Results 22,361-22,380 of 24,635 for speaker:Mary Harney

Health Care Strategy. (11 May 2005)

Mary Harney: Construction inflation was running at approximately 25% per annum some years ago because of the level of demand. That is always what happens when a sector overheats. The country is spending €1 out of every €4 running the health service. This is not an inconsiderable amount. We have come an awfully long way, yet we all know of the deficiencies and gaps. It is a question of having a sense...

Registration of Medical Practitioners. (11 May 2005)

Mary Harney: Under the Medical Practitioners Act 1978, the Medical Council was established as the body with responsibility for the registration of medical practitioners and the regulation of their activities. The function of the Medical Council is to protect the public through implementing appropriate controls on the medical profession. Doctors practising within this State should be registered with the...

Registration of Medical Practitioners. (11 May 2005)

Mary Harney: I agree with the Deputy. Until I took up this position I did not know that one could practise as a doctor without being registered. One cannot prescribe but it is possible to practise, which is incredible. I am not sure if I sent the heads of the Bill to the Deputies' offices.

Registration of Medical Practitioners. (11 May 2005)

Mary Harney: I apologise for that. The idea is to work with the Medical Council and others on legislation that will give the council the strongest possible powers. Its powers will allow it to be proactive rather than reactive when a complaint is received. Confidence assurance will be a great guarantee to the public and to patients because it means ongoing training and education. This is important in any...

Registration of Medical Practitioners. (11 May 2005)

Mary Harney: The Medical Practitioners Act deals with the medical profession and will greatly strengthen and enhance the powers of the council. We want to maintain self-regulation in this and other areas of health care because it is more appropriate and does not involve the State carrying the cost of the regulatory regime. The Health and Social Care Professionals Bill will provide for a host of people to...

Medical Cards. (11 May 2005)

Mary Harney: The number of medical cards issued and number of persons covered by a medical card for the dates are as follows. In 1997 there were 1,244,459 medical cards, or 34.37% of the population of 3,621,035. In June 2002, 1,207,096 persons had medical cards, or 30.81% of the population of 3,917,336. In September 2004, 1,151,106 persons were covered by the medical card, or 29.39% of the population of...

Medical Cards. (11 May 2005)

Mary Harney: As people get richer it may well be that fewer qualify. The unemployment rate was 11.5% in 1997 and is now down to over 4%. This year we increased the threshold for the traditional medical card by 7.5% which is twice the rate of inflation. The income guidelines are way out. We have used the best data available which is the Revenue Commissioners' figures. Clearly people's incomes are much...

Medical Cards. (11 May 2005)

Mary Harney: A 7.5% increase is pretty good.

Medical Cards. (11 May 2005)

Mary Harney: Many cards have been issued since the beginning of the year and many new people have cards. We are issuing cards.

Medical Cards. (11 May 2005)

Mary Harney: No. People's income is rising faster than anticipated and the data on which these decisions are based are not as up to date as we would wish and yet it is the best available. That is the reality. Incomes are rising faster than any of us realise. Given the limited resources one has to use income data to decide what one can do. The idea of the GP only card is to allow the widest possible number...

Hospitals Building Programme. (11 May 2005)

Mary Harney: I recently visited Our Lady's Hospital for Sick Children in Crumlin. I met the committee of management and viewed some of the facilities there, which are clearly in need of investment. The infrastructure does not meet current standards for a paediatric hospital facility and the available facilities do not satisfactorily accommodate the range and extent of current clinical and associated...

Hospitals Building Programme. (11 May 2005)

Mary Harney: There is considerable merit in Deputy Twomey's proposal. We must have more routine services for children spread throughout the country within easy reach of families. On my visit to Cork on Monday to open the new accident and emergency department at Cork University Hospital, I saw that the hospital has a separate child-friendly accident and emergency facility. However, Deputy Twomey's...

Hospitals Building Programme. (11 May 2005)

Mary Harney: There is a clear need for an MRI scanner to replace the current outdated machinery at Our Lady's Hospital for Sick Children. It is intended to provide for that in the capital programme, which I will announce shortly.

Accident and Emergency Services. (11 May 2005)

Mary Harney: I have already welcomed the recent report of the Health and Safety Authority. It adds further impetus to our drive to improve the delivery of accident and emergency services. The authority's report arises from its inspection of 11 accident and emergency departments and its analysis of risk assessments carried out in all hospitals. This is the first nationally co-ordinated analysis of all...

Accident and Emergency Services. (11 May 2005)

Mary Harney: Safety in accident and emergency departments is a matter for the individual hospitals. I do not intend to micro-manage each hospital as they have their own management teams. Hospitals must examine their own circumstances and put in place the best management system taking into account all the risks. This will increase safety. I share a view with others, including accident and emergency...

Accident and Emergency Services. (11 May 2005)

Mary Harney: The Deputy's point is fair. Clearly, issues exist with the volume of people who present if there is no access to general practitioner services or any provision of patient appointments. They often end up on hospital beds awaiting tests. However, hospitals can take many actions, such as through their discharge policies. I have cited the respiratory physician at James Connolly Hospital, Dr....

Accident and Emergency Services. (11 May 2005)

Mary Harney: I understand the Mater Hospital has made this decision. I met with the managers of the Dublin teaching hospitals a couple of weeks ago and put this issue to them. They were to consult on it and most felt that, before the Health and Safety Authority's report, it was probably safer on balance from a patients' safety point of view and a health perspective to put an extra bed on a ward from time...

Proposed Legislation. (11 May 2005)

Mary Harney: I first express my sincere condolences to the wife and family of the deceased person who died in such tragic circumstances, which is the subject of Deputy Cowley's question. As I have explained to the House previously, a national working group was established by my predecessor in May 2003 to advise on future measures for strengthening the regulatory environment for complementary therapies. I...

Proposed Legislation. (11 May 2005)

Mary Harney: I do not disagree with much of what the Deputy said. Some of the therapists in question will be regulated under the provisions of the new legislation on health care professionals. It has completed its passage through the Seanad and is due to be taken in this House shortly. That will provide a regulatory framework for many of the professionals to which the Deputy referred, but we need to go...

Proposed Legislation. (11 May 2005)

Mary Harney: I accept that we need separate legislation to cover alternative therapists but where medical practitioners engage in this kind of activity, which is what was happening in one instance at least, we need to give the council power to investigate proactively rather than for it simply to react.