Results 24,641-24,660 of 46,014 for speaker:Simon Harris

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Future of Mental Health Care: Engagement with Minister for Health and Minister of State at the Department of Health (11 Jul 2018)

Simon Harris: The proposal on telepsychiatry is an excellent idea and any guidance the committee wants to feed into the plan by the Minister of State, Deputy Daly, would be welcomed by all of us. On the issue of eHealth in general, and this is the Chairman's call, it would be useful to have a written briefing or an oral presentation from the Department's officials who head up eHealth and the chief...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Future of Mental Health Care: Engagement with Minister for Health and Minister of State at the Department of Health (11 Jul 2018)

Simon Harris: I will follow that up.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Future of Mental Health Care: Engagement with Minister for Health and Minister of State at the Department of Health (11 Jul 2018)

Simon Harris: Both the Senator and the Deputy raised the issue of Traveller health, so I will start there. They are both correct. We need to up our game in how we interact with the Traveller community about mental health and also general health issues. I visited Pavee Point a number of months ago and had a good engagement. The key question the Traveller community, through Pavee Point and its leaders,...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Future of Mental Health Care: Engagement with Minister for Health and Minister of State at the Department of Health (11 Jul 2018)

Simon Harris: I am informed the posts were advertised.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Future of Mental Health Care: Engagement with Minister for Health and Minister of State at the Department of Health (11 Jul 2018)

Simon Harris: My colleague, the Minister of State, Deputy Jim Daly, will take most of them. I nevertheless wish to comment on a number of them if that is okay with the Chairman. On the issue the fiscal space and the discussions we have, that is a matter for the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform to determine how that comes out of his allocation. What I am very confident of is that we have a...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Future of Mental Health Care: Engagement with Minister for Health and Minister of State at the Department of Health (11 Jul 2018)

Simon Harris: Absolutely, and in that regard in general, we already have brought in Professor Frank Murray to do a body of work. We believe - I need to be careful as I do not have the details to hand and do not want to misspeak - they are not all working within the public health service, which is an issue worth pointing out. The global figure that has been put out there does not pertain entirely to HSE...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Future of Mental Health Care: Engagement with Minister for Health and Minister of State at the Department of Health (11 Jul 2018)

Simon Harris: I do not believe there is a conflict of interest. We fund nearly all the agencies which have such a responsibility. HIQA is funded through my Department and, rightly and appropriately, is regularly highly critical of aspects of our health service. A similar situation pertains in respect of ombudsmen. I take the point made by the Chair but I would probably come in for greater criticism if...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Future of Mental Health Care: Engagement with Minister for Health and Minister of State at the Department of Health (11 Jul 2018)

Simon Harris: I would be delighted to.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Future of Mental Health Care: Engagement with Minister for Health and Minister of State at the Department of Health (11 Jul 2018)

Simon Harris: I thank Deputy Rabbitte and Senator McFadden for their questions. The Minister of State has taken note of the questions relating to his portfolio. I will answer some of the others. In terms of adolescents being admitted to adult facilities, as the Taoiseach did in the Dáil earlier, I acknowledge the Chairman's work on this matter. In fact, the Chairman may have discussed the matter...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Future of Mental Health Care: Engagement with Minister for Health and Minister of State at the Department of Health (11 Jul 2018)

Simon Harris: I am not attempting to make a party-political point and I think everyone will agree with what I am about to say. The way that the HSE developed is not the way in which, I imagine, any of us would envisage a national health organisation developing. What we are going to do is pare back the HSE in terms of its size and devolve more powers to the regions. Let me make it clear that the health...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Future of Mental Health Care: Engagement with Minister for Health and Minister of State at the Department of Health (11 Jul 2018)

Simon Harris: Many of the members will have had a similar experience whereby one goes to the forum, asks one's question, etc. We have the HSE board in place to ensure accountability at national level but we need to find a way whereby there can be accountability at regional level. I am committed to working with Members of the Houses on all sides in order to devise the legislation relating to the HSE...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Future of Mental Health Care: Engagement with Minister for Health and Minister of State at the Department of Health (11 Jul 2018)

Simon Harris: Please do, Chairman.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Future of Mental Health Care: Engagement with Minister for Health and Minister of State at the Department of Health (11 Jul 2018)

Simon Harris: There is a lot of this going on today.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Future of Mental Health Care: Engagement with Minister for Health and Minister of State at the Department of Health (11 Jul 2018)

Simon Harris: I must have missed something-----

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Future of Mental Health Care: Engagement with Minister for Health and Minister of State at the Department of Health (11 Jul 2018)

Simon Harris: -----or perhaps there is an air of summer giddiness. The Chairman has made a serious point.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Future of Mental Health Care: Engagement with Minister for Health and Minister of State at the Department of Health (11 Jul 2018)

Simon Harris: The good thing is that there is a consensus on this matter. Without going into the broader debate that the Chairman of the Joint Committee on Health and I regularly have in respect of Sláintecare, there is a cross-party consensus as to what the structures should look like.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Future of Mental Health Care: Engagement with Minister for Health and Minister of State at the Department of Health (11 Jul 2018)

Simon Harris: There is a consensus that there should be a national entity - call it the HSE or something else. The current entity is too big and too bureaucratic. I am of the view that more functions should be devolved to the regions. Whether I am considered a reforming Minister is a matter for historians to assess many years from now, but the benefit of this plan is that we all agree that this is the...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Future of Mental Health Care: Engagement with Minister for Health and Minister of State at the Department of Health (11 Jul 2018)

Simon Harris: And the good answers given.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Future of Mental Health Care: Engagement with Minister for Health and Minister of State at the Department of Health (11 Jul 2018)

Simon Harris: Managers are threatening staff if they attend meetings.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Future of Mental Health Care: Engagement with Minister for Health and Minister of State at the Department of Health (11 Jul 2018)

Simon Harris: I thank Deputies Pat Buckley and John Brassil. On HSE management, I have confidence in the people who run the health service. We are advertising to fill a number of new senior posts in it. I do not, however, have confidence in the structures, which is why I am trying to change them to enable staff, including some very good individuals, to do the job they want to do. It is often a...