Results 2,681-2,700 of 24,635 for speaker:Mary Harney

Written Answers — Hospital Services: Hospital Services (18 May 2010)

Mary Harney: Activity data in private hospitals is not collected or verified by the Department of Health and Children or by the HSE. In relation to public acute hospital activity I attach in tabular format the information sought by the Deputy. 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009*** ED Attendances 1,249,659 1,245,001 1,296,091 1,150,674 1,119,719 Outpatient Attendances 2,453,000 2,796,331 3,087,448 3,298,494 *...

Written Answers — Hospital Services: Hospital Services (18 May 2010)

Mary Harney: Under the National Plan for Radiation Oncology (NPRO), there will be a network of four radiotherapy centres and two satellite centres by 2014. The four main centres will be located at Beaumont, St James's, Cork and Galway plus two satellite centres at Limerick and Waterford. It is intended that services at the existing facility in St Luke's in Dublin will have transferred in full to...

Written Answers — Hospital Accommodation: Hospital Accommodation (18 May 2010)

Mary Harney: I regret that due to industrial action I am not in a position to provide a substantive response to your Parliamentary Question. If this matter remains of continuing concern to you, however, I would invite you to raise it with me again in due course.

Written Answers — Health Insurance: Health Insurance (18 May 2010)

Mary Harney: As indicated in my response to PQ Reference No. 17571/10, the information sought in this question is detailed. A comprehensive reply is being prepared and will be submitted directly to the Deputy as soon as possible.

Written Answers — Hospital Services: Hospital Services (18 May 2010)

Mary Harney: I wish to advise the Deputy that due to industrial action affecting the Health Service Executive it is not possible for the Executive to supply the information requested. If this matter remains of continuing concern to you, however, I would invite you to raise it with me again in due course. If the patient's medical condition continues to cause concern it is open to their general...

Written Answers — Medical Cards: Medical Cards (18 May 2010)

Mary Harney: I wish to advise the Deputy that due to industrial action affecting the Health Service Executive it is not possible for the Executive to supply the information requested. If this matter remains of continuing concern to you, however, I would invite you to raise it with me again in due course.

Written Answers — Hospital Services: Hospital Services (18 May 2010)

Mary Harney: I wish to advise the Deputy that due to industrial action affecting the Health Service Executive it is not possible for the Executive to supply the information requested. If this matter remains of continuing concern to you, however, I would invite you to raise it with me again in due course.

Written Answers — Pension Provisions: Pension Provisions (18 May 2010)

Mary Harney: I assume the Deputy is referring to the State Pension (Transition, Contributory and Non-Contributory) which is administered and paid by the Department of Social Protection and based on pay related social insurance contributions. As such, the information requested by the Deputy is not available to my Department.

Proposed Legislation (18 May 2010)

Mary Harney: It will be real and will recognise the financial resources under which we must all operate and which some of the Deputy's policies do not appear to recognise.

Proposed Legislation (18 May 2010)

Mary Harney: The Deputy speaks as if we have an unlimited budget for an unlimited number of consultations, procedures and diagnostics. On the Deputy's specific question, the legislation is long overdue. It is, however, a major piece of work on which considerable work has been done in my Department. The proposals will be brought to Government shortly for decision.

Proposed Legislation (18 May 2010)

Mary Harney: I totally refute the Deputy assertion. Everything we have done, including the new consultant contract, medical card arrangements, screening programmes and the establishment of the fair deal, was precisely to deal with people who did not have appropriate access to public facilities. It remains my determination to continue to improve access to our public health services on the basis of...

Health Service Appointments (18 May 2010)

Mary Harney: The board of the Health Service Executive is continuing the recruitment process for the next chief executive officer of the HSE as the contract of the current CEO, Professor Brendan Drumm, expires in August this year. In accordance with section 17 of the Health Act 2004, the HSE board is responsible for making the appointment. The Act stipulates that the recruitment process must be in...

Health Service Appointments (18 May 2010)

Mary Harney: As I stated, under the Health Act 2004, I do not have any role in recruitment. The search company engaged interviewed or met more than 25 persons from around the world and more than 100 people expressed an interest of some form in the position. A cap of €37,000 was imposed on the costs of the recruitment process for the company in question and I understand the final figure will be lower...

Health Service Appointments (18 May 2010)

Mary Harney: I hold Professor Tom Keane in high regard. He impressed me so much when I met him in Canada that I asked him would he consider coming to Ireland. I did not expect to receive a positive response and I was delighted when he decided to come here. He was appointed to a specific position of overseeing the implementation of the cancer control programme on a contract we agreed with his then...

Health Service Appointments (18 May 2010)

Mary Harney: I do not know of any health provider which can operate without a CEO. To refer to the words cited by Deputy Reilly, every organisation needs leadership. The HSE requires, in particular, a chief executive officer given that it is responsible for a budget of almost €15 billion provided by taxpayers. I would not consider asking anyone to suspend the recruitment process. It is important...

Accident and Emergency Services (18 May 2010)

Mary Harney: Last year, the HSE dealt with almost 1.2 million emergency department presentations and it expects to do the same again this year. Approximately 70% of people who attended emergency departments were not admitted to hospital; they were treated and discharged. This year, the HSE is planning to increase the number who can be safely discharged home without admission to about 72%. This can be...

Accident and Emergency Services (18 May 2010)

Mary Harney: The Deputy has asked a whole host of questions. A number of issues are affecting the staffing of hospitals. The first is the working time directive, which is now Irish and European law. It is being implemented for patient safety reasons because we do not want overworked doctors attending patients. Under the new Medical Practitioners Act there is a fundamental change in the training of...

Accident and Emergency Services (18 May 2010)

Mary Harney: On Drogheda, the facility is ready. There are issues in terms of recruiting staff and industrial relations. The process will happen this year and money is being provided for that. I do not have the precise opening date for the new facility. I had discussions yesterday with INMO and hope that the current staff could move into the new facility to provide the services which are currently...

Hospital Services (18 May 2010)

Mary Harney: I have been assured that Beaumont Hospital will meet its service plan targets for 2010. These involve treating the same number of patients this year as last but with less reliance on inpatient stays. In turn this will involve reducing inappropriate hospital admissions, more same day of surgery admissions, more day care cases, earlier discharges and reductions in waiting times for elective...

Hospital Services (18 May 2010)

Mary Harney: As my colleague the Minister of State, Deputy Áine Brady, will address the fair deal scheme, I will only make a brief comment on it. We were dealing with a large volume of applications which came in at the same time because the scheme was only introduced last October. In many cases, court and other legal procedures are involved because we have to deal with people who have diminished mental...