Results 20,941-20,960 of 46,575 for speaker:Simon Harris
- Joint Oireachtas Committee on Health: Quarterly Update on Health Issues: Discussion
Quarterly Update on Health Issues: Discussion (6 Feb 2019) Simon Harris: Can the HSE provide an up-to-date reply to that question in relation to the issuing of the letters?
- Joint Oireachtas Committee on Health: Quarterly Update on Health Issues: Discussion
Quarterly Update on Health Issues: Discussion (6 Feb 2019) Simon Harris: They are of the 4,600 awaiting the repeat smear.
- Joint Oireachtas Committee on Health: Quarterly Update on Health Issues: Discussion
Quarterly Update on Health Issues: Discussion (6 Feb 2019) Simon Harris: That is a good point. It was recommended that the repeat smear would be provided free where the GP believed it was important as part of the reassurance. This was where the woman and her doctor, in conversation, believed that a repeat smear would help provide the reassurance. I am sure there were many doctors who had conversations with women and said they could provide them with the free...
- Joint Oireachtas Committee on Health: Quarterly Update on Health Issues: Discussion
Quarterly Update on Health Issues: Discussion (6 Feb 2019) Simon Harris: That is a good point but it is a clinical decision because this was an issue where a GP and the woman felt it was appropriate. Therefore, the GP could offer a free repeat smear.
- Joint Oireachtas Committee on Health: Quarterly Update on Health Issues: Discussion
Quarterly Update on Health Issues: Discussion (6 Feb 2019) Simon Harris: People say it was a political decision. If decisions are made by me, as Minister, then all decisions I make are political decisions. It was sought by most members of this committee, by women and by GPs telephoning the helpline and asking for guidance to be issued in relation to it. A fee was agreed with the GPs' representative body to pay GPs to do this. It was one that I put in place as...
- Joint Oireachtas Committee on Health: Quarterly Update on Health Issues: Discussion
Quarterly Update on Health Issues: Discussion (6 Feb 2019) Simon Harris: I cannot agree with the Deputy on that. What I agree with him on is that we are going to look at ways of mitigating the cost further, without compromising the clinical benefits, which neither of us wants to do, of the hospital. I have put in the additional line regarding that in the terms of reference at the Deputy's constructive suggestion. I must respond to a couple of points the...
- Joint Oireachtas Committee on Health: Quarterly Update on Health Issues: Discussion
Quarterly Update on Health Issues: Discussion (6 Feb 2019) Simon Harris: It is my view that €1.4 billion, which will be the capital cost, is what is required to deliver this state-of-the-art hospital. My frustration relates to how we got to this point when the Government expected the cost to be €983 million.
- Joint Oireachtas Committee on Health: Quarterly Update on Health Issues: Discussion
Quarterly Update on Health Issues: Discussion (6 Feb 2019) Simon Harris: It is a different point. If the Government had thought-----
- Joint Oireachtas Committee on Health: Quarterly Update on Health Issues: Discussion
Quarterly Update on Health Issues: Discussion (6 Feb 2019) Simon Harris: I do. I wish it could be cheaper, but I do.
- Joint Oireachtas Committee on Health: Quarterly Update on Health Issues: Discussion
Quarterly Update on Health Issues: Discussion (6 Feb 2019) Simon Harris: If I did not, the Government would not have pressed "Go" and proceeded with construction. The Government of which I am a member cannot make a collective decision to go ahead with a hospital if it does not think it is a good decision to make. Of course, the other two decisions-----
- Joint Oireachtas Committee on Health: Quarterly Update on Health Issues: Discussion
Quarterly Update on Health Issues: Discussion (6 Feb 2019) Simon Harris: I believe it represents what is required to deliver this hospital.
- Joint Oireachtas Committee on Health: Quarterly Update on Health Issues: Discussion
Quarterly Update on Health Issues: Discussion (6 Feb 2019) Simon Harris: I had three options, namely, pause, retender or proceed. Proceed was the only option with which I could go. The cost of doing so is €1.4 billion. If we can mitigate some of those costs, I would like to do so.
- Joint Oireachtas Committee on Health: Quarterly Update on Health Issues: Discussion
Quarterly Update on Health Issues: Discussion (6 Feb 2019) Simon Harris: Yes, but decisions on value and cost are relative to the other decisions made. I had three options to choose from and I believe this decision represented the best value for the taxpayer compared with the other decisions I could have made. That is a fair point.
- Joint Oireachtas Committee on Health: Quarterly Update on Health Issues: Discussion
Quarterly Update on Health Issues: Discussion (6 Feb 2019) Simon Harris: Sure.
- Joint Oireachtas Committee on Health: Quarterly Update on Health Issues: Discussion
Quarterly Update on Health Issues: Discussion (6 Feb 2019) Simon Harris: No. The point that it will cost less to build than it would in London was in response to the Deputy's assertion that it is going to be the world's most expensive hospital. It is the rebuttal to that point. The AECOM view is that the Deputy's view is not correct. The overrun to which the Deputy refers is a projected overrun. I am not being pedantic about this. The reason I am making that...
- Joint Oireachtas Committee on Health: Quarterly Update on Health Issues: Discussion
Quarterly Update on Health Issues: Discussion (6 Feb 2019) Simon Harris: That is what I had to do. I had to choose between those three options.
- Joint Oireachtas Committee on Health: Quarterly Update on Health Issues: Discussion
Quarterly Update on Health Issues: Discussion (6 Feb 2019) Simon Harris: Is the Deputy referring to the AECOM report?
- Joint Oireachtas Committee on Health: Quarterly Update on Health Issues: Discussion
Quarterly Update on Health Issues: Discussion (6 Feb 2019) Simon Harris: It refers to a children's hospital.
- Joint Oireachtas Committee on Health: Quarterly Update on Health Issues: Discussion
Quarterly Update on Health Issues: Discussion (6 Feb 2019) Simon Harris: The assertion is being made that the children's hospital we are building is completely out of sync with any comparable children's hospital in the world. I have heard that a lot. If the Deputy has requested the AECOM report, I hope he is given it. The report does not agree with that assertion. It states that the hospital is expensive but the cost is not out of line.
- Joint Oireachtas Committee on Health: Quarterly Update on Health Issues: Discussion
Quarterly Update on Health Issues: Discussion (6 Feb 2019) Simon Harris: The assertion that our stance is dishonest and negative is not shared by all general practitioners or all GP organisations. The Irish Medical Organisation is in negotiations with my Department and the Government. A circular it sent to its members this week referred to the progress made through those negotiations. While some GPs obviously have a different view, and while I do not speak for...