Results 14,881-14,900 of 46,575 for speaker:Simon Harris

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Health: Estimates for Public Services 2017: Vote 38 - Department of Health (27 Sep 2017)

Simon Harris: Yes, and the Deputy is aware of my views on it. The structure is not fit for purpose. Let there not be any doubt that I believe the Health Service Executive in its current guise will not be the HSE of the future. I fully accept the necessity to have a national health service body and to drive maternity strategies, standards, cancer programmes, procurement and so forth at a national level....

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Health: Estimates for Public Services 2017: Vote 38 - Department of Health (27 Sep 2017)

Simon Harris: That is correct. There is a very clear direction of travel in that regard. The Deputy is also correct on the issue of a troubleshooter. As I indicated, we have just hired a new deputy director general in charge of operations who brings with him vast experience from the Scottish health system. The Scottish national health system is often held up by political parties in the House as a...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Health: Estimates for Public Services 2017: Vote 38 - Department of Health (27 Sep 2017)

Simon Harris: The HSE does not desire to have agency staff. It is a recognised fact, however, and one the Deputy also acknowledged, that such staff are sometimes required, particularly in smaller hospitals where it is proving extraordinarily difficult to recruit permanent consultants. That is part of a broader conversation. To take nursing as an example, we have made clear that we want to convert agency...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Health: Estimates for Public Services 2017: Vote 38 - Department of Health (27 Sep 2017)

Simon Harris: The page numbers are obviously different in the document I have. The Deputy's question relates to additional demand on mental health services.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Health: Estimates for Public Services 2017: Vote 38 - Department of Health (27 Sep 2017)

Simon Harris: With the normal proviso that we are involved in a budgetary and Estimates process and that these decisions are made on budget day and within a service plan, it is our intention to continue to increase mental health funding. If a service need is there, it will be our intention to endeavour to meet it. I have to wait to budget day to fill it.

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: Health Care Policy (28 Sep 2017)

Simon Harris: I thank Deputy Kelleher for his timely question. The Government is committed to making tangible and sustained improvements to our health services. I believe genuinely that the Sláintecare report now provides a framework and a direction of travel to do this. We have a level of consensus and support for the vision and strategic direction outlined in the report that is unprecedented in...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: Health Care Policy (28 Sep 2017)

Simon Harris: The Deputy is entirely correct. As a member of the committee which published the report, he will be more familiar even than me with the debates which took place. The call for an impact study by the committee was sensible. We all want to get to a position where we can decouple the public from the private; certainly, I do. It is ethically questionable that we have a situation in the Irish...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: Health Care Policy (28 Sep 2017)

Simon Harris: I think so, yes.

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: Health Care Policy (28 Sep 2017)

Simon Harris: Yes. It is my strong view that we do not need to wait for the implementation plan at the end of the year to make progress on this. I will be happy to discuss the terms of reference with Members across the House.

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: HSE Staff Recruitment (28 Sep 2017)

Simon Harris: There is a degree of chicken and egg in this case. The Deputy referred to the poor quality work environment but to improve that we need more people to work in the public health service. I appeal to people, in particular our young graduates from nursing and medical school, to work with us and to give the Irish health service a chance as we enter a period of reinvestment. The staffing...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: HSE Staff Recruitment (28 Sep 2017)

Simon Harris: I do not have a figure to hand for the conversion of agency staff to permanent staff here but I will revert to the Deputy directly on that. I am sure the Deputy did not intend it in respect of the maternity strategy but I can assure her, challenges aside, that it is not a document gathering dust in my Department. We are moving ahead with the plans to relocate one of our stand-alone...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: HSE Staff Recruitment (28 Sep 2017)

Simon Harris: That is not true

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: HSE Staff Recruitment (28 Sep 2017)

Simon Harris: We did that in the agreement I reached with nursing unions. I also signed a section 10 direction to the HSE. The last time such a direction was signed by a health Minister was when Mary Harney brought about the policy of co-location. It is the strongest instrument available to a Minister. In this case, it delegates the sanction for the employment of nurses directly to directors of...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: Hospitals Building Programme (28 Sep 2017)

Simon Harris: I will endeavour to answer Deputy Connolly's question specifically. She is correct that in May I gave my approval to the Saolta University Healthcare Group to conduct an options appraisal in respect of the future acute hospital needs in Galway. The structure of the hospital groups is such that my approval is not required for such an analysis to be carried out. It is the responsibility of...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: Hospitals Building Programme (28 Sep 2017)

Simon Harris: I do not disagree with anything the Deputy said. When people want responsibility to be devolved to the regions rather than exercised centrally, they must seize this responsibility. I have given the Saolta hospital group approval for the appraisal, if it ever needed it, and an assurance that the Department will meet the funding costs required to carry out a proper detailed appraisal. It...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: Hospitals Building Programme (28 Sep 2017)

Simon Harris: What I am telling the Deputy is that I expect an options appraisal paper by mid-2018, if not earlier. I would welcome the paper as soon as the Saolta group has completed it. The paper will indicate to the Government, Oireachtas and HSE how the group would like to develop its services. It is not for me to tell it how it should develop its services. What is the point in having a group and...

Other Questions: Respite Care Services Data (28 Sep 2017)

Simon Harris: I am taking this question on behalf of the Minister of State, Deputy Finian McGrath. We discussed this matter yesterday at a meeting of the Joint Committee on Health. I am very much aware of the importance of respite service provision for the families of children and adults with disabilities, including the impact the absence of respite service provision can have on other parts of the...

Other Questions: Respite Care Services Data (28 Sep 2017)

Simon Harris: I do not think that the Deputy is in any way incorrect. In fact, she is entirely correct. There is not a Deputy on this side of the House or the other who is unaware of the fact that there is unmet need. To be honest, developing a policy to address it will be challenging. The Deputy will be fair enough to acknowledge that this is not just a resourcing issue. Also involved is the...

Other Questions: Respite Care Services Data (28 Sep 2017)

Simon Harris: No.

Other Questions: Respite Care Services Data (28 Sep 2017)

Simon Harris: Sure.