Results 15,921-15,940 of 46,081 for speaker:Simon Harris

Other Questions: Maternity Services Provision (15 Nov 2017)

Simon Harris: No, we have not because that will be a matter for the HSE service plan, which is the subject of ongoing discussions within the HSE. It is due to be presented to me and published by the HSE in the coming weeks, and one would hope this will be the case. That will provide the more granular detail of how many and in what year. It is the very clear aim of the programme and the national...

Other Questions: Health Services Expenditure (15 Nov 2017)

Simon Harris: I thank Deputy Boyd Barrett for the question, although I can assure him that it could not have been said every year by every Government. Before my party came into Government, the health budget was cut in the previous three budgets. It has not risen every year. The Deputy is right, however, that it has risen significantly again this year. The gross current budget for the health sector...

Other Questions: Health Services Expenditure (15 Nov 2017)

Simon Harris: I was encouraged by the start of the Deputy's supplementary question but it went downhill after that. Without wishing to damage the Deputy's credibility, I agree with him that if we continue to just pour resources into the health service without looking at the outcomes rather than the outputs, we will find ourselves in a cycle where we continue to increase investment but do not...

Other Questions: Health Services Expenditure (15 Nov 2017)

Simon Harris: I will reiterate the point I already made. That is why it must be about reforming the system. It has to be about looking at what we are doing in the acute hospital setting that we could do in the primary care setting. For example, recently, we had the primary care eye review. Ophthalmologists working in the community pointed out they can do much of what their counterparts do in hospitals....

Other Questions: Medicinal Products Regulation (15 Nov 2017)

Simon Harris: I thank the Deputy for her question which she highlighted last Thursday on Leaders' Questions. Sodium valproate is a medicine licensed for use in Ireland to treat epilepsy and bipolar disorder. It is now well established that children exposed to valproate in the womb have an increased risk of congenital malformations and developmental disorders. In 2014, the European Medicines Agency,...

Other Questions: Medicinal Products Regulation (15 Nov 2017)

Simon Harris: The Deputy has a fair point. In advance of my departmental officials meeting with the FACS forum on 23 November, I will ask them to give consideration to this issue. The HSE's medicines management programme launched its sodium valproate toolkit, an online resource consisting of a patient information booklet, a summary guide for prescribers and a patient-prescriber checklist. This...

Other Questions: Medicinal Products Regulation (15 Nov 2017)

Simon Harris: That is a fair point. We must ensure that all appropriate information and advice is followed but the Deputy raises the legitimate issue of what to do in respect of affected children. The Health Products Regulatory Authority, HPRA, advice notes that up to 10% of children exposed in utero to valproate are at risk of a congenital malformation and it is further estimated that up to 30% to 40%...

Other Questions: Ambulance Service Provision (15 Nov 2017)

Simon Harris: I thank the Deputy for raising this issue concerning a county I know well. The National Ambulance Service has embarked on a strategic reform programme to reconfigure the management and delivery of pre-hospital emergency care services. The programme aims to deliver a service that is safe, responsive and fit for purpose through the development of a modern, clinically driven and nationally...

Other Questions: Ambulance Service Provision (15 Nov 2017)

Simon Harris: I agree with the Deputy. There is an issue of geographic inequity depending on where one lives in Wicklow, with west Wicklow often experiencing more geographical challenges than other parts of the county. It is not just the Deputy and I, as persons from County Wicklow, who understand that. The National Ambulance Service capacity review found there was a need in the eastern region, which...

Other Questions: Ambulance Service Provision (15 Nov 2017)

Simon Harris: I will bite my lip in respect of all the partisan comments I could make. I have too much time for Deputy Casey. He is correct that there are deficits in the eastern region, which comprises Dublin, Kildare and Wicklow. That was identified by the national capacity review, which was the first report to land on my desk when I became Minister for Health. It was carried out by Lightfoot...

Health and Social Care Professionals (Amendment) Bill 2017: Order for Report Stage (15 Nov 2017)

Simon Harris: I move: "That Report Stage be taken now." This Bill is relatively short and technical containing a total of nine sections. It passed Committee Stage on 11 July last, without amendment. The Bill will amend the Health and Social Care Professionals Act 2005 and has three main purposes. It will address gaps that have been identified relating to the appointment of professional members to the...

Health and Social Care Professionals (Amendment) Bill 2017: Report and Final Stages (15 Nov 2017)

Simon Harris: I thank Deputies O'Reilly and Kelleher for their support for the laying of the regulations before the House, which I hope Deputy Mattie McGrath will support when it comes to the debate in due course, probably at a joint committee. What we are trying to do is very straightforward. We are basically saying that if people want to be counsellors or psychotherapists, they must obtain suitable...

Health and Social Care Professionals (Amendment) Bill 2017: Report and Final Stages (15 Nov 2017)

Simon Harris: This is what we are doing, and parties on all sides asked me to do it. This is what we are working on together. That is why we are laying the regulations before the House. The first step is to regulate counsellors and psychotherapists. That is what the regulations before the House involve. We will then set up the registration board. We will populate that through the Public...

Health and Social Care Professionals (Amendment) Bill 2017: Report and Final Stages (15 Nov 2017)

Simon Harris: I move amendment No. 2:In page 4, to delete lines 18 and 19 and substitute the following: “5. Section 31 of the Principal Act is amended—(a) in subsection (1), by the substitution of the following paragraph for paragraph (fa) (inserted by section 6(b) of the Act of 2012):". Physiotherapists and physical therapists looking in will be glad to know that we are going to talk about...

Health and Social Care Professionals (Amendment) Bill 2017: Report and Final Stages (15 Nov 2017)

Simon Harris: I move amendment No. 3:In page 5, line 4, to delete “public;”.” and substitute the following:"public;",and".

Health and Social Care Professionals (Amendment) Bill 2017: Report and Final Stages (15 Nov 2017)

Simon Harris: I move amendment No. 4:In page 5, between lines 4 and 5, to insert the following:"(b) by the substitution of the following subsection for subsection (2):"(2) A code of professional conduct and ethics adopted by the registration board of a designated profession must specify— (a) the standards of conduct, performance and ethics expected of registrants of that profession, and (b) that...

Health and Social Care Professionals (Amendment) Bill 2017: Report and Final Stages (15 Nov 2017)

Simon Harris: I move amendment No. 5:In page 5, line 10, after "31(1)(fa)" to insert "in respect of persons who hold an approved qualification (within the meaning of section 38)". These amendments propose to amend section 6 of the Bill. They are drafting amendments to clarify and put beyond any doubt the provision in the Bill that 31 December 2019 is the closing date for applications for Institute of...

Health and Social Care Professionals (Amendment) Bill 2017: Report and Final Stages (15 Nov 2017)

Simon Harris: Yes. I reiterate that the amendments I am bringing forward arise from detailed engagement between my Department and the two professional bodies, which I very much thank for the way in which they engaged. I hope, and my understanding is, that these amendments are satisfactory to both organisations.

Health and Social Care Professionals (Amendment) Bill 2017: Report and Final Stages (15 Nov 2017)

Simon Harris: I move amendment No. 6:In page 5, line 21, to delete "(ca),".

Health and Social Care Professionals (Amendment) Bill 2017: Report and Final Stages (15 Nov 2017)

Simon Harris: I move amendment No. 7:In page 5, line 22, to delete "and".