Results 23,741-23,760 of 40,330 for speaker:Leo Varadkar

Written Answers — Department of Health: Hospital Staff Recruitment (3 Dec 2015)

Leo Varadkar: As this is a service matter, I have asked the HSE to respond to you directly. If you have not received a reply from the HSE within 15 working days please contact my Private Office and my officials will follow the matter up.

Written Answers — Department of Health: Health Services Staff Recruitment (3 Dec 2015)

Leo Varadkar: I have asked the HSE to respond to the Deputy directly on this matter. If you have not received a reply from the HSE within 15 working days please contact my Private Office and they will follow up the matter with them.

Written Answers — Department of Health: Health Services Staff (3 Dec 2015)

Leo Varadkar: I have asked the HSE to respond to the Deputy directly on this matter. If you have not received a reply from the HSE within 15 working days please contact my Private Office and they will follow up the matter with them.

Written Answers — Department of Health: Health Services Staff Remuneration (3 Dec 2015)

Leo Varadkar: The ability of the HSE and the health service to attract and retain high quality frontline staff shapes the extent to which the HSE can maintain and develop the range of health services required. There is an international nursing and medical manpower shortage, leading to difficulties in recruiting nurses, doctors and consultants. This difficulty is being experienced by other English...

Written Answers — Department of Health: National Children's Hospital (3 Dec 2015)

Leo Varadkar: On 10 August 2015 the National Paediatric Hospital Development Board (NPHDB) submitted a planning application for the new hospital and satellite centres to An Bord Pleanála. The oral hearings for the new children’s hospital began on 30 November. Much of the work undertaken for the project on the Mater site was transferable to the project in its new location. This includes in...

Written Answers — Department of Health: Hospital Beds Data (3 Dec 2015)

Leo Varadkar: With regard to the detailed queries raised by the Deputy, as these are service matters, I have asked the HSE to respond to you directly. If you have not received a reply from the HSE within 15 working days please contact my Private Office and my officials will follow the matter up.

Written Answers — Department of Health: Accident and Emergency Services Provision (3 Dec 2015)

Leo Varadkar: ED overcrowding is a priority issue for the Government. Last December I convened the ED Taskforce to assist in dealing with the challenges presented by ED overcrowding and significant progress has been made to date. Additional funding of €117 million has been provided in 2015 to relieve pressures on acute hospitals. In April, €74 million was provided to reduce delayed...

Written Answers — Department of Health: Health Insurance Cover (3 Dec 2015)

Leo Varadkar: The Health Act 1970 (as amended) provides that all persons ordinarily resident in the country are entitled, subject to certain charges, to public in-patient hospital services and to public out-patient hospital services. Section 55 provides that the HSE may provide private in-patient services to persons who are not entitled to, or who do not have or have waived eligibility to public...

Written Answers — Department of Health: Health Services Staff Recruitment (3 Dec 2015)

Leo Varadkar: Action 46 of Future Healthcommits the Department of Health to work with the HSE to implement an approach to workforce planning and development that achieves the objectives of: recruiting and retaining the right mix of staff; training and upskilling the workforce; providing for professional and career development; and creating supportive and healthy workplaces. This approach will include the...

Written Answers — Department of Health: Hospital Accommodation Provision (3 Dec 2015)

Leo Varadkar: Last December I convened the ED Taskforce to assist in dealing with the challenges presented by ED overcrowding. Significant progress has been made to date on the ED Taskforce Plan implementation. Additional funding of €117m has been provided in 2015 to relieve pressures on acute hospitals including reducing delayed discharges, lowering the waiting time for Fair Deal funding and...

Written Answers — Department of Health: Hospital Waiting Lists (3 Dec 2015)

Leo Varadkar: Improving waiting times for scheduled care for patients is a key priority for the Government. In January, I put in place maximum permissible waiting times for inpatient and day case treatment and outpatient appointments of 18 months by 30 June and 15 months by year end. The HSE was provided with additional funding of €51m to ensure that these maximum waiting times would be...

Written Answers — Department of Health: Nursing Staff Recruitment (3 Dec 2015)

Leo Varadkar: I have asked the HSE to respond to the Deputy directly on this matter. If you have not received a reply from the HSE within 15 working days please contact my Private Office and they will follow up the matter with them.

Written Answers — Department of Health: Hospital Services (3 Dec 2015)

Leo Varadkar: As this is a service matter, I have asked the HSE to respond to you directly. If you have not received a reply from the HSE within 15 working days please contact my Private Office and my officials will follow the matter up.

Written Answers — Department of Health: Hospital Waiting Lists (3 Dec 2015)

Leo Varadkar: As this is a service matter, I have asked the HSE to respond to you directly. If you have not received a reply from the HSE within 15 working days please contact my Private Office and my officials will follow the matter up.

Written Answers — Department of Health: Hospital Waiting Lists (3 Dec 2015)

Leo Varadkar: The Deputy's questions relate to service delivery matters and accordingly I have asked the HSE to respond directly to her. If you have not received a reply from the HSE within 15 working days please contact my Private Office and they will follow up the matter with them.

Health Insurance (Amendment) Bill 2015: Report and Final Stages (2 Dec 2015)

Leo Varadkar: I thank the Deputies for their comments. I thank Deputy Kelleher and Deputy Ó Caoláin for their support for this Bill. I note there are reservations and caveats attached to it. I also welcome their support for universal health care and agree with their objective in that regard. In the next few weeks, we will be moving into an election phase and there is an obligation on the...

Health Insurance (Amendment) Bill 2015: Report and Final Stages (2 Dec 2015)

Leo Varadkar: Fianna Fáil has an opportunity to show how much better it would be than any other party in government by producing a detailed and costed plan on bringing about universal health care in the first term of a Fianna Fáil government with Deputy Kelleher as Minister, presumably, and how he would achieve the transition. Perhaps I could learn from it. I look forward, therefore, to reading...

Health Insurance (Amendment) Bill 2015: Report and Final Stages (2 Dec 2015)

Leo Varadkar: I welcome the wide support for the Bill across the House. Ensuring as many individuals as possible have access to affordable health insurance, regardless of their age, gender or health status, forms the basis of Government policy in this area. Particular attention is given to protecting the needs of older and less healthy policy holders. We all recognise the important role risk...

Topical Issue Debate: Hospital Waiting Lists (2 Dec 2015)

Leo Varadkar: I will double check the NTPF figures in case I am mistaken. The NTPF does a number of things. It calculates the waiting lists and negotiates prices with private nursing homes for the fair deal scheme. Its traditional role prior to 2012, where people telephoned it and were able to go private, ended some time ago. I think only €1 million, or perhaps a couple million euro, is provided...

Topical Issue Debate: Hospital Waiting Lists (2 Dec 2015)

Leo Varadkar: I have already told the Deputy but will do so again. It is usually done towards the end of the year. I think it was used for endoscopy last year. A total of €50 million has been provided this year and certain amounts, although not as much, have been provided in previous years. That budget is controlled by the HSE and the hospital groups, so the €50 million provided this...