Results 24,861-24,880 of 40,330 for speaker:Leo Varadkar

Written Answers — Department of Health: Medical Card Administration (22 Sep 2015)

Leo Varadkar: Under the Health Act, 1970, as amended, eligibility for health services is based primarily on residency and means. In accordance with the Act, the assessment for a medical card is determined primarily by reference to the means, including the income and expenditure, of the applicant and his or her partner and dependants. Following publication of the Report of the Expert Panel on Medical...

Written Answers — Department of Health: HSE Expenditure (22 Sep 2015)

Leo Varadkar: Your question has been referred to the Health Service Executive for direct reply as it is the statutory body with responsibility for delivering health and personal social services. If you have not received a reply from the HSE within 15 working days please contact my Private Office who will follow up on the matter.

Written Answers — Department of Health: Departmental Functions (22 Sep 2015)

Leo Varadkar: My Department has an established Internal Audit Unit and an Audit Committee both of which operate under charters approved by the Secretary General and the Audit Committee. The Department’s Audit Committee is part of its control environment, tasked with providing independent advice to the Secretary General, as Accounting Officer, regarding the suitability and robustness of the...

Written Answers — Department of Health: Departmental Contracts Data (22 Sep 2015)

Leo Varadkar: The detailed information requested by the Deputy regarding fees paid for outsourced services is currently being collated and will be forwarded to the Deputy as soon as it is available.

Written Answers — Department of Health: Departmental Contracts Data (22 Sep 2015)

Leo Varadkar: The detailed information requested by the Deputy regarding fees paid for public services is currently being collated and will be forwarded to the Deputy as soon as it is available.

Topical Issue Debate: Architectural Heritage (16 Jul 2015)

Leo Varadkar: I hear what the Deputy is saying. I have remarked on occasion when I have passed through Cashel that the scaffolding seems have been there for a very long time so I was curious to know what the story was. I will undertake to discuss this matter with the Minister of State. I will be seeing him in the next couple of days and I will of course mention the fact that this was raised here. I...

Topical Issue Debate: Architectural Heritage (16 Jul 2015)

Leo Varadkar: The cathedral complex on the Rock of Cashel is one of Ireland's most important early mediaeval monuments and one of its components is Cormac's Chapel, situated on the south-east side of the main cathedral. It is not only one of the most significant early Romanesque buildings in the country, but it also contains fragments of an immensely important scheme of wall paintings that are practically...

Topical Issue Debate: Home Help Service Provision (16 Jul 2015)

Leo Varadkar: I thank the Deputy for raising this issue. I am taking this debate on behalf of my colleague, the Minister of State, Deputy Kathleen Lynch, who is on Government business elsewhere. While there will always be a need for long-term residential care, older people have consistently said they want to stay in their homes and communities for as long as possible, and the Government is committed...

Topical Issue Debate: Home Help Service Provision (16 Jul 2015)

Leo Varadkar: I cannot dispute what the Deputy is saying. Although there have not been cuts affecting home care or home help packages in the past couple of years and despite a small increase benefiting home care packages, our difficulty is that we have an ageing population that is getting bigger all the time. Our objective is to allow people to stay at home for as long as possible. This is not only their...

Written Answers — Department of Health: Abortion Legislation (16 Jul 2015)

Leo Varadkar: I propose to take Questions Nos. 447 and 448 together. As the Deputy is aware, Article 40.3.3 of the Irish Constitution states that: The State acknowledges the right to life of the unborn and, with due regard to the equal right to life of the mother, guarantees in its laws to respect, and, as far as practicable, by its laws to defend and vindicate that right. The Government does not intend to...

Written Answers — Department of Health: Health Services Staff Recruitment (16 Jul 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 Data (16 Jul 2015)

Leo Varadkar: As this is a service matter the question has been referred to the Health Service Executive for attention and direct reply to the Deputy. If no reply has been received from the HSE within 15 working days please contact my Private Office and they will follow up the matter with the Executive.

Written Answers — Department of Health: Hospital Consultants Recruitment (16 Jul 2015)

Leo Varadkar: The consultant who undertook pancreas transplants at Beaumont Hospital retired at the end of 2014. Beaumont Hospital is making every effort to fill vacancies on its renal transplant programme. Given the limited number of surgeons who specialise in transplantation, the filling of any vacancy poses a challenge. It is proposed that pancreas transplants, of which 6 were performed in 2014,...

Written Answers — Department of Health: Departmental Programmes (16 Jul 2015)

Leo Varadkar: As the Deputy should be aware I said on my appointment that, for the remainder of this Government’s term of Office I would concentrate on achieving a small number of realistic goals while laying the ground work for further Health reform. I will continue to do just that for the remainder of the year. At that stage, my first priority was to secure realistic budget, which was achieved. ...

Written Answers — Department of Health: Treatment Abroad Scheme (16 Jul 2015)

Leo Varadkar: The Health Service Executive has been asked to examine this matter and to reply to the Deputy as soon as possible. If the Deputy has not received a reply from the HSE within 15 working days, please contact my Private Office who will follow up the matter with them.

Written Answers — Department of Health: Hospitals Funding (16 Jul 2015)

Leo Varadkar: The level of funding provided in respect of Acute Hospital services will need to be considered as part of the 2016 estimates process which is now underway. In the context of overall competing demands for health service funding, and it would be inappropriate for me to comment further at this stage.

Written Answers — Department of Health: Hospital Appointment Status (16 Jul 2015)

Leo Varadkar: Under the Health Act 2004, the Health Service Executive (HSE) is required to manage and deliver, or arrange to be delivered on its behalf, health and personal social services. Section 6 of the HSE Governance Act 2013 bars the Minister for Health from directing the HSE to provide a treatment or a personal service to any individual or to confer eligibility on any individual. The National...

Written Answers — Department of Health: Hospital Staff Data (16 Jul 2015)

Leo Varadkar: I have asked the HSE to respond to the Deputy directly on the 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: Medicinal Products Prices (16 Jul 2015)

Leo Varadkar: The Government has introduced a series of reforms in recent years to reduce the prices of drugs and medicines which are paid for by the HSE. This has resulted in reductions in the price of thousands of medicines. Price reductions of the order of 30% per item reimbursed were achieved between 2009 and 2013; the average cost per items reimbursed is now running at 2001/2002 levels. The...

Written Answers — Department of Health: Hospital Staff Data (16 Jul 2015)

Leo Varadkar: I have asked the HSE to respond to the Deputy directly on the 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.