Results 11,021-11,040 of 21,128 for speaker:James Reilly

Written Answers — Department of Health: Hospital Services (18 Dec 2012)

James Reilly: Improving access to outpatient services is the next priority for the Government. Building on work already undertaken by the HSE, the NTPF has now taken over the reporting of outpatient waiting time data. The collation and analysis of outpatient waiting time data in a standardised format will reveal the distribution of long waiters across all hospitals. In the first instance, this will allow...

Written Answers — Department of Health: Cancer Screening Programme (18 Dec 2012)

James Reilly: I propose to take Questions Nos. 643 to 646, inclusive, together. I am pleased to inform the Deputy that the national colorectal screening programme, BowelScreen, commenced in November. The programme has been introduced on a phased basis to men and women between the ages of 60-69 years. When fully implemented the programme will offer free screening to men and women aged 55-74 every two...

Written Answers — Department of Health: Disease Control (18 Dec 2012)

James Reilly: Lyme disease (also known as Lyme borelliosis) is an infection caused by a bacterium called Borrelia burgdorferi which is transmitted to humans by bites from ticks infected with the bacteria. The infection is generally mild affecting only the skin, but can sometimes be more severe involving other organs. Ramblers, campers and those who work in such areas especially if they come into contact...

Written Answers — Department of Health: Hospital Staff (18 Dec 2012)

James Reilly: The HSE National Clinical Programme for Diabetes - which includes the care of children and adolescents with diabetes - was established within the Clinical Strategy and Programmes Directorate. The purpose of the Programme is to define the way diabetic Clinical Services should be delivered, resourced and measured; and a clinician has been appointed to lead on the development of the programme....

Written Answers — Department of Health: Maternal Mortality (18 Dec 2012)

James Reilly: Ireland had the 13th lowest rate of maternal mortality out of 178 countries reporting data. Maternal mortality is a rare occurrence in Ireland. It must be understood that since there are usually fewer than 5 such deaths per year, rates can appear to fluctuate significantly from year to year. For example, an increase in deaths from 2 to 4 in a given year would lead to an apparent 100%...

Written Answers — Department of Health: Hospital Services (18 Dec 2012)

James Reilly: A comprehensive review of maternity and gynaecology services in the greater Dublin area was completed in 2008. The KPMG Independent Review of Maternity and Gynaecology Services in the Greater Dublin area identified the need to increase consultant and midwife staffing levels and recommended the recruitment of additional staff across the three Dublin sites. The staff numbers required, as...

Written Answers — Department of Health: Expert Group on the A, B and C v. Ireland Judgment (18 Dec 2012)

James Reilly: I propose to take Questions Nos. 656 and 657 together. The Deputy will be pleased to hear that the Expert Group on the judgment of the European Court of Human Rights in A, B and C v Ireland submitted its report to me on 13th November and the Government approved its publication following the Cabinet meeting on Tuesday 27th November.

Written Answers — Department of Health: Ministerial Meetings (18 Dec 2012)

James Reilly: The Chief Medical Officer and I meet on a regular basis. The most recent meeting took place on Thursday, 13th December 2012 at a MIN/MAC meeting.

Written Answers — Department of Health: Ministerial Meetings (18 Dec 2012)

James Reilly: I keep in frequent contact with Mr. Tony O'Brien, Director General designate of the HSE and meet with him on a regular basis most recently in the context of a Cabinet Committee on Health meeting held yesterday

Written Answers — Department of Health: Expert Group on the A, B and C v. Ireland Judgment (18 Dec 2012)

James Reilly: I propose to take Questions Nos. 660 and 661 together. The Government today approved the implementation of the judgment of the European Court of Human Rights in the A, B and C v Ireland case by way of legislation with regulations, within the parameters of Article 40.3.3 of the Constitution as interpreted by the Supreme Court in the X case. A wide consultation with relevant stakeholders on...

Written Answers — Department of Health: Cancer Screening Programme (18 Dec 2012)

James Reilly: The BreastCheck Programme became available in all counties at the end of 2009. The Health Information and Quality Authority (HIQA), in its report "The evaluation of the use of resources in the national population-based cancer screening programmes and associated services " in 2009, noted that, based on a literature review, the age range and screening interval adopted by the BreastCheck...

Written Answers — Department of Health: Health Service Staff (18 Dec 2012)

James Reilly: As the Deputy's question relates to service matters, I have arranged for the question to be referred to the Health Service Executive for direct reply to the Deputy.

Written Answers — Department of Health: Departmental Funding (18 Dec 2012)

James Reilly: In 2010 the National Strategy on Domestic, Sexual and Gender-based Violence was published. It aims to provide a framework for sustainable intervention to prevent and effectively respond to domestic, sexual and gender-based violence and is lead by Cosc which is the National Office for the Prevention of Domestic, Sexual and Gender-based Violence. The HSE subsequently published its own Policy...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: Departmental Budgets (19 Dec 2012)

James Reilly: In the region of a €500 million of these savings will be achieved through cost efficiencies and separately through reorganisation under the public service agreement. The majority of savings will have no recourse to front-line activity. However, 2013 will be a challenging year and will require taking a number of tough measures to ensure the most vulnerable are protected. The...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: Departmental Budgets (19 Dec 2012)

James Reilly: The Deputy knows the service plan will be produced and it must come to me within 21 days of the Estimates. That means it will come to me on St. Stephen's Day, or de facto the end of this week. We have had a number of meetings about the issue, with the most recent last night. My colleagues, the Ministers of State, Deputies White and Kathleen Lynch, and I have been actively engaged in the...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: Departmental Budgets (19 Dec 2012)

James Reilly: I agree with the Deputy. For far too long there were too many people who were quite happy to describe the problem but failed to do anything about it. Earlier this year people indicated there would be an inability to keep the budget, alluding to the two issues in particular of drugs and insurance. The insurance matter has been dealt with and the drugs issue has been dealt with...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: Home Help Service (19 Dec 2012)

James Reilly: The Minister of State, Deputy Kathleen Lynch, is currently in the Seanad dealing with equality legislation so I will take this question. The Government policy is to support older people to live in dignity and independence in their homes and communities for as long as possible. This is reflected in the HSE service plan for 2012, which includes various community-based services such as...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: Home Help Service (19 Dec 2012)

James Reilly: I restate for the information of the House that the budget for 2012 will be restored for 2013. Given that the circumstances in individual cases change as needs change, it would be inappropriate to state that the hours of every individual will remain the same next year. As circumstances change, some people will need more hours while others will need fewer hours. In terms of home care...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: Home Help Service (19 Dec 2012)

James Reilly: I am aware of the value of home help and home care services and the need to support people at home. I do not know anybody who wants to go into long-term care before it is necessary to do so. I am also aware that the way in which hospitals are run means people who have finished their acute phase of care are sometimes left in a hospital bed because they do not have anywhere else to go. We...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: Maternal Mortality Rates (19 Dec 2012)

James Reilly: Statistics on the causes of death are based on civil registration and compiled internationally by the World Health Organisation, WHO. In the WHO's most recent world health statistics annual report 2012, Ireland had the 13th lowest rate of maternal mortality out of 178 countries reporting data. Maternal mortality is a rare occurrence in Ireland. It must be understood that since there are...