Results 16,941-16,960 of 49,836 for speaker:Stephen Donnelly

Vaccination Programme and Covid-19: Statements (1 Apr 2021)

Stephen Donnelly: I thank the Deputy for the question. Those who are housebound are an absolute priority for us. We are talking about people who are very vulnerable and who, as the Deputy says, are often elderly. It is essential that they be protected as quickly as possible. The National Ambulance Service is working very hard to this end. It is moving through the country. The people the Deputy is talking...

Vaccination Programme and Covid-19: Statements (1 Apr 2021)

Stephen Donnelly: I thank the Deputy for his questions. Antigen testing is a matter the Deputy and I have been discussing for some time. I am of the view that there is a greater role for it than we have seen to date. I appointed an expert group, led by Professor Mark Ferguson, to examine this issue. The group has reported back and I am publishing the report today. It is important to note that there are...

Vaccination Programme and Covid-19: Statements (1 Apr 2021)

Stephen Donnelly: I thank the Deputy for his questions. The reason NIAC made its proposal, the reason NPHET endorsed it and the reason I brought it to the Cabinet and the Cabinet agreed to it was the very strong evidence that the single biggest predictor in terms of risk is age, particularly when, as we are aware, those with underlying conditions are already prioritised in cohorts 4 and 7, for example. The...

Vaccination Programme and Covid-19: Statements (1 Apr 2021)

Stephen Donnelly: I might make one point in response to the previous Deputy This is a question and answer session. He asked really important questions and I really want to engage with him and answer them but he has never once, in any week, given me time to answer him. If he makes statements in the House, I cannot answer him. If he wants written statements-----

Vaccination Programme and Covid-19: Statements (1 Apr 2021)

Stephen Donnelly: -----there is the system we all use, which is parliamentary questions.

Vaccination Programme and Covid-19: Statements (1 Apr 2021)

Stephen Donnelly: Can I take a bit more time to respond to Deputy Healy-Rae? What I am saying to him is-----

Vaccination Programme and Covid-19: Statements (1 Apr 2021)

Stephen Donnelly: -----I want to engage with him but he must leave time for me to respond to his questions.

Vaccination Programme and Covid-19: Statements (1 Apr 2021)

Stephen Donnelly: Thank you, Chairman. With regard to those who are homebound, it is an absolute priority. We are acutely aware of exactly the kinds of cases that Deputy Healy-Rae talked about. In many cases, people who are very vulnerable have not left their homes in a year. The National Ambulance Service is working very hard. It is moving through this cohort and GPs are identifying patients who were not...

Vaccination Programme and Covid-19: Statements (1 Apr 2021)

Stephen Donnelly: I will get the Deputy a note on the timing but the process is as I have outlined. With regard to people being trained as vaccinators, if there are issues such as people not being able to get the information, the Deputy might let me know and I will act on it straight away. It is certainly the case that the hiring process appears to have been more burdensome initially. The HSE has moved...

Vaccination Programme and Covid-19: Statements (1 Apr 2021)

Stephen Donnelly: I am not entirely sure what the question is. If there is a specific question, I would very much like to answer it but at this point-----

Vaccination Programme and Covid-19: Statements (1 Apr 2021)

Stephen Donnelly: The NIAC report was published yesterday and is online now. If the Deputy goes to the national immunisation advisory committee's website, she can look at it. It issued quite a detail report with a lot of references. It is well worth taking a look. It goes through many of the issues we have discussed here today. With regard to Erasmus students, the issue is much broader. The reality is...

Vaccination Programme and Covid-19: Statements (1 Apr 2021)

Stephen Donnelly: With regard to ability to pay specifically, Irish citizens or other Irish residents who find themselves in, or having to travel through, a category 2 country within that 14-day period, will be liable to mandatory hotel quarantine. If there is real and significant issue with regard to their ability to pay, they should contact the relevant Irish embassy in the first instance.

Vaccination Programme and Covid-19: Statements (1 Apr 2021)

Stephen Donnelly: I thank the Deputy for his questions. The walk-in PCR testing centres we recently opened have proven to be very successful. As the Deputy has quite rightly said, these centres are for people who do not show symptoms of Covid. People who do have symptoms should call their GP for a referral for testing. These centres have picked up hundreds and hundreds of cases. The feedback has been very...

Written Answers — Department of Health: Vaccination Programme (1 Apr 2021)

Stephen Donnelly: I propose to take Questions Nos. 294, 359 and 360 together. Ireland is participating in an EU Procurement process with a view to accessing a portfolio of candidate vaccines against COVID-19 which are being negotiated with vaccine manufacturers by the Commission acting on behalf of Member States. Emergency Support Instrument (ESI) funding has been leveraged by the Commission to facilitate...

Written Answers — Department of Health: Covid-19 Pandemic (1 Apr 2021)

Stephen Donnelly: I can confirm that three companies were involved in the printing of Covid-19 brochures, details of which are set out in tabular form below. Company Description of Service Date Inkspot Print run of Covid-19 public information booklet (2 million copies in English) 16 March 2020 Colorman Print run of Covid-19...

Written Answers — Department of Health: Medical Aids and Appliances (1 Apr 2021)

Stephen Donnelly: My Department has no role in assessing applications made to the HSE for aids and appliances. Complaint and review procedures have been established by the HSE in accordance with Part 9 of the Health Act 2004. I have asked the HSE to provide details of these procedures to the Deputy. The Deputy may wish to note that under the Assistive Technology scheme, which is under the remit of the...

Written Answers — Department of Health: Hospital Waiting Lists (1 Apr 2021)

Stephen Donnelly: It is recognised that waiting times for scheduled appointments and procedures have been impacted in the last year as a direct result of the COVID-19 pandemic. The HSE is currently recommending that only critical time dependent elective procedures are undertaken at this time due to the on-going and significant increased demand for bed capacity related to COVID-19. This decision was made...

Written Answers — Department of Health: Hospital Appointments Status (1 Apr 2021)

Stephen Donnelly: It is recognised that waiting times for scheduled appointments and procedures have been impacted in the last year as a direct result of the COVID-19 pandemic. The HSE is currently recommending that only critical time dependent elective procedures are undertaken at this time due to the on-going and significant increased demand for bed capacity related to COVID-19. This decision was...

Written Answers — Department of Health: Covid-19 Pandemic (1 Apr 2021)

Stephen Donnelly: As this is a service matter, I have asked the Health Service Executive to respond to the deputy directly, as soon as possible.

Written Answers — Department of Health: Covid-19 Pandemic (1 Apr 2021)

Stephen Donnelly: As this is a service matter, I have asked the Health Service Executive to respond to the Deputy directly, as soon as possible.