Results 13,901-13,920 of 21,514 for speaker:Caoimhghín Ó Caoláin

Written Answers — Department of Health: Sunbed Usage (11 Jul 2013)

Caoimhghín Ó Caoláin: 217. To ask the Minister for Health the date on which the Public Health (Sunbeds) Bill will be published; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [33942/13]

Written Answers — Department of Health: Primary Care Centres Provision (11 Jul 2013)

Caoimhghín Ó Caoláin: 247. To ask the Minister for Health if he will provide in full, detail of the process for the awarding of the contract for a primary care centre (details supplied) in County Dublin; if the latest contract was agreed as a result of a fully competitive tendering process, the detail of same; the current stage of development; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [34122/13]

Health (Amendment) Bill 2013 [Seanad]: Committee Stage (16 Jul 2013)

Caoimhghín Ó Caoláin: No.

Health (Amendment) Bill 2013 [Seanad]: Committee Stage (16 Jul 2013)

Caoimhghín Ó Caoláin: I again wish to record my opposition to the passage of this Bill. I intend to oppose vigorously the measures contained within it. It is a major disappointment. Only now is there an emerging realisation on the part of a great number of the citizenry of what is incorporated in these proposals. I oppose the Minister's intent. It is regrettable that the only laudable aspect of the Bill is...

Health (Amendment) Bill 2013 [Seanad]: Committee Stage (16 Jul 2013)

Caoimhghín Ó Caoláin: What is the logic of commencing these sections on 1 September, but not others? In the Department's consideration, what is the demarcation between one set of sections and others as regards their coming into effect? In the course of his Second Stage address, the Minister indicated that charging insurers the full cost of private patients in public hospitals might not be introduced or...

Health (Amendment) Bill 2013 [Seanad]: Committee Stage (16 Jul 2013)

Caoimhghín Ó Caoláin: The Minister has stated that following positive engagement with the private health insurers he proposes holding the position until 1 January 2014. The Minister may correct me if I am wrong but as I understand it, section 13 applies specifically to those who hold private health insurance. Subsection (2) of the amendment proposes that the sections shall come into operation on 1 September...

Health (Amendment) Bill 2013 [Seanad]: Committee Stage (16 Jul 2013)

Caoimhghín Ó Caoláin: I do not wish to be confrontational and am merely seeking to have an issue clarified. Is the Minister proposing by way of a supplementary amendment to change the implementation date from 1 September 2013 to 1 January 2014? Is that the net effect of the Leas-Cheann Comhairle's notification?

Health (Amendment) Bill 2013 [Seanad]: Committee Stage (16 Jul 2013)

Caoimhghín Ó Caoláin: That clarifies that point.

Health (Amendment) Bill 2013 [Seanad]: Committee Stage (16 Jul 2013)

Caoimhghín Ó Caoláin: I move amendment No. 2:In page 4, to delete lines 1 to 4 and substitute the following:"(b) In administering the Scheme the Executive shall ensure that it is user-friendly and that applicants are assisted at every stage in the making of their applications and that application procedures are as straightforward and comprehensible as possible.".".The proposition in subsection (3)(b) did not...

Health (Amendment) Bill 2013 [Seanad]: Committee Stage (16 Jul 2013)

Caoimhghín Ó Caoláin: The Minister starts by rejecting the case I have made and then after a trickle of sentences uses the language of "at this time" and "if in the future". This is exactly what I have described. It is provision for the privatisation of the administration of this scheme or any part of it. No amount of wriggling will get away from the fact that the only reason this is here is that consideration...

Health (Amendment) Bill 2013 [Seanad]: Committee Stage (16 Jul 2013)

Caoimhghín Ó Caoláin: There is no getting away from the fact that the subsection I have referred to and that I seek to amend is a provision for privatisation, either in whole or in part, of the scheme's administration, which is currently within the public service ambit and which, I strongly believe, should remain there. I support the review of the overall administration to improve it and make it more...

Health (Amendment) Bill 2013 [Seanad]: Committee Stage (16 Jul 2013)

Caoimhghín Ó Caoláin: I move amendment No. 3:In page 5, line 36, to delete “7.5 per cent” and substitute “5 per cent”.My amendments seek to delete the Minister's proposal to increase the asset contribution to 7.5% and retain the current position of 5%. I do this with some reluctance. An increase from 5% to 7.5% is a 50% increase on the calculable asset value of the recipient of the...

Health (Amendment) Bill 2013 [Seanad]: Committee Stage (16 Jul 2013)

Caoimhghín Ó Caoláin: Sadly and despite all his protestations, which I cited in respect of amendment No. 2, one did not expect the Minister to do so. Talk about performing a volte-face. The position he holds now is a complete reversal of that which he held when he was on the Opposition benches. Essentially, he is a cheerleader for all he opposed when he was an Opposition spokesperson on health. His position is...

Health (Amendment) Bill 2013 [Seanad]: Committee Stage (Resumed) and Remaining Stages (16 Jul 2013)

Caoimhghín Ó Caoláin: Before the Minister replies to the contributions Deputy Naughten and I made, I again emphasise the seriousness of the proposed increase from 5% to 7.5% of the net asset value calculable in terms of the individual's contribution under the terms of the nursing home support scheme. It is wholly inappropriate and excessive. Irrespective of current market values, there is no provision to reverse...

Health (Amendment) Bill 2013 [Seanad]: Committee Stage (Resumed) and Remaining Stages (16 Jul 2013)

Caoimhghín Ó Caoláin: I move amendment No. 4:In page 6, line 15, to delete “7.5 per cent” and substitute “5 per cent”.

Health (Amendment) Bill 2013 [Seanad]: Committee Stage (Resumed) and Remaining Stages (16 Jul 2013)

Caoimhghín Ó Caoláin: I move amendment No. 5:In page 7, line 40, to delete “7.5 per cent” and substitute “5 per cent”.

Health (Amendment) Bill 2013 [Seanad]: Committee Stage (Resumed) and Remaining Stages (16 Jul 2013)

Caoimhghín Ó Caoláin: I move amendment No. 6:In page 8, line 23, to delete “7.5 per cent” and substitute “5 per cent”.

Health (Amendment) Bill 2013 [Seanad]: Committee Stage (Resumed) and Remaining Stages (16 Jul 2013)

Caoimhghín Ó Caoláin: While I will be opposing both sections 11 and 12, I will deal with section 11 first. When the nursing homes support scheme was introduced, Sinn Féin and others expressed concern that it removed the universal eligibility for a place in a public nursing home as provided for under the Health Act 1970 and this Bill reinforces the position. This is a serious matter because it is drawing...

Health (Amendment) Bill 2013 [Seanad]: Committee Stage (Resumed) and Remaining Stages (16 Jul 2013)

Caoimhghín Ó Caoláin: I can assure the Minister that neither I nor my party would countenance those charges applying irrespective of the income stream of individuals. We believe in universal healthcare and its provision on the basis of need. We believe in a progressive form of taxation that will provide for these services. A wealth tax is exactly that, where people who are in a position to pay more should pay...

Health (Amendment) Bill 2013 [Seanad]: Committee Stage (Resumed) and Remaining Stages (16 Jul 2013)

Caoimhghín Ó Caoláin: Of course the Minister resorts to silly nonsense when he no longer has any cogent argument. Nobody ever suggested a wealth tax was the panacea for all our economic woes and financial ills; far from it. It is part of a package of measures which we have consistently commended to a series of Governments. It is well-documented and well-costed, not by Sinn Féin but by the Department of...