Results 28,921-28,940 of 46,575 for speaker:Simon Harris

Other Questions: Home Care Packages Administration (8 Feb 2018)

Simon Harris: I thank Deputy Smith for raising this matter. The Government is committed to promoting care in the community so that people can continue to live with confidence, security and dignity in their own homes for as long as possible. To support this, we plan to establish a new statutory scheme for the financing and regulation of home care services. I know the Deputy supports that move and the...

Other Questions: Freedom of Information (8 Feb 2018)

Simon Harris: I thank Deputy Kelly. There is nothing the Deputy has said that I disagree with in terms of the law of the land, which is very clear and there for everyone to see. I am informed that the deadline for the publication of this scheme was 14 April 2016 so clearly anybody who does not publish is not in compliance with the Act. The Office of the Information Commissioner is the body this can be...

Other Questions: Freedom of Information (8 Feb 2018)

Simon Harris: I have outlined the action I will take. In terms of compliance with the law, Beaumont Hospital is a prescribed body in its own right. The Office of the Information Commissioner oversees the implementation of the Act. It is disappointing to hear this because Beaumont is a hospital I very often reference in terms of its very positive progress on the number of patients on trolleys and waiting...

Other Questions: Freedom of Information (8 Feb 2018)

Simon Harris: -----as does Deputy Kelly. I do not know the reason for this but now the Deputy has brought it to my attention, I will correspond with the hospital and try to establish the facts and revert to the Deputy.

Other Questions: Freedom of Information (8 Feb 2018)

Simon Harris: I thank the Deputy for this question, which has caught my attention because we are very clear on what people should do in this regard. Beaumont Hospital is a prescribed body, as the Deputy knows, in its own right for the purposes of freedom of information. Statutory responsibility for the hospital's compliance with the provisions and requirements of the Freedom of Information Act 2014 rests...

Other Questions: Industrial Disputes (8 Feb 2018)

Simon Harris: There is an alternative to industrial action, namely, talking and engaging, which is generally the way we settle industrial disputes. We have dealt with a number of such disputes in the health sector since my appointment as Minister. I do not need to wear a badge to prove my record of willingness to engage and work through issues. Deputy Broughan is entirely correct that a number of...

Other Questions: Hospital Waiting Lists Action Plans (8 Feb 2018)

Simon Harris: I thank Deputies Billy Kelleher and Niall Collins for raising the important issue of the need to reduce waiting times for appointments to see neurologists at University Hospital Limerick. Reducing waiting times is one of the Government's key priorities. I am advised by the HSE that outpatient waiting lists, including neurology lists, are managed centrally at University Limerick hospitals...

Other Questions: Hospital Waiting Lists Action Plans (8 Feb 2018)

Simon Harris: I largely agree with the Deputy on this matter. The HSE launched a model of care for neurology in 2016 and is moving towards the implementation of this model. The national clinical programme for neurology model of care document recommends an increase in the number of consultant neurologists and nurse specialists, including clinical nurse specialists, and other health care professionals....

Other Questions: Hospital Waiting Lists Action Plans (8 Feb 2018)

Simon Harris: The Deputy raises a valid point. Capital projects will increase capacity in terms of the number of beds and dementia facilities. An issue also arises regarding the number of people on the outpatients list, particularly those with dementia, who could be treated in the community. This issue applies to the outpatients list in general. When so many people on such a large list miss...

Other Questions: Industrial Disputes (8 Feb 2018)

Simon Harris: I propose to take Questions Nos. 6 and 9 together. I thank Deputies Barry and Broughan for raising this important matter. Under section 39 of the Health Act 2004, the HSE provides financial assistance to organisations by means of a grant. Many of those organisations provide very useful and valuable services that our citizens appreciate. Section 39 legally underpins the provision of...

Other Questions: Industrial Disputes (8 Feb 2018)

Simon Harris: I am not sure what Deputy Barry's comment about the badge relates to. I am very proud that women have had the vote for 100 years and I hope we will do an awful lot more to advance women's rights in this country in the coming months. There is an urgency in terms of resolving this but, and I mean this respectfully, with the position I hold I do not have the luxury of being able to say some of...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: Hospital Services (8 Feb 2018)

Simon Harris: The Deputy is right. When I went to Cashel I was annoyed to see the potential that there is in that facility is not being fully utilised when there is clear pressure on South Tipperary General Hospital. Therefore, we need joined-up thinking. As a result of working with the Deputy and others, I have asked the HSE to look at Cashel and Clonmel hospitals together to see what services can most...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: National Maternity Hospital (8 Feb 2018)

Simon Harris: I thank the Deputy for raising this issue, which I know she has consistently raised. I will recommit to those two issues. I want to assure the Deputy that we are making progress on the draft legal framework. We have involved the Chief State Solicitor's office on that to make sure it is as robust as we would all want it to be from the State's point of view. That will ensure the State's...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: National Maternity Hospital (8 Feb 2018)

Simon Harris: The Deputy is correct in that there was significant public concern regarding this situation, which I heard loudly and clearly. That told us that while we have invested significant resources in the past in facilities that we have not necessarily owned, the public want that to change now. That is why I have set up a group chaired by Dr. Catherine Day and including Professor Jane Grimson and...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: National Maternity Hospital (8 Feb 2018)

Simon Harris: I have no knowledge, nor has any issue been brought to my attention, that an issue relating to any bank is causing any delay. I have been told that there has been very constructive and intensive engagement, which has moved this situation significantly in terms of an agreement, in principle, that the building and ownership of the new national maternity hospital would remain in State...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: National Maternity Hospital (8 Feb 2018)

Simon Harris: No, I am not confirming that. I am saying that it is being finalised. I will brief the Deputy. I have used examples of how it is used. I do not wish to say anything on the floor of the Dáil to jeopardise this project and I am trying to provide the Deputy with as much information as possible.

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: National Maternity Hospital (8 Feb 2018)

Simon Harris: I expect it will be.

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: Hospital Services (8 Feb 2018)

Simon Harris: I thank the Deputy for asking this important question and for consistently raising the issue of how we can better use Our Lady's hospital in Cashel to support the care needs of people in Tipperary while also working hand in glove with what is being done in Clonmel. I am pleased that we are making progress on the modular build in Clonmel. The next phase must determine what more can be done...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: Hospital Services (8 Feb 2018)

Simon Harris: Absolutely. A number of services are being provided there in the form of the minor injuries unit, community intervention teams, primary care teams, community mental health services, disability services, outreach services provided by the Irish Wheelchair Association, a substance misuse team, home care services, acquired brain injury services, catering for the St. Patrick's Hospital campus,...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: HSE Funding (8 Feb 2018)

Simon Harris: The Deputy is correct. It was the same in 2011 and 2012. The Taoiseach, when he was Minister for Health, reversed that policy.