Results 13,521-13,540 of 40,330 for speaker:Leo Varadkar

Written Answers — Department of Health: Medicinal Products Prices (25 Feb 2015)

Leo Varadkar: Decisions on pricing and reimbursement of pharmaceutical products within public health systems are a national competence for EU Member States. However, the issue of pricing and reimbursement of medicines has been the subject of recent discussion at an EU level. The Council of the European Union issued conclusions in December 2014 on the issue of innovation for the benefit of patients...

Written Answers — Department of Health: Health Services Staff Data (25 Feb 2015)

Leo Varadkar: The Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform announced in budget 2014 that he intended to delegate greater autonomy to Departments and Agencies to manage their own staffing levels. The change from the application of a rigid employment control framework to one operating strictly within allocated pay frameworks allows for recruitment where it is determined that this can achieve more...

Written Answers — Department of Health: Hospital Beds Data (25 Feb 2015)

Leo Varadkar: As this is a service matter, I have asked the HSE to respond to you directly. If you have not received a reply from the HSE within 15 working days please contact my Private Office and my officials will follow the matter up with them.

Written Answers — Department of Health: Hospitals Building Programme (25 Feb 2015)

Leo Varadkar: The HSE is developing a substantial infrastructure project at Naas General Hospital which includes an endoscopy unit. The proposed project will be a two storey build. The oncology unit and the physical medicine department which includes physiotherapy, occupational therapy and speech therapy will be accommodated on the ground floor adjacent to the main concourse and out-patients. The...

Written Answers — Department of Health: Treatment Benefit Scheme (25 Feb 2015)

Leo Varadkar: The EU Directive on Patients’ Rights in Cross-Border Healthcare (Directive 2011/24) provides rules for the reimbursement to patients of the cost of receiving treatment abroad, where the patient would be entitled to such treatment in their home Member State and supplements the rights that patients already have under EU Regulation 883/04 on the co-ordination of social security schemes....

Written Answers — Department of Health: Obesity Strategy (25 Feb 2015)

Leo Varadkar: The Special Action Group on Obesity (SAGO) has been established, comprising representatives from the Department of Health, the Department of Children and Youth Affairs, the Department of Education and Skills, the Food Safety Authority of Ireland and safefood to examine and progress a number of issues to address the problem of obesity, in both adults and children. The Special Action Group on...

Seanad: Commencement Matters: Nursing and Midwifery Board of Ireland (25 Feb 2015)

Leo Varadkar: The Senator did not hold me up, as I have just come from the Dáil. I am the full-time parliamentary spokesperson for the HSE on Wednesday, so I will return to the Dáil and the Seanad at least once more today.

Seanad: Commencement Matters: Nursing and Midwifery Board of Ireland (25 Feb 2015)

Leo Varadkar: I thank the Senator for raising this matter. As he may be aware, the Nursing and Midwifery Board of Ireland, NMBI, voted on 17 September 2014 to increase the annual retention fee of each registered nurse or midwife to €150 from €100. The annual retention fee in 2013 was €88. The registration fee is set by the NMBI, which is a self-funding organisation. I recognise...

Seanad: Commencement Matters: Nursing and Midwifery Board of Ireland (25 Feb 2015)

Leo Varadkar: The Senator knows this but it is important to put on the record that the main service the nursing and midwifery board provides is to the public and to patients. It is not there to service the interests of nurses and midwives per se, nor is it a trade union or staff association. It exists to protect patients and ensure fitness to practise. It hears complaints, such as those against the...

Seanad: Commencement Matters: Nursing and Midwifery Board of Ireland (25 Feb 2015)

Leo Varadkar: I agree that the board also has a role in advocacy and it is not only concerned with fitness to practise One of the aspects of the legislation I am about to commence deals with exactly that subject, namely, competence assurance. There is, however, a cost associated with that and the cost will have to be met.

Seanad: Health Services: Motion (25 Feb 2015)

Leo Varadkar: I support the Government amendment and oppose the motion. Senators Thomas Bryne and Marc MacSharry asked about the actions that had been taken. It is possible to explain what is going on, analyse it and act at the same time. Fianna Fáil Members may, however, find it impossible to explain, analyse and act at the same time, but there are those of us on this side of the House who do not...

Seanad: Health Services: Motion (25 Feb 2015)

Leo Varadkar: There is great variation among the hospitals. There are four hospitals in which nobody is waiting for more than nine hours on a trolley. They are St. James’s, Kerry, Navan and Cavan. There are others hospitals in which there is very severe overcrowding, such as Beaumont Hospital where more than 24 patients have been on trolleys for more than nine hours and there is a similar...

Seanad: Health Services: Motion (25 Feb 2015)

Leo Varadkar: It requires much more than that. The reasons for overcrowding vary. Some hospitals put it down to problems with delayed discharges, others to a difficulty recruiting and retaining senior medical staff or a lack of acute beds. Experience has taught us that it is not just a matter of delayed discharges, staffing or skill levels, hospital avoidance, patient flow, overall management or...

Seanad: Health Services: Motion (25 Feb 2015)

Leo Varadkar: The target remains but I need to be very frank about this. There are a few sub-specialties where it is going to be very difficult. It is not just a matter of money in those cases, but one of specialists and theatre time.

Seanad: Health Services: Motion (25 Feb 2015)

Leo Varadkar: The 20-week target remains. Hospitals must adhere to chronological scheduling and observation of guidelines drawn up by the national clinical programmes as well as improving efficiency in the management of referrals and reducing the number of unnecessary return appointments. Rather than the current situation whereby a consultant or his or her staff sees one new patient for every 2.6 repeat...

Seanad: Health Services: Motion (25 Feb 2015)

Leo Varadkar: However, now Fianna Fáil says it is underfunded. It certainly did not think so last year. It shows how much things can change dynamically. I accept that Deputy Micheál Martin did some very good work with the smoking ban as Minister for Health, but it is difficult to take some of the shrill criticisms he makes sometimes given that he should know how difficult health is. Of...

Seanad: Health Services: Motion (25 Feb 2015)

Leo Varadkar: Since December, we have done everything possible to alleviate the current problems in health. More than 1,000 beds have been reopened or freed up but the demand for health care created by our rising and aging population means that the service is still struggling to meet that demand. While the actions we have taken may have alleviated the pressure temporarily, they are not a sustainable or...

Topical Issue Debate: Respite Care Services (26 Feb 2015)

Leo Varadkar: I thank Deputies Flanagan and Creighton for raising this issue. I am replying on behalf of the Minister of State, Deputy Kathleen Lynch. A key objective of the Government's health policy is to support people to live in dignity and independence in their own homes and communities for as long as possible. Carers are vital to the achievement of this objective and are considered the backbone...

Topical Issue Debate: Respite Care Services (26 Feb 2015)

Leo Varadkar: The carers' forum is operated by the Department of Social Protection and the HSE takes part in it, for obvious reasons, but the Department of Health does not operate it. The same applies to the carers' strategy, which is led by the Tánaiste and Minister for Social Protection. It would be wrong of me, therefore, to give an update or a report on it, given that I was not present and it...

Topical Issue Debate: Respite Care Services (26 Feb 2015)

Leo Varadkar: I am sure all sorts of issues relating to domiciliary care and respite care grants and so on were raised. I would expect that to be the case. I am aware of one or two cases of people in my constituency who have not been able to get respite care. It often happens because emergency residential care is required for someone else. That, I suppose, is the nature of these things. There are...