of the Health Act, 2004, the Health Service Executive must submit a copy of the Annual Report to my Department within 21 days of its adoption by the Board. The Annual Report was submitted in line with this legislation on 11 May, 2007. Under Section 37 (4) of the Health Act, 2004, it is my responsibility to 'ensure that copies of the Annual Report are laid before each House...

Written Answers — Departmental Investigations: Departmental Investigations (27 Jun 2007)

Mary Harney: The investigation by the Health Information and Quality Authority, HIQA, into the care provided by the HSE to the named individual commenced earlier this month. While the exact duration of the investigation cannot be fixed, it is predicted at this stage that HIQA will complete their Report by October 2007. In the case of the second person named by the Deputy it has not yet been decided...

Written Answers — Health Service Staff: Health Service Staff (27 Jun 2007)

Mary Harney: I wish to state at the outset that, by the end of this year, there will be substantially more staff working in delivering front-line health care services than at the start. It is a long-standing feature of the public service that both pay levels and serving numbers have been subject to a range of control mechanisms to manage Exchequer costs. The Government needs to have available to it a...

Written Answers — Cancer Screening Programme: Cancer Screening Programme (27 Jun 2007)

Mary Harney: I propose to take Questions Nos. 96, 127, 141 and 172 together. The Deputies' questions relate to the management and delivery of health and personal social services, which are the responsibility of the Health Service Executive under the Health Act 2004. Accordingly, my Department has requested the Parliamentary Affairs Division of the Executive to respond directly to the Deputies in...

Written Answers — Hospital Accommodation: Hospital Accommodation (27 Jun 2007)

Mary Harney: The Deputy may wish to know that while the main emphasis will continue to be on providing supports that help older people to remain in their own home for as long as possible, additional long-stay residential places will be required in the coming years to meet the needs of an ageing population. Last year, the HSE, in conjunction with Prospectus, undertook a Needs Assessment of bed capacity...

Written Answers — Medical Cards: Medical Cards (27 Jun 2007)

Mary Harney: Details of the numbers of medical card and GP visit card holders are provided to my Department each month by the Health Service Executive. The figures are provided on a net basis showing the balance after new cards have been issued and other cards, as appropriate, have been deleted from the Executive's database e.g. following a review of an applicant's circumstances. As of 1st June 2007,...

Written Answers — Health Services: Health Services (27 Jun 2007)

Mary Harney: In line with commitments made in the Health Strategy 2001, Quality and Fairness — 'A Health System For You', work is underway on a new legislative framework to provide for clear statutory provisions on eligibility and entitlement for health and personal social services. The aim is to produce a clear set of statutory provisions that ensure equity and transparency and to bring the system up...

Written Answers — Departmental Expenditure: Departmental Expenditure (27 Jun 2007)

Mary Harney: I propose to take Questions Nos. 100 and 139 together. The final out-turn on Vote expenditure for the Health Service Executive, in 2006, shows a capital saving of €114m of which €42m was used to offset a revenue overspend and a further €47m was used to offset a shortfall in Appropriations-in-Aid. This left a balance of €25m to be surrendered to the Exchequer. The Health Service...