Results 16,681-16,700 of 24,635 for speaker:Mary Harney

Health Bill 2008: Committee Stage (11 Dec 2008)

Mary Harney: My advice is different. I will clarify it shortly. Somebody on €600 per week who lives alone having been deserted or abandoned, or whatever the case may be, will be eligible. I know somebody aged approximately 67 who is not in a dissimilar position and she has a medical card.

Health Bill 2008: Committee Stage (11 Dec 2008)

Mary Harney: A few moments ago I explained in response to Deputy Barrett that there are three routes for an over 70 year old to get a medical card. There is the route based on gross income, the discretionary card and the net income position, which covers situations where people have nursing home charges etc.

Health Bill 2008: Committee Stage (11 Dec 2008)

Mary Harney: People have medical cards based on their financial circumstances and weekly incomes, for single people €700 per week and for married people €1,400 per week. Anybody who does not qualify on those grounds has the same routes available to people under the age of 70, including somebody aged 68 or 69. This provision was introduced in 2001 when the country's circumstances were very different....

Health Bill 2008: Committee Stage (11 Dec 2008)

Mary Harney: I do not want to be overly political in the debate, although I suppose it is a rather political debate, but I mentioned this to Deputy Reilly earlier and I will say it again. Deputy Reilly says that he changed his mind based on evidence. A year ago next Sunday Deputy Reilly said to a respected journalist that a means test should be introduced. I am not making a big issue of it, but there...

Health Bill 2008: Committee Stage (11 Dec 2008)

Mary Harney: I will tell the Deputy about a few reports. We mentioned life expectancy earlier. Between 1966 and 1996, people aged 70 added one year to their average lifespan. In the ten-year period between 1996 and 2006 this increased by two years. We have doubled our performance — in fact, it improved six-fold, because that was over a ten-year period as opposed to a 30-year period. Among the...

Health Bill 2008: Committee Stage (11 Dec 2008)

Mary Harney: Much of it — 60% — is to do with better health interventions. With regard to visits to general practitioners, the evidence, including the SRI survey, shows that a person over 70 who has free medical treatment, if one wants to use that phrase, goes once more often per year than somebody who does not. The average attendance was 5.2, which increased by one visit per year. Equally, it is the...

Health Bill 2008: Committee Stage (11 Dec 2008)

Mary Harney: There was an implication——

Health Bill 2008: Committee Stage (11 Dec 2008)

Mary Harney: I agree they are all important issues. I want to deal with the issue of income. First, I will deal with one more item, the waiting times for procedures in comparison with Northern Ireland.

Health Bill 2008: Committee Stage (11 Dec 2008)

Mary Harney: I will deal with that. The National Treatment Purchase Fund published results today and they show a dramatic improvement. The number of people waiting for procedures is down 60% on this time last year. The waiting time for operations in respect of public patients is now an average of 2.9 months.

Health Bill 2008: Committee Stage (11 Dec 2008)

Mary Harney: I agree that is an issue.

Health Bill 2008: Committee Stage (11 Dec 2008)

Mary Harney: That is an issue and that is why——

Health Bill 2008: Committee Stage (11 Dec 2008)

Mary Harney: I am responding to a point made earlier about Northern Ireland.

Health Bill 2008: Committee Stage (11 Dec 2008)

Mary Harney: I apologise, Leas-Cheann Comhairle. I assume we are dealing with that issue too. With regard to the individualisation of assessment, Deputy Barrett is correct that individualisation exists in the taxation system. It was introduced in 1998, I think, and at the time it was quite controversial. One of the reasons for its introduction was to encourage married women in particular back into the...

Health Bill 2008: Committee Stage (11 Dec 2008)

Mary Harney: I accept that but the circumstances then were very different. With the demographic and financial position in which this country finds itself, it is not financially sustainable without substantially reducing other services and therefore being unable to provide for those who will become unemployed and in need of medical cards during 2009.

Health Bill 2008: Committee Stage (11 Dec 2008)

Mary Harney: I move amendment No. 4: In page 4, to delete line 31 and substitute the following: "(b) persons who were married to another person until that other person's death, or lived with that other person as husband and wife until the other person's death— (i) if the surviving persons have attained the age of 70 years at the time of the death, (ii) if the death occurred on or after 1 January 2009,...

Health Bill 2008: Committee Stage (11 Dec 2008)

Mary Harney: The medical card scheme is generally on an administrative basis with the exception of the 2001 Act relating to those over 70. Notwithstanding that, the practice is that when someone under 70 becomes a widow or widower the card is left with the person until the card has to be renewed. The reason for the amendment applying from 1 January is that all these provisions apply from 1 January. I am...

Health Bill 2008: Committee Stage (11 Dec 2008)

Mary Harney: I refer to the latter issue first. A brother and sister cannot apply for an old age pension or any other social welfare benefit together. I do not mean to be smart but we operate on the basis that families are recognised for the purposes of medical cards. When a member of a family qualifies for a medical card, the spouse and the children are included on the card. When the automatic...

Health Bill 2008: Committee Stage (11 Dec 2008)

Mary Harney: With regard to Deputy Shatter's question it is not envisaged that any additional personnel will be required. Next year, as the Deputy is aware, the intention is to advance a redundancy programme within all levels of the HSE, beginning at the administrative management level and the GMS and it is understood there is scope there, as there is elsewhere. The application process will be greatly...

Health Bill 2008: Committee Stage (11 Dec 2008)

Mary Harney: I do not think too many people over the age of 70 who are widowed will put an advertisement in the newspaper to suggest that someone comes and lives with them so they can keep their medical cards. I do not believe such a scenario exists. The onus in the application process rests with the older person. It is a simplified self-assessment. The HSE must use the provisions it uses at present...

Health Bill 2008: Committee Stage (11 Dec 2008)

Mary Harney: I remember thinking that someday we will all receive such a letter. A person is entitled to the pension and the purpose of the letter is not to confirm circumstances with regard to one's earnings. It is simply to receive a response so a payment is not being made to a person who has unfortunately passed away and the authorities are unaware of this. This is done for all State occupational...