Results 1,141-1,160 of 24,635 for speaker:Mary Harney

Written Answers — Health Services: Health Services (10 Feb 2005)

Mary Harney: The Health Act 2004 provided for the Health Service Executive, which was established on 1 January 2005. Under the Act, the executive has the responsibility to manage and deliver, or arrange to be delivered on its behalf, health and personal social services. This includes responsibility for diabetic services. Accordingly, the Department has requested the chief officer for the executive's...

Written Answers — Drug Treatment Programme: Drug Treatment Programme (10 Feb 2005)

Mary Harney: The Health Act 2004 provided for the Health Service Executive, HSE, which was established on 1 January 2005. Under the Act, the executive has the responsibility to manage and deliver, or arrange to be delivered on its behalf, health and personal social services. This includes responsibility for the delivery of drug treatment services. Under the methadone scheme, there is a system in place...

Written Answers — Health Reports: Health Reports (10 Feb 2005)

Mary Harney: I am aware of the report to which the Deputy refers. Section six of the report comments on the implementation of the National Economic and Social Forum report on equity of access to hospital care. The National Economic and Social Forum fourth periodic report raises several issues, mainly about equity of access to hospital care, in particular the "public private mix" in hospital care. The...

Written Answers — Cancer Strategy: Cancer Strategy (10 Feb 2005)

Mary Harney: The national cancer forum is finalising a new national cancer strategy which is expected to be completed in the spring. The forum, a multidisciplinary group of experts in cancer care, has conducted an extensive consultation process with professional bodies, voluntary organisations and the general public. In developing an organisational model for the delivery of cancer treatment services, the...

Written Answers — Ambulance Service: Ambulance Service (10 Feb 2005)

Mary Harney: The Health Act 2004 provided for the Health Service Executive, which was established on 1 January 2005. Under the Act, the executive has the responsibility to manage and deliver, or arrange to be delivered on its behalf, health and personal social services. This includes responsibility for the provision of ambulance services. Accordingly, my Department has requested the chief officer for the...

Written Answers — Health Services: Health Services (10 Feb 2005)

Mary Harney: The Health Act 2004 provided for the Health Service Executive, which was established on 1 January 2005. Under the Act, the executive has the responsibility to manage and deliver, or arrange to be delivered on its behalf, health and personal social services. This includes responsibility for the provision of health centres. Accordingly, my Department has requested the chief officer for the...

Written Answers — Medical Cards: Medical Cards (10 Feb 2005)

Mary Harney: The Health Act 2004 provided for the Health Service Executive, which was established on 1 January 2005. Under the Act, the executive has the responsibility to manage and deliver, or arrange to be delivered on its behalf, health and personal social services. This includes responsibility for the assessment of applications for medical cards. Accordingly, my Department has requested the chief...

Written Answers — Hospital Charges: Hospital Charges (10 Feb 2005)

Mary Harney: The Health Act 2004 provided for the Health Service Executive, which was established on 1 January 2005. Under the Act, the executive has the responsibility to manage and deliver, or arrange to be delivered on its behalf, health and personal social services. This includes responsibility in relation to hospital charges. My Department has requested the chief officer for the executive's...

Written Answers — Health Service Staff: Health Service Staff (10 Feb 2005)

Mary Harney: The public health doctors agreement 2003, signed up to by both management and the Irish Medical Organisation, provides that no future area medical officer vacancies which arise would be filled. The agreement did, however, provide for a substantial increase in the number of directors, specialists and senior medical officers in the public health and community health areas, as well as the...

Written Answers — Vaccination Programme: Vaccination Programme (10 Feb 2005)

Mary Harney: The MMR vaccine protects against measles, mumps and rubella and, in accordance with the recommendations of the immunisation advisory committee of the Royal College of Physicians of Ireland, can be administered to children between 12 and 15 months of age. A vaccine uptake rate of 95% is required to protect children from the diseases concerned and to stop the spread of the diseases in the...

Written Answers — Health Services: Health Services (10 Feb 2005)

Mary Harney: The Health Act 2004 provided for the Health Service Executive, which was established on 1 January 2005. Under the Act, the executive has the responsibility to manage and deliver, or arrange to be delivered on its behalf, health and personal social services. This includes responsibility for home help services. Accordingly, my Department has requested the chief officer for the executive's south...

Written Answers — Health Service Staff: Health Service Staff (10 Feb 2005)

Mary Harney: Regulation of the nursing and midwifery professions, including the setting of requirements and standards in the education programmes for registration, is the statutory responsibility of An Bord Altranais. The board is a broadly representative body. The 29 members include 17 elected by nurses who are representative of all the divisions of the register. In November 2004, the board approved a...

Written Answers — National Treatment Purchase Fund: National Treatment Purchase Fund (10 Feb 2005)

Mary Harney: The Health Act 2004 provided for the Health Service Executive, which was established on 1 January 2005. Under the Act, the executive has the responsibility to manage and deliver, or arrange to be delivered on its behalf, health and personal social services. This includes services for certain patients who are, by arrangement, sent outside the jurisdiction for treatment. Accordingly, my...

Written Answers — Health Services: Health Services (10 Feb 2005)

Mary Harney: The Health Act 2004 provided for the Health Service Executive, which was established on 1 January 2005. Under the Act, the executive has the responsibility to manage and deliver, or arrange to be delivered on its behalf, health and personal social services. This includes responsibility for orthodontic services. The chief officers of the HSE areas have provided the following information for...

Written Answers — Health Reports: Health Reports (10 Feb 2005)

Mary Harney: It has not been possible to provide a response to the question within the time allowed. The information requested is currently being assembled on reports undertaken by my Department and agencies outside the responsibility of the Health Service Executive. The Deputy's question has also been referred to the HSE which will be in contact directly to provide information regarding reports...

Written Answers — Health Service Staff: Health Service Staff (10 Feb 2005)

Mary Harney: I propose to take Questions Nos. 138 and 144 together. The responsibility for the management of the workforce in a given Health Service Executive, HSE, area lies exclusively with the chief officer of that area. However, in order to improve recruitment and retention prospects, my Department has put in place a number of important initiatives to meet the human resource needs of the health...

Written Answers — Health Service Staff: Health Service Staff (10 Feb 2005)

Mary Harney: In the most recent Health Service Employers Agency survey on nursing resources, employers reported that 794 vacancies existed at 30 September 2004. The vacancy rate now stands at 2.34%. This could be considered to be a normal frictional rate, given that there will always be some level of movement due to resignations, retirements and nurses availing of opportunities to change employment and...

Written Answers — Health Service Staff: Health Service Staff (10 Feb 2005)

Mary Harney: There were 33,765 whole-time equivalent nurses employed in the public health service at the end of 2003. Of these, 23,794 were employed in 140 hospitals in the acute, district, psychiatric and geriatric services. I will forward the Deputy a breakdown of the number of nurses by hospital. While my Department does not collect data on employment in private hospitals, it has been estimated by the...

Written Answers — Clinical Indemnity Scheme: Clinical Indemnity Scheme (10 Feb 2005)

Mary Harney: Since taking up my appointment as Minister for Health and Children, I have devoted a considerable amount of time and effort to attempting to resolve this complex and difficult issue. I have had several meetings with the organisations representing consultants. I have also held meetings with the Medical Defence Union and the Medical Protection Society. The MDU has been involved in protracted...

Written Answers — Hospital Services: Hospital Services (10 Feb 2005)

Mary Harney: The Health Act 2004 provided for the Health Service Executive, which was established on 1 January 2005. Under the Act, the executive has the responsibility to manage and deliver, or arrange to be delivered on its behalf, health and personal social services. Services at Peamount Hospital are provided under an arrangement with the executive. However, my Department is advised by the executive's...