Results 20,321-20,340 of 27,613 for speaker:Heather Humphreys

Ceisteanna ar Reachtaíocht a Gealladh - Questions on Promised Legislation (25 Sep 2019)

Heather Humphreys: There is a reasonable expectation that people who can pay for services should pay. Having said that, I do not agree with the type of behaviour about which the Deputy has spoken. There is a need for compassion. People's personal circumstances need to be accounted for. This type of heavy-handed approach is not acceptable. There are those, however, who can pay but will not pay. Some...

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (25 Sep 2019)

Heather Humphreys: I will ensure the Minister for Health hears the concerns the Deputy has raised.

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (25 Sep 2019)

Heather Humphreys: It is also important to put trolley figures in context. The hospital system is operating at close to full capacity. The number of patients attending emergency departments continues to increase year on year. Attendances in 2018 were up 3.5% on 2017 and this reflects increasing demand for unscheduled care, especially by patients in the 75 and over age group. Planning for winter 2019 to 2020...

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (25 Sep 2019)

Heather Humphreys: This group will carry out a comparative analysis of unscheduled care performance across the nine hospital sites and the relevant community healthcare organisations that were the subject of specific, focused support through winter 2018 and 2019. I will bring the concerns the Deputy has to the attention of the Minister for Health.

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (25 Sep 2019)

Heather Humphreys: As I understand it, there is no embargo but the Deputy spoke about issues with the hospital and trolleys. Since 2017, however, an additional 267 acute beds have been opened. The capacity programme for 2019 provides for a number of increases, namely, the provision of 75 acute beds and 70 community beds under the winter plan. Some 47 additional beds will include four high-dependency unit...

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (25 Sep 2019)

Heather Humphreys: Cross-Border travel for citizens is protected by the common travel area. It is important that people know that there is an agreement in place, that they can travel over and back every day to their place of work or to see their friends along the Border. We are an absolutely committed member of the European Union, membership of which has served the country extremely well. We will remain a...

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (25 Sep 2019)

Heather Humphreys: Nobody wants to see anyone on a trolley. It is acknowledged that the numbers on trolleys in University Hospital Limerick are unacceptably high. The HSE is working actively with the UHL group to ease congestion in the hospital, with the focus on facilitating transfers to level 2 hospitals, providing assistance at rehabilitation units and primary care services and the prioritisation of...

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (25 Sep 2019)

Heather Humphreys: Like Deputy Brendan Smith, I am well aware of the issues at the Border. This type of behaviour is totally unacceptable and puts fear into the heart of everybody. The Deputy mentioned Mr. Paul Quinn. I drove past an area not far from where he was tortured not too long ago and somebody pointed out to me the spot at which Mr. Quinn had been killed. It puts the hair standing on the back of...

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (25 Sep 2019)

Heather Humphreys: I thank the Deputy for raising this matter. Given the current political uncertainty in London, there is a significant risk of a no-deal Brexit. We do not want such an outcome, but Ireland cannot move away from an agreed and negotiated position to an unknown and untested solution. The responsibility to avoid a no-deal outcome lies with the United Kingdom because it will never be the choice...

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (25 Sep 2019)

Heather Humphreys: I thank the Deputy for raising this matter. I was horrified to hear about the attack on Mr. Kevin Lunney, a decent, hard-working man whom I have known for many years. As a director of the Quinn group of companies, he supports the employment of more than 800 people in the Ballyconnell area. It is important that people should be able to go to and return from work without this type of...

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (25 Sep 2019)

Heather Humphreys: Apologies. It was a special statutory body. It is something to which the Government will give consideration. There is currently a task force in place to tackle cross-Border crime. The joint agency task force was established by the Fresh Start agreement and it is led by senior officials from An Garda Síochána, the PSNI, the Revenue Commissioners and people from revenue and...

Written Answers — Department of Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: Consumer Protection (25 Sep 2019)

Heather Humphreys: I propose to take Questions Nos. 107 and 108 together. The Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (CCPC) is the relevant market surveillance authority in relation to Directive 2009/48/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 18 June 2009 on the safety of toys, which was transposed into Irish law by S.I. No. 14 of 2011. The Directive places the onus on all economic...

Written Answers — Department of Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: International Conventions (25 Sep 2019)

Heather Humphreys: I welcome the adoption of Convention 190 Concerning the Elimination of Violence and Harassment in the World of Work and the accompanying Recommendation 206 at the 108th Session of the International Labour Conference (ILC) last June. The Irish tripartite delegation to the ILC played a very active role in the Standard Setting Committee in which the Convention and Recommendation were drawn up....

Written Answers — Department of Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: Living Wage (24 Sep 2019)

Heather Humphreys: Remuneration of all the staff of the Department, its Offices and its Agencies is as sanctioned by the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform for various individual grades in line with Government policy. In relation to the Department and its Offices, there are currently 5 staff earning an hourly rate less than the living wage, (based on a 37-hour net working week). This figure reflects...

Written Answers — Department of Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: Trade Missions (24 Sep 2019)

Heather Humphreys: Enterprise Ireland offers a programme of trade missions and events which support the goal of securing high-level market access for companies based in Ireland who are aiming to grow business overseas and increase domestic employment. In accordance with the 2019 trade mission programme, my colleague, Mr Pat Breen, T.D., Minister of State for Trade, Employment, Business, EU Digital Single...

Written Answers — Department of Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: Fire Safety (24 Sep 2019)

Heather Humphreys: In the area of furniture fire safety, there are no harmonised EU standards. The Irish standards and regulations were introduced to protect consumers by preventing the rapid spread of a fire started on or near furniture. These standards are in line with those introduced in the UK, which is particularly relevant given the cross-border trade in furniture on the island of Ireland and the presence...

Written Answers — Department of Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: Work Permits Applications (24 Sep 2019)

Heather Humphreys: The critical skills employment permit is designed to attract highly skilled people into the labour market. Eligible occupations, on the critical skills occupation list, under this type of permit are deemed to be critically important to growing Ireland's economy, are highly demanded and highly skilled and in significant shortage of supply in our labour market. For this employment type non-EEA...

Written Answers — Department of Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: IDA Ireland Supports (19 Sep 2019)

Heather Humphreys: I was disappointed to learn of the job losses at MTI Technologies in Drogheda earlier this summer, which I understand followed the loss by the company of a key contract. IDA Ireland worked closely with MTI since it established in Ireland. The Agency had also approved grant assistance for the firm. However, I understand that the grant was not drawn down by MTI prior to...

Written Answers — Department of Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: Third Level Facilities (19 Sep 2019)

Heather Humphreys: Tyndall National Institute (TNI) is a leading research centre in integrated ICT (Information and Communications Technology) hardware and systems. The institute was established in 2004 under an agreement between the then Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment and University College Cork. My Department continues to provide core funding for TNI (€5.5m in 2019) which it uses to...

Written Answers — Department of Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: National Development Plan (19 Sep 2019)

Heather Humphreys: One of my Department’s commitments under the National Development Plan is to develop plans for a National Design Centre (NDC)to support the potential of the design sector to drive innovation and competitiveness and as a source of future job growth potential. My Department officials are currently consulting with stakeholders and drafting a Request for Tender for the development of a...