Results 17,301-17,320 of 26,766 for speaker:David Cullinane

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Health: Covid-19 Contact Tracing: HSE (28 Oct 2020)

David Cullinane: This is why we need to be very clear on the number. If there are other people involved in tracing, the HSE officials should tell us and put it in the briefing notes they give us. The note states: "We currently have a total of 581 staff available to work on routine contact tracing." Therefore it is confirmed that 274 of those are people who have been recently recruited and 214 are HSE....

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Health: Covid-19 Contact Tracing: HSE (28 Oct 2020)

David Cullinane: It does. How many people were directly employed so far, taking out those who were-----

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Health: Covid-19 Contact Tracing: HSE (28 Oct 2020)

David Cullinane: Some 274 in total were directly employed. If it is 581 at the moment, what does Ms O'Beirne expect the total number to be at the end of the year?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Health: Covid-19 Contact Tracing: HSE (28 Oct 2020)

David Cullinane: The number is 800. When we are told 800 will be recruited, does that include the 580 who are already there? How many will be recruited between now and the end of the year?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Health: Covid-19 Contact Tracing: HSE (28 Oct 2020)

David Cullinane: Does that then mean those who were seconded or were reassigned will go back? Is Ms O'Beirne telling me that at the moment, when it states 581 staff are available, the 581 will become 800 by the end of the year, in simple terms? Is that what she is saying?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Health: Covid-19 Contact Tracing: HSE (28 Oct 2020)

David Cullinane: Okay. Why was that not done over the summer months? In her opening statement Ms O'Beirne had to apologise to 1,961 people. There was much commentary on whether the system was fit for purpose and whether we had used the summer months wisely. We are now being told that 60 or 70 staff will be recruited per week. Why only 60 or 70? Why can that not be accelerated? Leaving that aside...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Health: Covid-19 Contact Tracing: HSE (28 Oct 2020)

David Cullinane: That is not an answer my question. The HSE planned to have 800 by the end of the year. In my view, it should have at least 800 today but it does not. Whether staff left for whatever reason is irrelevant from my perspective. The HSE has to plan and make sure that we have a tracing regime that is fit for purpose. If there will be 800 by the end of the year, why do we not have 800 today?...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Health: Covid-19 Contact Tracing: HSE (28 Oct 2020)

David Cullinane: I need to come back in and say a number of things. I will put my questions when I finish my point. It is immaterial how many cases there were during the summer months because we know that lockdowns are used to reduce the numbers. The time is then used to build up defences so that when the number of cases increases we have very robust testing and tracing that can then be used to hunt down...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Health: Covid-19 Contact Tracing: HSE (28 Oct 2020)

David Cullinane: That does not answer my question. It was not one issue. The email I received stated that the directive being given to SNAs and teachers from the HSE was that they should disable the app when they go to school and work. We are encouraging people to use the app. I use it every single day. I assume we want teachers and SNAs to use it. We need a more detailed explanation on that because it...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Health: Covid-19 Contact Tracing: HSE (28 Oct 2020)

David Cullinane: What about the person who had to travel from Bantry to Cork city?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Health: Covid-19 Contact Tracing: HSE (28 Oct 2020)

David Cullinane: Okay. I thank the witnesses.

Ceisteanna (Atógáil) - Questions (Resumed) - Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Vaccination Programme (3 Nov 2020)

David Cullinane: 80. To ask the Minister for Health if he will address outstanding concerns regarding the availability of the flu vaccine; his plans to ensure there is a right to any Covid-19 vaccine the State intends to procure free of charge at the point of use; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [33737/20]

Ceisteanna (Atógáil) - Questions (Resumed) - Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Vaccination Programme (3 Nov 2020)

David Cullinane: My question relates to issues regarding the availability of the flu vaccine, not just for adults but also for children. I have been contacted by a number of pharmacies and GPs and they say that demand has certainly exceeded supply. I discussed this issue with the Minister personally in recent days. It is important, and I take this opportunity to encourage people to get the vaccine if they...

Ceisteanna (Atógáil) - Questions (Resumed) - Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Vaccination Programme (3 Nov 2020)

David Cullinane: I accept that the numbers this year are greater than last year. Some 950,000 doses were available last year for adults and it is 1.35 million this year. However, the anecdotal evidence, and the Minister has just confirmed that it is not only anecdotal but a fact, is that we simply will not have enough for those who need it. I read the ministerial brief in detail and it referred to a very...

Ceisteanna (Atógáil) - Questions (Resumed) - Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Vaccination Programme (3 Nov 2020)

David Cullinane: It is unfortunate that we simply will not have enough for those who need it. Of course, those who are at risk should be protected. I wish to make a final point about vaccines and it relates to the possibility of a vaccine for Covid-19. My party supports the Right to Cure campaign, an EU-wide campaign that calls for all treatments, therapies and vaccines related to Covid-19 to be...

Ceisteanna (Atógáil) - Questions (Resumed) - Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Covid-19 Tests (3 Nov 2020)

David Cullinane: 82. To ask the Minister for Health his plans for enhancing the testing and tracing system to make it more robust and proactive; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [33738/20]

Ceisteanna (Atógáil) - Questions (Resumed) - Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Covid-19 Tests (3 Nov 2020)

David Cullinane: This question seeks an outline from the Minister on his and the Government's plans to enhance testing and tracing, to put in place a more proactive and robust system, and to have a system in place that is fit for purpose and that can be used to hunt down the virus but also stay ahead of it so that when we get to a situation, which I hope we will, where the numbers are much lower and we can...

Ceisteanna (Atógáil) - Questions (Resumed) - Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Covid-19 Tests (3 Nov 2020)

David Cullinane: We need more capacity both in testing and tracing. On the testing side, we need to increase lab capacity. We can have more swabbers but if we end up with a bottleneck in the labs to do the testing, then we have a problem. With regard to tracing, the problem is the system collapsed for a couple of days and more than 1,900 patients, unfortunately, became contact tracers themselves. When the...

Ceisteanna (Atógáil) - Questions (Resumed) - Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Covid-19 Tests (3 Nov 2020)

David Cullinane: Several Members here attended the committee hearing with the head of testing and tracing. There was much spin beforehand in terms of the public commentary from Ministers and even the press statements from the Government that we would see an additional 800 tracers. As it turns out, it was to bring us to 800. We were going to go from 581 to 800. We were told by the head of testing and...

Ceisteanna (Atógáil) - Questions (Resumed) - Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Nursing Education (3 Nov 2020)

David Cullinane: 84. To ask the Minister for Health his plans to address the pay and working conditions concerns of student nurses; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [33739/20]