Results 12,241-12,260 of 49,836 for speaker:Stephen Donnelly

Written Answers — Department of Health: Nursing Staff (17 Nov 2020)

Stephen Donnelly: The Healthcare Assistance initiative, whereby student nurses and midwives were offered temporary contracts, was in response to the Covid19 outbreak and ceased in August 2020. This initiative was only ever intended as a temporary measure to provide additional support to the national effort. It also offered some protection to the ongoing education of student nurses and midwives as their...

Written Answers — Department of Health: General Practitioner Services (17 Nov 2020)

Stephen Donnelly: General Practitioners are self-employed private practitioners, most of whom have contracts with the HSE to provide services under various public health schemes. There are no plans at present to directly employ general practitioners. The 2019 GP Agreement includes a commitment to undertake a strategic review of GP services within the lifetime of the Agreement, to examine how best to...

Written Answers — Department of Health: General Practitioner Services (17 Nov 2020)

Stephen Donnelly: The Government is aware of the workforce issues currently facing general practice and has implemented a number of measures to improve recruitment and retention in this area. These include changes to the entry provisions to the GMS scheme to accommodate more flexible/shared GMS GP contracts, and to the retirement provisions for GPs under the GMS scheme, allowing GPs to hold GMS contracts...

Written Answers — Department of Health: Health Services Reform (17 Nov 2020)

Stephen Donnelly: I have asked the HSE to respond to the deputy directly.

Written Answers — Department of Health: Health Services Access (17 Nov 2020)

Stephen Donnelly: Addressing health inequalities is a key priority for the Sláintecare Programme.  In relation to initiatives aimed at improving the health of the population and preventing illness, the Healthy Ireland Programme received funding in Budget 2021 specifically targeted at area-based deprivation.  The implementation of this approach requires collaboration across multiple partners in...

Written Answers — Department of Health: Health Insurance (17 Nov 2020)

Stephen Donnelly: The Government Decision (S180/20/10/2544) of 6thOctober 2020 approved the drafting of the Health Insurance (Amendment) Bill 2020 to provide for revised risk equalisation credits and corresponding stamp duty levies on health insurance policies for 2021.  Government approval to publish the Bill is expected shortly, which will facilitate the Bill commencing in the Houses before end-month...

Written Answers — Department of Health: Tobacco Control Measures (17 Nov 2020)

Stephen Donnelly: A General Scheme for a Public Health (Tobacco and Nicotine Inhaling Products) Bill was submitted to the Office of the Parliamentary Counsel in October 2019 following Government approval. The General Scheme was also submitted to the Joint Oireachtas Committee on Health for Pre-Legislative Scrutiny at that time. A first draft of the Bill is awaited from the Office of the...

Written Answers — Department of Health: Assisted Human Reproduction (17 Nov 2020)

Stephen Donnelly: As the Deputy will be aware, the Government approved the drafting of a bill on assisted human reproduction (AHR) and associated areas of research, based on the published General Scheme of the Assisted Human Reproduction Bill.  This comprehensive and far-reaching piece of legislation encompasses the regulation, for the first time in this country, of a wide range of practices, including:...

Written Answers — Department of Health: Legislative Programme (17 Nov 2020)

Stephen Donnelly: It is presumed that the Deputy's question is referring to the forthcoming Health (Adult Safeguarding) Bill, which is, as yet, undated. The aim of this anticipated Bill will be to underpin, as required, a new overarching national policy on adult safeguarding in the health and social care sector, which is currently under development by my Department further to a Government Decision in December...

Written Answers — Department of Health: Legislative Programme (17 Nov 2020)

Stephen Donnelly: Work is progressing on the drafting of the Human Tissue (Transplantation, Post-Mortem, Anatomical Examination and Public Display) Bill in collaboration with the Office of Parliamentary Council.  Pre-Legislative Scrutiny of the General Scheme has been undertaken by the Joint Committee on Health.  It is envisaged that the drafting process will be complete, and...

Written Answers — Department of Health: Legislative Programme (17 Nov 2020)

Stephen Donnelly: The General Scheme of the National Research Ethics Committees Bill was approved by the then government in July 2019.  The purpose of the Bill is to legislatively enable the establishment of a national research ethics committee (REC) framework that will reform and modernise the existing REC framework.  Th effect will be to enhance health research in Ireland and to make Ireland a more...

Written Answers — Department of Health: Legislative Programme (17 Nov 2020)

Stephen Donnelly: My Department continues to progress work on the Patient Safety (Licensing) Bill which will, for the first time introduce a licensing requirement for all hospitals, public and private, and certain designated high-risk activities in the community. The general scheme of the Bill was approved by Government on 12th December 2017. It underwent Pre-Legislative Scrutiny at the Oireachtas Joint...

Written Answers — Department of Health: Legislative Programme (17 Nov 2020)

Stephen Donnelly: Heads of Bill to provide legislative clarity on the issue of deprivation of liberty safeguards are at a relatively advanced stage. A number of complex legal and policy issues which have arisen during the drafting process remain to be resolved.   Work on the Heads of Bill has been paused due to the diversion of resources, as part of the response to COVID-19.

Written Answers — Department of Health: Proposed Legislation (17 Nov 2020)

Stephen Donnelly: Work to develop a General Scheme for a Public Health (Calorie Posting and Workplace Wellbeing) Bill is suspended due to the COVID-19 pandemic. It will be kept under review in the context of the pandemic and available resources.

Written Answers — Department of Health: Proposed Legislation (17 Nov 2020)

Stephen Donnelly: As the Deputy will be aware, the Programme for Government Our Shared Future contains a commitment to “Establish exclusion zones around medical facilities”.   It was originally intended to provide for safe access to termination of pregnancy services in the Health (Regulation of Termination of Pregnancy) Act 2018. However, a number of legal issues were identified which...

Written Answers — Department of Health: Health Services (17 Nov 2020)

Stephen Donnelly: As this is a service matter, I have asked the Health Service Executive to respond directly to the Deputy as soon as possible.

Written Answers — Department of Health: Covid-19 Tests (17 Nov 2020)

Stephen Donnelly: As this is a service matter, I have asked the Health Service Executive to respond to the Deputy directly as soon as possible.

Written Answers — Department of Health: Departmental Budgets (17 Nov 2020)

Stephen Donnelly: The State Claims Agency (SCA) has a statutory remit to manage personal injury claims on behalf of delegated state authorities, including the HSE. In this regard, the SCA arranges for an annual actuarial report to be produced that projects the value of future claims. This information feeds into the Department’s estimates process to identify possible liability for the Department and the...

Written Answers — Department of Health: Covid-19 Tests (17 Nov 2020)

Stephen Donnelly: As this is a service matter, I have asked the Health Service Executive to respond to the deputy directly, as soon as possible

Written Answers — Department of Health: Nursing Staff (17 Nov 2020)

Stephen Donnelly: I recognise the importance of student nurses and midwives completing their essential clinical placements in a safe environment and also recognise the potential hardship that might arise for students on placement due to COVID 19 such as, maintaining part time employment, increased travel and additional accommodation costs.  Student nurses and midwives are not paid for clinical placements...