Results 14,481-14,500 of 24,635 for speaker:Mary Harney

Written Answers — Alcohol Abuse: Alcohol Abuse (13 May 2008)

Mary Harney: The Government is committed to tackling the problems of alcohol misuse in society. Insofar as the Health Sector is concerned, the Health Service Executive is developing protocols for the roll out of brief intervention programmes to detect high risk and harmful drinking in individuals before or shortly after the early signs of alcohol related problems on a pilot basis in the acute hospital...

Written Answers — Water Fluoridation: Water Fluoridation (13 May 2008)

Mary Harney: The Expert Body on Fluorides and Health has recently awarded a contract to UCC to carry out a baseline study to monitor specific effects of amending the level of fluoride in water supplies in Ireland which occurred in July 2007. (The Regulations reduced the level of fluoride in public water supplies to between 0.6 parts per million (ppm) and 0.8 ppm). This baseline study, which will be...

Written Answers — Regulation of Complementary Therapists: Regulation of Complementary Therapists (13 May 2008)

Mary Harney: The Report of the National Working Group on the Regulation of Complementary Therapists in 2006 made recommendations on strengthening the regulatory environment for complementary therapists including voluntary self-regulation for the majority of therapists and statutory regulation for Acupuncturists, Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) practitioners and Herbal practitioners. To support the...

Written Answers — Health Services: Health Services (13 May 2008)

Mary Harney: The Deputy's question relates to the funding, management and delivery of health and personal social services, which are the responsibility of the Health Service Executive under the Health Act 2004. Accordingly, my Department has requested the Parliamentary Affairs Division of the Executive to arrange to have this matter investigated and to have a reply issued directly to the Deputy.

Written Answers — Mental Health Services: Mental Health Services (13 May 2008)

Mary Harney: I propose to take Questions Nos. 190 and 219 to 221, inclusive, together. In September 2005, "Reach Out" — a National Strategy for Action on Suicide Prevention, 2005-2014 was launched. The strategy provides a policy framework for suicide prevention activities in Ireland. The strategy calls for a multi-sectoral approach to the prevention of suicidal behaviour in order to foster cooperation...

Written Answers — Health Promotion Guidelines: Health Promotion Guidelines (13 May 2008)

Mary Harney: The Programme for Government contains a commitment to the development of a freely available and personalised national programme to provide for the prevention and early detection of illnesses for both men and women. The Programme intends that guidelines should be developed for the Personal Health Check based on best available national and international evidence of what works well, with...

Written Answers — Patient Safety: Patient Safety (13 May 2008)

Mary Harney: I propose to take Questions Nos. 192 to 195, inclusive, together. As the Deputy will be aware, I established a Commission on Patient Safety and Quality Assurance in January last year. The overall objective of the Commission is to develop clear and practical recommendations to ensure the quality and safety of care for patients is paramount within the health care system. The Commission has...

Written Answers — General Practitioner Co-operatives: General Practitioner Co-operatives (13 May 2008)

Mary Harney: I propose to take Questions Nos. 196, 199 and 226 together. Out-of-hours co-operatives allow general practitioners to put in place arrangements to provide services to their patients, while their surgeries are closed in the evenings, on weekends and bank holidays. The development of GP co-operatives is in line with the overall health service policy of strengthening primary care services and...

Written Answers — General Practitioner Co-operatives: General Practitioner Co-operatives (13 May 2008)

Mary Harney: I propose to take Questions Nos. 197 and 198 together. Under the Health Act 2004, the management and delivery of health and personal social services is the responsibility of the Health Service Executive. This includes operational responsibility for the establishment of Primary Care Teams. Accordingly, my Department has requested the Parliamentary Affairs Division of the Executive to arrange...

Written Answers — Medical Cards: Medical Cards (13 May 2008)

Mary Harney: I propose to take Questions Nos. 200 and 201 together. The Programme for Government commits to the following: Indexing the income thresholds for medical cards to increases in the average industrial wage; Doubling of the income limit eligibility of parents of children under 6 years of age, and trebling them for parents of children under 18 years of age with an intellectual disability. In...

Written Answers — Hospital Accommodation: Hospital Accommodation (13 May 2008)

Mary Harney: In 2001 the average number of in-patient beds and day places available in the 53 public acute hospitals was 12,145, based on returns to the Department (11,374 in-patient beds and 771 day places). The provisional number of acute hospital beds recorded by the Health Service Executive for 2006 was 13,771(12,574 in-patient beds and 1,197 day places) based on a total bed complement. This...

Written Answers — National Treatment Purchase Fund: National Treatment Purchase Fund (13 May 2008)

Mary Harney: I propose to take Questions Nos. 203 and 204 together. The National Patient Treatment Register is an online register of patients on in-patient and day cases, compiled and maintained by the National Treatment Purchase Fund (NTPF). Patients, general practitioners and hospitals can access up-to-date information on the waiting-time for some 7,500 procedures through the PTR website www.ptr.ie....

Written Answers — Accident and Emergency Services: Accident and Emergency Services (13 May 2008)

Mary Harney: I propose to take Questions Nos. 205 to 207, inclusive, together. Improving the delivery of Accident and Emergency services continues to be a high priority for this Government. There has been considerable improvement made in the delivery of services in Emergency Departments over the past two years. The average monthly number of patients awaiting admission fell from 179 in 2005 to 92 in 2007....

Written Answers — Infectious Diseases: Infectious Diseases (13 May 2008)

Mary Harney: I propose to take Questions Nos. 208 to 212, inclusive, together. Tackling all Healthcare Associated Infections (HCAIs) continues to be a priority for the Government and the Health Service Executive (HSE). The HSE launched a National Infection Control Action Plan in March 2007. An Infection Control Steering Group, chaired by Dr. Pat Doorley, National Director (Population Health) is...

Written Answers — Cancer Screening Programme: Cancer Screening Programme (13 May 2008)

Mary Harney: BreastCheck commenced roll-out in the Western Region last May and in the Southern region last October. I officially opened the BreastCheck clinical static units in Galway and Cork last December. The expansion of the BreastCheck programme to the Southern region covers counties Limerick, Kerry, Cork, Waterford and Tipperary South Riding. The expansion of the BreastCheck programme to the West...

Written Answers — Cancer Treatment Services: Cancer Treatment Services (13 May 2008)

Mary Harney: A capital sum in excess of €500m has been provided for the implementation of the National Plan for Radiation Oncology, through a mix of traditional procurement and Public Private Partnership. The implementation of the National Cancer Control Programme is a key priority for Government. The delivery of cancer services on a programmatic basis will serve to ensure equity of access to services...

Written Answers — Mental Health Services: Mental Health Services (13 May 2008)

Mary Harney: The commitment in the Programme for Government to ringfence funds from the sale of psychiatric hospitals is consistent with the recommendation in 'A Vision for Change' the Report of the Expert Group on Mental Health Policy, that a plan to bring about the closure of all psychiatric hospitals should be drawn up and implemented, and that the resources released by these closures should be...

Written Answers — Psychological Service: Psychological Service (13 May 2008)

Mary Harney: To qualify as a clinical psychologist, a post-graduate qualification in clinical psychology must be completed after an initial undergraduate degree in psychology. Post-graduate students are sponsored by health agencies and spend time over three years in clinical placements in different specialities; course work and a thesis must be also satisfactorily completed. For some years the Health...

Written Answers — Special Educational Needs: Special Educational Needs (13 May 2008)

Mary Harney: A Vision for Change — the Report of the Expert Group on Mental Health Policy, provides a framework for action to develop a modern, high quality mental health service over a 7 to 10 year period. Recommendations in the Report are consistent with the commitment in the Programme for Government. The Report proposes a holistic view of mental illness and recommends an integrated...

Written Answers — Care of the Elderly: Care of the Elderly (13 May 2008)

Mary Harney: The scheme referred to by the Deputy would not fall under the direct remit of my Department. However, the National Development Plan which gives effect to many of the commitments contained in 'Towards 2016' recognised older people as one of the main groups at risk from social exclusion. The supports for minimising social exclusion among older people relates to a wide range of measures in the...