Results 22,001-22,020 of 24,635 for speaker:Mary Harney

Leaders' Questions. (15 Jun 2005)

Mary Harney: To be fair, Deputy McCormack, no Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform in recent times has brought forward more reforming measures than the current Minister. That will continue to be the case.

Leaders' Questions. (15 Jun 2005)

Mary Harney: We all have to abide by the decisions of the court. The High Court made a decision yesterday in regard to the inspectors' report on Gama, but the Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment had already circulated that report to all the relevant authorities, including the Director of Public Prosecutions, the Revenue Commissioners and many others. As the Deputy is aware, labour law in Ireland...

Leaders' Questions. (15 Jun 2005)

Mary Harney: I am a champion of the policies that create high quality employment. I am the Minister who brought in the minimum wage. It is the policies over the past few years that have delivered 500,000 people at work here. That is an incredible statistic not matched by any country in the developed world. That is what I champion. We have strong laws in regard to unfair dismissal and constructive...

Leaders' Questions. (15 Jun 2005)

Mary Harney: ——robust labour relations machinery in this State that acts very speedily and quickly. That is a fact. If the Deputy were to compare our labour relations infrastructure, the LRC, the rights commissioners and the Labour Court, it compares extraordinarily favourably with many other countries. The trade union movement has been the first to acknowledge that.

Order of Business. (15 Jun 2005)

Mary Harney: It is proposed to take No. 20, Civil Service Regulation (Amendment) Bill 2004 — Report Stage (resumed) and Final Stage; No. 22, Commission to Inquire into Child Abuse (Amendment) Bill 2005 — Order for Report, Report and Final Stages; and No. 1, Safety, Health and Welfare at Work Bill 2004 — amendments from the Seanad. It is proposed, notwithstanding anything in Standing Orders, that the...

Written Answers — EU Directives: EU Directives (14 Jun 2005)

Mary Harney: The Minister for Foreign Affairs may also have a contribution to make on this matter. I understand that recommendation 1117 (1989) of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe was made to the Committee of Ministers and not to the member states. I understand also that the Committee of Ministers did not adopt the recommendation directly, but did consider it important that member...

Written Answers — National Treatment Purchase Fund: National Treatment Purchase Fund (14 Jun 2005)

Mary Harney: I propose to take Questions Nos. 157 to 164, inclusive, and Questions Nos. 167 and 168 together. My Department does not maintain data on the average cost of the specific operations arranged by the national treatment purchase fund or NTPF. My Department has, therefore, asked the chief executive of the NTPF to reply directly to the Deputy with regard to the specific information requested.

Written Answers — Health Services: Health Services (14 Jun 2005)

Mary Harney: The Deputy's question relates to the management and delivery of health and personal social services, which are the responsibility of the Health Service Executive under the Health Act 2004. Accordingly, my Department has requested the parliamentary affairs division of the executive to arrange to have this matter investigated and to have a reply issued directly to the Deputy.

Written Answers — National Treatment Purchase Fund: National Treatment Purchase Fund (14 Jun 2005)

Mary Harney: The funding allocated to the national treatment purchase fund since it was established in 2002 is as follows: Year Funding â'¬ million 2002 5.012 2003 30.057 2004 44.000 2005 64.000 My Department has asked the chief executive of the NTPF to reply directly to the Deputy in relation to the other information requested.

Written Answers — Care of the Elderly: Care of the Elderly (14 Jun 2005)

Mary Harney: The Deputy's question relates to the management and delivery of health and personal social services, which are the responsibility of the Health Service Executive under the Health Act 2004. This includes responsibility for considering new capital proposals or progressing those in the health capital programme. Accordingly, my Department has requested the parliamentary affairs division of the...

Written Answers — General Medical Services Scheme: General Medical Services Scheme (14 Jun 2005)

Mary Harney: There is a common list of reimbursable medicines for the general medical services and drug payment schemes. This list ensures equity between the schemes in relation to the range of medicines paid for by the State. The list is reviewed and amended monthly, as new products become available and deletions are notified. For an item to be included on the common list, it must comply with a published...

Written Answers — Hospital Accommodation: Hospital Accommodation (14 Jun 2005)

Mary Harney: The Health Act 2004 provided for the Health Service Executive, which was established on 1 January 2005. Under the Act, the executive has the responsibility to manage and deliver, or arrange to be delivered on its behalf, health and personal social services. This includes responsibility for the provision of services at Naas General Hospital. My Department has not issued instructions to the HSE...

Written Answers — Medical Cards: Medical Cards (14 Jun 2005)

Mary Harney: The Deputy's question relates to the management and delivery of health and personal social services, which are the responsibility of the Health Service Executive under the Health Act 2004. Accordingly, my Department has requested the parliamentary affairs division of the executive to arrange to have this matter investigated and to have a reply issued directly to the Deputy.

Written Answers — Health Services: Health Services (14 Jun 2005)

Mary Harney: The Deputy's question relates to the management and delivery of health and personal social services, which are the responsibility of the Health Service Executive under the Health Act 2004. Accordingly, my Department has requested the parliamentary affairs division of the executive to arrange to have this matter investigated and to have a reply issued directly to the Deputy.

Written Answers — Hospital Charges: Hospital Charges (14 Jun 2005)

Mary Harney: The Deputy's question relates to the management and delivery of health and personal social services, which are the responsibility of the Health Service Executive, HSE, and I understand that the HSE replied to the Deputy on 31 January 2005 on this matter. Accordingly, my Department has requested the parliamentary affairs division of the HSE to arrange to have this matter investigated further...

Written Answers — Hospital Waiting Lists: Hospital Waiting Lists (14 Jun 2005)

Mary Harney: Responsibility for the collection and reporting of waiting lists and waiting times now falls within the remit of the national treatment purchase fund, NTPF. A new on-line national patient treatment register is being developed by the fund. The new patient treatment register will allow for more accurate identification of waiting lists, and more importantly waiting times. It is intended that the...

Written Answers — Cancer Screening Programme: Cancer Screening Programme (14 Jun 2005)

Mary Harney: I propose to take Questions Nos. 187 and 207 together. Cervical smear testing is not currently provided by GPs or family planning clinics under the scheme for medical card holders. However, where cervical smears form part of recognised protocols for the ongoing treatment of individual patient illnesses, they should be provided free of charge to eligible women under the GMS scheme. Any...

Written Answers — Water Fluoridation: Water Fluoridation (14 Jun 2005)

Mary Harney: I propose to take Questions Nos. 188 and 190 together. The forum on fluoridation was established in May 2000 and held its first meeting in September 2000. The forum on fluoridation concluded in September 2002 with the launch of the report of the forum on fluoridation. The annual cost of the forum on fluoridation since 2000 is as follows: Year â'¬ 2000 16,153.70 2001 184,593.31 ...

Written Answers — Water Fluoridation: Water Fluoridation (14 Jun 2005)

Mary Harney: As the Deputy is aware, a forum on fluoridation was established to review the fluoridation of public piped water supplies in Ireland. The forum report's main conclusion was that the fluoridation of public piped water supplies should continue as a public health measure. In all the report of the forum on fluoridation made 33 recommendations covering a broad range of topics such as research,...

Written Answers — National Lottery Funding: National Lottery Funding (14 Jun 2005)

Mary Harney: The organisation referred to, which is a family resource centre, applied to my Department for a grant from the Health and Children allocation of national lottery funds in April 2004. The organisation sought funding of €6,500 towards the cost of carrying out a feasibility study to determine the development potential of the courtyard area and the building adjacent to the resource centre. As...