Results 16,501-16,520 of 46,081 for speaker:Simon Harris
- Select Committee on Health: Estimates for Public Services 2017
Vote 38 - Health (Supplementary) (6 Dec 2017) Simon Harris: I thank the Chairman. I will take some of my statement as read but I will highlight a few points. I thank the committee for the opportunity to bring forward this Supplementary Estimate for Vote 38 this morning. The total additional funding I am seeking for 2017 is €195 million. Of this, €40 million is for a winter programme and €155 million is towards overspends in...
- Select Committee on Health: Estimates for Public Services 2017
Vote 38 - Health (Supplementary) (6 Dec 2017) Simon Harris: I will get the data on that for Deputy Kelleher. While I am digging that out, I will address section 38 and 39 bodies. Section 38 bodies are covered. If one works for a section 38 body, one's status is similar to that of a public servant. Section 39 bodies, as the Deputy and I know, are in quite a different situation. We have a number of section 39 organisations which provide services...
- Select Committee on Health: Estimates for Public Services 2017
Vote 38 - Health (Supplementary) (6 Dec 2017) Simon Harris: The total cost for the delivery of the project at St. James's Hospital for both the outpatient and urgent care centres is €1.07 billion, of which €1.004 billion is Exchequer-related. Car park and retail facilities are not intended to be Government-funded on the basis that they are commercially viable businesses which can be commercially funded. The project is managed and...
- Select Committee on Health: Estimates for Public Services 2017
Vote 38 - Health (Supplementary) (6 Dec 2017) Simon Harris: I thank Deputy O'Connell for her comments. I fully agree with her on the value for money issue. When I became Minister for Health, I found it somewhat astonishing that we do not have a structured programme to ensure that every euro counts in the health service. Just like the Deputy in her own business and anybody in family life seeks to make sure that they get good value for money, there...
- Select Committee on Health: Estimates for Public Services 2017
Vote 38 - Health (Supplementary) (6 Dec 2017) Simon Harris: I thank the Chairman and Deputy Durkan. On the issue of patient safety raised by Deputy Durkan and the Chairman in regard to the State Claims Agency, it is probably somewhat unusual to see the State Claims Agency as a part of the health Vote because it is an agency under the Department of Finance. I do not believe it happens for other Departments but the logic behind it is that by keeping...
- Select Committee on Health: Estimates for Public Services 2017
Vote 38 - Health (Supplementary) (6 Dec 2017) Simon Harris: In relation to additional capacity, a number of additional hospital beds will be opening. I will get the list of where they are. That includes beds in Cork. Additional beds will open in Galway next week. Additional bed capacity is also provided for in Our Lady of Lourdes Hospital, Drogheda, some of which have opened this week, including a new emergency department, which will open in May...
- Select Committee on Health: Estimates for Public Services 2017
Vote 38 - Health (Supplementary) (6 Dec 2017) Simon Harris: I will have to revert to you with that, Chairman. In relation to primary care, we will look at it in two ways this year. I am hopeful that through the waiting list initiatives for 2018 we should pick a number of pilot projects to carry out procedures in primary care that we currently do in the acute hospital sector. The one that comes to my mind and the one I wish to prioritise is the...
- Select Committee on Health: Estimates for Public Services 2017
Vote 38 - Health (Supplementary) (6 Dec 2017) Simon Harris: No, but obviously a hospital has to operate within its budget and the manager needs to decide how best to use the resources, namely, the theatres, consultants and surgeons. We have shown a real willingness through the NTPF to provide additional resources to public hospitals that have put up their hand and said they could do more, particularly in the orthopaedic area for hip and knee...
- Select Committee on Health: Estimates for Public Services 2017
Vote 38 - Health (Supplementary) (6 Dec 2017) Simon Harris: The only comment I would add in relation to the State Claims Agency is that it would not be in a position to discuss individual cases with this committee but there may be a benefit to this or another committee in hearing from it as to how it approaches these issues. The budget and costs of the State Claims Agency have a serious impact on the budget of the health service. If there are...
- Select Committee on Health: Estimates for Public Services 2017
Vote 38 - Health (Supplementary) (6 Dec 2017) Simon Harris: I do.
- Select Committee on Health: Estimates for Public Services 2017
Vote 38 - Health (Supplementary) (6 Dec 2017) Simon Harris: I thank the Deputy for his comment. I thank him and all politicians who are health spokespeople in this House for their leadership, which made a real difference. In terms of scoliosis, I acknowledge that Deputy Kelleher has highlighted the issue of outpatients for some time. He is entirely correct that there is an issue with the outpatient waiting list. I should have said earlier that...
- Select Committee on Health: Estimates for Public Services 2017
Vote 38 - Health (Supplementary) (6 Dec 2017) Simon Harris: I could not agree more. Part of my absolute priority in terms of waiting lists is to make sure that we have the maximum amount of information available to patients, their doctors and the public at large in order that we can make improvements where we need to while also knowing the scale of the challenge. Part of this is electronic records which enable GPs to hear back seamlessly. I will...
- Questions on Promised Legislation (7 Dec 2017)
Simon Harris: Deputy Howlin and I would agree that naming the hospital is not the most important thing. The most important thing is building the hospital.
- Questions on Promised Legislation (7 Dec 2017)
Simon Harris: Thankfully that is now under way after long years of stalling and not getting on with it. We are now getting on with it. I made clear yesterday that I am going to reflect further on the name. The Deputy makes a very good suggestion. Children were involved in this name, as were staff working in the health service, but I will work with colleagues across the House when I bring forward the...
- Questions on Promised Legislation (7 Dec 2017)
Simon Harris: The most appropriate person to decide whether any patient in this country should access any form of medical product, authorised or other, is a clinician and any time a clinician has sought a licence for a product such as medicinal cannabis during my time as Minister for Health it has been granted, including in the most recent case. In respect of the Deputy's Bill I understood from the...
- Questions on Promised Legislation (7 Dec 2017)
Simon Harris: The Deputy needs to do his work first.
- Questions on Promised Legislation (7 Dec 2017)
Simon Harris: The Deputy is correct the NTPF is working to reduce waiting times. In April there were over 1,600 people waiting over 15 months for cataracts in this country. That is now down to 412 at the start of December. We need to keep on doing more. The Deputy is correct that the primary care eye review is absolutely the way to go. I recently met with Billy Power, the clinical lead...
- Questions on Promised Legislation (7 Dec 2017)
Simon Harris: The HSE responds to elected Members on a regular basis but if the Deputy is having a particular difficulty, I will ask the HSE since the question would have been referred to it to respond to the Deputy directly. I thought the Deputy was standing up to welcome the new emergency department in Drogheda which I recently visited.
- Estimates for Public Services 2017 (7 Dec 2017)
Simon Harris: I move the following Estimates:
- Vote 42 — Rural and Community Development (Further Revised) (7 Dec 2017)
Simon Harris: I move the following Estimates: