Results 1,121-1,140 of 4,810 for speaker:Liam Twomey

Medical Practitioners Bill 2007: Second Stage (23 Feb 2007)

Liam Twomey: There are doctors who should not be practising medicine and it is important we remove them from involvement in the care of patients. I hoped to hear the Minister indicate in her contribution the number of doctors she feels should not be practising medicine and the number of complaints received by the Medical Council that have had serious consequences for patients. Many of the complaints...

Medical Practitioners Bill 2007: Second Stage (23 Feb 2007)

Liam Twomey: Patients are still dying from MRSA in our hospitals and the HSE, which the Minister has put in charge of our health services, has only draft guidelines to deal with the issue. MRSA is not something that happened today or yesterday. The death of Mr. P.J. Walsh at Monaghan General Hospital was also described as a systems failure, but it was, in some respects, a result of the failure of the...

Medical Practitioners Bill 2007: Second Stage (23 Feb 2007)

Liam Twomey: I think they did because they met him.

Medical Practitioners Bill 2007: Second Stage (23 Feb 2007)

Liam Twomey: In any case, they exonerated Dr. Neary and that was wrong. If those guys think that they are getting a bad run of it in the media or from some of their own colleagues, they brought it upon themselves because they went there as experts and their role changed. Subsequently, those three individuals were censured by the fitness to practise committee of the Medical Council, but the Medical...

Medical Practitioners Bill 2007: Second Stage (23 Feb 2007)

Liam Twomey: Believe it or not, the priest asked the congregation to pray for democracy.

Medical Practitioners Bill 2007: Second Stage (23 Feb 2007)

Liam Twomey: I think he realises how delicate democracy can be. Fianna Fáil has been in power for 18 of the past 20 years and that party does not particularly care about what is being discussed here, as is evident from the fact that none of its members is here this morning. Fianna Fáil is more interested in controlling the organisations that give leadership. It controlled the unions, the local...

Medical Practitioners Bill 2007: Second Stage (23 Feb 2007)

Liam Twomey: I hope so. In fact, if I were Minister for Health——

Medical Practitioners Bill 2007: Second Stage (23 Feb 2007)

Liam Twomey: ——I would not like to have that sort of a power because absolute power is always abused. I do not mind if the Medical Council has a lay majority, but it must not have direct linkage with Government which is bad for patient care in the long term. The Minister has been long enough in politics to know that we need a strong independent Medical Council. It does not matter whether the council...

Medical Practitioners Bill 2007: Second Stage (23 Feb 2007)

Liam Twomey: Would the Minister blame me after watching him for four years?

Medical Practitioners Bill 2007: Second Stage (23 Feb 2007)

Liam Twomey: I am talking about a Minister introducing termination of pregnancies.

Medical Practitioners Bill 2007: Second Stage (23 Feb 2007)

Liam Twomey: If in the future a Minister issued such a directive to the Medical Council, what would be the position in terms of general policy? The Minister is including many such provisions.

Medical Practitioners Bill 2007: Second Stage (23 Feb 2007)

Liam Twomey: We will wait and see because the Minister might believe she could override them. A more important and immediate issue, on which the Minister has not touched, is that of competence assurance, about which I have asked her on many occasions in parliamentary questions before this Bill was drafted but she has never indicated her position. How will it work? The Minister stated she would provide...

Medical Practitioners Bill 2007: Second Stage (23 Feb 2007)

Liam Twomey: It cannot be voluntary.

Medical Practitioners Bill 2007: Second Stage (23 Feb 2007)

Liam Twomey: It is but the only people who engage in voluntary schemes——

Medical Practitioners Bill 2007: Second Stage (23 Feb 2007)

Liam Twomey: There is no point in the Minister talking about what she intends because she should know exactly how she will proceed.

Medical Practitioners Bill 2007: Second Stage (23 Feb 2007)

Liam Twomey: The scheme in operation is the simplest in the world because it only applies to general practitioners. It is relatively easy to competence-assure them. How will one competence-assure neurosurgeons, cardiothorastic surgeons, haematologists, pathologists and orthopaedic surgeons? How can I be assured the Minister is protecting patients? She should set up a patient safety authority, as Fine...

Medical Practitioners Bill 2007: Second Stage (23 Feb 2007)

Liam Twomey: It changes too often.

Medical Practitioners Bill 2007: Second Stage (23 Feb 2007)

Liam Twomey: Things can change.

Medical Practitioners Bill 2007: Second Stage (23 Feb 2007)

Liam Twomey: What is the cost of implementing the scheme?

Medical Practitioners Bill 2007: Second Stage (23 Feb 2007)

Liam Twomey: That figure does not cover carrying out the competence assurance scheme.