Results 28,781-28,800 of 40,330 for speaker:Leo Varadkar

Written Answers — Department of Health: National Lottery Funding Disbursement (18 Sep 2014)

Leo Varadkar: My Department administers a National Lottery Discretionary Fund from which once-off grants are paid to community and voluntary organisations, providing a range of health related services. If an organisation wishes to make an application for National Lottery Funding they should send in a formal application. Detailed procedures along with the application form are set out on the Department's...

Written Answers — Department of Health: National Lottery Funding Disbursement (18 Sep 2014)

Leo Varadkar: My Department has received an application for funding from the 2014 National Lottery allocation from the organisation in question. This is one of a large number of applications currently being assessed by my Department. The organisation will be informed of the outcome of the application as soon as a decision has been made.

Written Answers — Department of Health: Accident and Emergency Departments Closures (18 Sep 2014)

Leo Varadkar: The Article in the Irish Times last week was based on information related to the Department's submission to the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform under the Government's Comprehensive Review of Expenditure (CRE) exercise. This Review exercise is carried out every three to four years. The last such Review was completed in 2011. As my Department’s CRE submission is currently...

Written Answers — Department of Health: Hospital Waiting Lists (18 Sep 2014)

Leo Varadkar: As this is a service matter, I have asked the HSE to respond directly to the Deputy.

Written Answers — Department of Health: Alcohol Pricing (18 Sep 2014)

Leo Varadkar: The Government has approved an extensive package of measures to deal with alcohol misuse to be incorporated in a Public Health (Alcohol) Bill. These measures are based on the recommendations in the Steering Group Report on a Substance Misuse Strategy, 2012 and include provisions for the introduction of minimum unit pricing for alcohol products. Work on developing a framework for the...

Written Answers — Department of Health: Departmental Records (18 Sep 2014)

Leo Varadkar: The Department of Health does not employ an archivist. My Department has a contract with a records management company for the secure storage of the Department’s inactive records, incorporating ordinary storage, high security storage and multimedia storage. This state-of-the-art facility is protected from flood, and temperature and humidity are recorded and monitored. This ensures...

Written Answers — Department of Health: Departmental Records (18 Sep 2014)

Leo Varadkar: My Department has a contract with a records management company for storage and retrieval of the Department’s inactive records, incorporating ordinary storage, high security storage and multimedia storage, along with retrieval services for these records. The cost of the storage of Departmental records is met by the Office of Public Works and the cost in 2012 and 2013 was €62,280...

Written Answers — Department of Health: Services for People with Disabilities (17 Sep 2014)

Leo Varadkar: As the particular issue raised by the Deputy relates to an individual case, this is a service matter for the Health Service Executive. Accordingly, I have arranged for the question to be referred to the HSE for direct reply to the Deputy.

Written Answers — Department of Health: Hospital Consultants Remuneration (17 Sep 2014)

Leo Varadkar: The previous Minister for Health established a Working Group, chaired by Professor Brian MacCraith, President of DCU, in July 2013, to carry out a strategic review of medical training and career structure in order to ensure the continued recruitment of high quality Consultants. The final report of the group was submitted at the end of June 2014. The MacCraith group’s second interim...

Written Answers — Department of Health: Drug Treatment Programmes Availability (17 Sep 2014)

Leo Varadkar: An objective of the National Drugs Strategy 2009-16 is to develop a national treatment and rehabilitation service that provides drug free and harm reduction approaches for problem substance users and to encourage problem substance users to engage with, and avail of, such services. To this end the HSE provides a variety of drug treatment interventions to meet the needs of individual drug...

Written Answers — Department of Health: Constitutional Amendments (17 Sep 2014)

Leo Varadkar: 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 interpretation of Article 40.3.3 was considered by the Supreme Court in Attorney General v X (the X...

Written Answers — Department of Health: Tobacco Control Measures (17 Sep 2014)

Leo Varadkar: I propose to take Questions Nos. 764, 766, 777 and 878 together. In June 2014, the Government approved the drafting of a General Scheme of a Bill to provide for the introduction of a licensing system and other measures in relation to the sale of tobacco products and non-medicinal nicotine delivery systems (including e-cigarettes). The proposed licensing system will facilitate stricter...

Written Answers — Department of Health: Hospital Appointment Status (17 Sep 2014)

Leo Varadkar: In relation to the detailed information requested by the Deputy, as this is a service matter, I have asked the Health Service Executive to respond to her directly.

Written Answers — Department of Health: Tobacco Control Measures (17 Sep 2014)

Leo Varadkar: At present it is illegal to sell tobacco products to those under 18 years. Tobacco Free Ireland, the latest policy document on smoking in this country, has the protection of children as one of its main themes. One of the key strategies for protecting children and young people, as well as for moving towards the creation of a tobacco free society, is the denormalisation of tobacco use. Making...

Written Answers — Department of Health: Health Services Staff Recruitment (17 Sep 2014)

Leo Varadkar: I propose to take Questions Nos. 772, 1154 and 1155 together. As these questions relate to an operational matter, I have referred the Deputy's questions to the HSE for direct reply.

Written Answers — Department of Health: Health Services (17 Sep 2014)

Leo Varadkar: As this is a service matter, I have asked the HSE to respond directly to the Deputy.

Written Answers — Department of Health: Health Insurance Levy (17 Sep 2014)

Leo Varadkar: I am committed to maintaining a sustainable private health insurance market, and I am keen to create the best possible environment within which more people, particularly younger people, will want to obtain and retain private health insurance cover that is affordable, competitive and meets consumers' needs. As required under the Health Insurance Acts 1994 to 2013, the Health Insurance...

Written Answers — Department of Health: Regulatory Impact Assessment Data (17 Sep 2014)

Leo Varadkar: As the Deputy will be aware, a Regulatory Impact Analysis was carried out in connection with the Public Health (Standardised Packaging of Tobacco) Bill 2014, and it is now available on the Department of Health’s website at . As part of the Regulatory Impact Analysis (RIA) process, submissions were sought by the Department of Health from stakeholders, including the tobacco industry...

Written Answers — Department of Health: Tobacco Control Measures (17 Sep 2014)

Leo Varadkar: I assume that the Deputy is referring to the World Cancer Report 2014, issued by the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC). The report notes the need for multipronged preventive action including treaties and laws extending tobacco-style restrictions to alcohol and sweetened beverages in order to address the alarming rise in the cancer burden. Ireland is supportive of the World...

Written Answers — Department of Health: EU Issues (17 Sep 2014)

Leo Varadkar: As the Deputy is aware, Government approved the publication of the Public Health (Standardised Packaging of Tobacco) Bill 2014 on 10thJune 2014 and the presentation of the Bill in the Seanad. The Bill was initiated in the Seanad on the 19thJune and completed Committee and Report Stage on the 24thJune. The Bill commenced Second Stage in the Dáil on 2ndJuly 2014. On 17thJune, formal...