Results 20,721-20,740 of 74,100 for speaker:Bernard Durkan

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Departmental Budgets (24 Oct 2018)

Bernard Durkan: I thank the Minister for the reply. Having been a member of a health board, quite a long time ago, I have been conscious of the overruns in the health area for many areas. The difficulty is that it has to be possible, at some stage, to identify precisely what the budget should be and then to be able to identify precisely the areas in which an overrun occurs, not only in the Department of...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Health: Health and Social Care Professionals Act 2005 (Section 95(3)) (Variation of Title: Physical Therapist) Regulations 2018: Motion (24 Oct 2018)

Bernard Durkan: I thank our guests for the clarification. This was a very contentious subject and we received copious representations about it. My question is whether all the concerns have been alleviated to a satisfactory level at this stage, insofar as that is possible.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Health: Health and Social Care Professionals Act 2005 (Section 95(3)) (Variation of Title: Physical Therapist) Regulations 2018: Motion (24 Oct 2018)

Bernard Durkan: Effectively, the term "physical therapist" is to be phased out and replaced by that of "physiotherapist" from this point on.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Health: Health and Social Care Professionals Act 2005 (Section 95(3)) (Variation of Title: Physical Therapist) Regulations 2018: Motion (24 Oct 2018)

Bernard Durkan: Something caught my attention, as I am sure the Chairman suspected. The witness mentioned ionising radiation, which applies in another area with which the committee has dealt. Will the radiation directive apply to a range of other health-associated professional bodies? What is the position currently? Is the matter being pursued selectively under particular headings or is it obligatory to...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Health: Health and Social Care Professionals Act 2005 (Section 95(3)) (Variation of Title: Physical Therapist) Regulations 2018: Motion (24 Oct 2018)

Bernard Durkan: That has implications for other matters we have discussed. I must express my concerns about it. I asked a question quite some time ago about when this decision was first mooted and by whom. It was clearly about health and safety grounds, as this is what we have been told. We do not know and there may be other ancillary matters as well, which we believe we know. There is a warning in that...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Health: Health and Social Care Professionals Act 2005 (Section 95(3)) (Variation of Title: Physical Therapist) Regulations 2018: Motion (24 Oct 2018)

Bernard Durkan: It would be a help if somebody told us with whom this particular proposal originated. I am a great believer in drilling down to find out from where the information has come. If oil comes out the top, it must come from somewhere. In the same way, if there is pressure for a particular directive to proceed in a particular fashion, sometimes there is a good reason but sometimes it is for...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Health: Overspend on the Health Budget 2018: Discussion (24 Oct 2018)

Bernard Durkan: As it happens, I must go to the Chamber to ask a question on the same issue. I am somewhat concerned about some of the answers. It is bad budgeting practice to repeatedly fall short of the target on either side, unless there is some serious explanation. Take the PCRS. Drug costs can and will impact. We need a counterbalance such as a reduction in the costs through the things this...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Health: Overspend on the Health Budget 2018: Discussion (24 Oct 2018)

Bernard Durkan: Can we get it?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Health: Overspend on the Health Budget 2018: Discussion (24 Oct 2018)

Bernard Durkan: I did not ask Mr. Desmond to inquire about it. I want to know if we could get it.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Health: Overspend on the Health Budget 2018: Discussion (24 Oct 2018)

Bernard Durkan: I thank Mr. Desmond.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Health: Overspend on the Health Budget 2018: Discussion (24 Oct 2018)

Bernard Durkan: How long is that work ongoing? I am sorry to interrupt.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Health: Overspend on the Health Budget 2018: Discussion (24 Oct 2018)

Bernard Durkan: Years?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Health: Overspend on the Health Budget 2018: Discussion (24 Oct 2018)

Bernard Durkan: I am aware of that but the issue of the evaluation of public versus private practice, the correlation there and the possibility of subsidising one by the other, has been in the public arena for ten years.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Health: Overspend on the Health Budget 2018: Discussion (24 Oct 2018)

Bernard Durkan: For approximately ten years.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Health: Overspend on the Health Budget 2018: Discussion (24 Oct 2018)

Bernard Durkan: Is it true that some drug companies are offering similar drugs at a fairly substantially reduced cost to the public health sector?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Health: Overspend on the Health Budget 2018: Discussion (24 Oct 2018)

Bernard Durkan: I am sorry, I did not get that.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Health: Overspend on the Health Budget 2018: Discussion (24 Oct 2018)

Bernard Durkan: Can I get an answer?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Health: Overspend on the Health Budget 2018: Discussion (24 Oct 2018)

Bernard Durkan: I have a whole lot of them unanswered, for instance, the residential places.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Health: Overspend on the Health Budget 2018: Discussion (24 Oct 2018)

Bernard Durkan: Sorry.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Health: Overspend on the Health Budget 2018: Discussion (24 Oct 2018)

Bernard Durkan: I had indicated but the Chair overlooked it.