Results 2,121-2,140 of 24,635 for speaker:Mary Harney

Written Answers — Health Service Staff: Health Service Staff (22 Jun 2010)

Mary Harney: I propose to take Questions Nos. 49, 60 and 117 together. Reports from the Health Service Executive (HSE) indicate reductions in applications for Non-Consultant Hospital Doctor posts, particularly in emergency medicine, anaesthesia, general medicine and in smaller hospitals. As at 16 June, the HSE reports that there were about 289 outstanding vacancies projected for 1 July, in Senior House...

Written Answers — Health Services: Health Services (22 Jun 2010)

Mary Harney: The Government has made it clear that a critical part of its strategy to restore the public finances is to achieve sustainability in the cost of delivering public services relative to State revenues. To help achieve this goal, it will be necessary to restructure and reorganise the public service and to reduce public service numbers over the coming years. The Employment Control Framework for...

Written Answers — Accident and Emergency Services: Accident and Emergency Services (22 Jun 2010)

Mary Harney: My Department understands from the HSE that it is not limiting emergency department opening hours, at present, as a result of health service cutbacks. The focus for 2010 is to continue to provide for emergency and elective admissions in hospitals by a continued shift to day case treatments and the development of a number of initiatives such as Medical Assessment Units and their use for...

Written Answers — Health Insurance: Health Insurance (22 Jun 2010)

Mary Harney: International evidence is that people's best health can be achieved much more cost-effectively by a greater emphasis on primary care services, in order to avoid hospitalisation or prolonged stays in hospital. Health insurance has its role to play in this in Ireland. On 27 May 2010, the Government announced a new strategy for the private health insurance market. As part of the package of...

Written Answers — Prison Medical Service: Prison Medical Service (22 Jun 2010)

Mary Harney: The Irish Prison Service is responsible, in the first instance, for the provision of health and associated regime services within the prison system. At each prison level, healthcare delivery is managed by the prison doctor, nurse manager and visiting healthcare professionals. There is however a high degree of co-operation between the Irish Prison Service and the HSE at national and local...

Written Answers — Misuse of Drugs: Misuse of Drugs (22 Jun 2010)

Mary Harney: I propose to take Questions Nos. 59 and 85 together. I completely reject the suggestion that the Government's handling of the issue of so-called "legal highs" has been inadequate. I would remind the House that in light of the health risks associated with these products the Government made an Order on 11 May declaring a large number of substances, commonly referred to as "legal highs", to be...

Written Answers — Health Insurance: Health Insurance (22 Jun 2010)

Mary Harney: I propose to take Questions Nos. 61 and 90 together. A key element of the Government's strategy for the future of the private health insurance market, is to establish VHI Healthcare in a position where it is authorised by the Financial Regulator and therefore regulated for prudential solvency purposes on the same basis as its competitors. The Government has committed to making a substantial...

Written Answers — Departmental Reports: Departmental Reports (22 Jun 2010)

Mary Harney: I launched the report of the Cardiovascular Policy Group on 10 June. The full report is available on the Department's website. The policy report addresses the spectrum of cardiovascular disease, including prevention and management and how these should be integrated to reduce the burden of these conditions. Prevention includes measures that individuals can take themselves as well as...

Written Answers — Health Service Executive: Health Service Executive (22 Jun 2010)

Mary Harney: I propose to takes Questions Nos. 63, 238 and 239 together. I am informed by the Health Service Executive that Mr. Cathal McGee will take up his appointment as Chief Executive Officer on 1st September 2010, to succeed Professor Brendan Drumm, whose term of office ends in mid-August. In accordance with Section 17 of the Health Act 2004, the HSE Board is responsible for making this...

Written Answers — Hospital Services: Hospital Services (22 Jun 2010)

Mary Harney: My Department understands from the Health Service Executive that the review team expects to conclude its work by mid-July. I welcome the completion at the end of April this year of the process of reading and reporting on x-rays that were previously not read by consultant radiologists at Tallaght Hospital and also the management of GP referral letters at the hospital and the fact no further...

Written Answers — Parliamentary Questions: Parliamentary Questions (22 Jun 2010)

Mary Harney: I propose to take Questions Nos. 69, 76, 110 and 255 together. Industrial action in relation to the processing of Parliamentary work by members of IMPACT and the Civil and Public Services Union (CPSU) commenced from 1st March 2010. A total of 1725 Parliamentary Questions were taken by my Department during the period from 3rd March 2010 to 11th June 2010. Of these, 1044 (60 %) have not been...

Written Answers — Medical Cards: Medical Cards (22 Jun 2010)

Mary Harney: As this is a service matter it has been referred to the Health Service Executive for direct reply to the Deputy.

Written Answers — Health Insurance: Health Insurance (22 Jun 2010)

Mary Harney: Arising from a derogation under the Non-Life Insurance Directives, VHI continues to be exempt from prudential solvency requirements. The Voluntary Health Insurance (Amendment) Act 2008 provided for the VHI to acquire sufficient funding in terms of its capital reserves to enable it to make an application to the Financial Regulator for authorisation. In the context of the Government's...

Written Answers — Hospitals Building Programme: Hospitals Building Programme (22 Jun 2010)

Mary Harney: I propose to take Questions Nos. 73 and 100 together. The Renewed Programme for Government re-affirms the Government's commitment to the current co-location programme, the purpose of which is to make available, in future years, in the most cost effective way, public acute hospital beds for public patients by transferring private activity, with some limited exceptions, from public acute...

Written Answers — Proposed Legislation: Proposed Legislation (22 Jun 2010)

Mary Harney: I intend to submit a Memorandum to Government shortly seeking approval to draft a General Scheme of a Bill to restrict the use of sunbeds. This Memorandum will, inter alia, take into account recommendations from a wide range of bodies including the World Health Organisation, the Irish Cancer Society, the Environmental Health Officers' Association and the National Cancer Control Programme in...

Written Answers — Hospital Services: Hospital Services (22 Jun 2010)

Mary Harney: The Government is committed to ensuring the delivery and maintenance of the best quality health service possible and in providing the highest standard of patient care, in an effective and efficient way, within the resources allocated. As part of the HSE plan to develop integrated structures in the HSE West region, a Clinical Director for Acute and Continuing Care has been appointed to Galway...

Written Answers — National Treatment Purchase Fund: National Treatment Purchase Fund (22 Jun 2010)

Mary Harney: The NTPF has operated an outpatient department (OPD) pilot programme since 2005. The objective of the outpatient programme is to reduce waiting times for outpatient consultations for an agreed volume of public patients on public hospital waiting lists and to operate this programme over a number of surgical and medical specialties. All Health Service Executive regions are participating in...

Written Answers — Medicinal Products: Medicinal Products (22 Jun 2010)

Mary Harney: I propose to take Questions Nos. 83 and 118 together. The Government has decided to introduce a system of reference pricing combined with generic substitution of medicines. This will promote price competition and deliver ongoing savings for both the State and for patients. Last week, I launched a report, prepared by a joint working group made up of officials and healthcare professionals from...

Written Answers — Hospital Services: Hospital Services (22 Jun 2010)

Mary Harney: Owing to industrial action by staff in the HSE for most of the year to date, data on cancelled operations in acute hospitals in 2010 is not available at present. Now that the industrial action has ended, work is underway in the HSE to collate and validate data in this regard. I am conscious that the cancellation of a hospital procedure can be inconvenient and stressful for both patients and...

Written Answers — Ambulance Service: Ambulance Service (22 Jun 2010)

Mary Harney: I propose to take Questions Nos. 86 and 180 together. The emergency ambulance service in the Greater Dublin Area is provided by Dublin City Council in the first instance. When operational circumstances so require, the HSE National Ambulance Service provides supplementary capacity to ensure that the necessary cover is maintained. Where necessary, this involves the use of available ambulance...