Results 3,221-3,240 of 24,567 for speaker:Róisín Shortall

Written Answers — Department of Health: Departmental Reports (21 Feb 2023)

Róisín Shortall: 642. To ask the Minister for Health further to Parliamentary Question No. 307 of 9 February 2023, if he will provide additional details in relation to his update on recommendation 9(ii) regarding altering medical records; the meaning of associated arrangements; if he intends to bring forward separate legislation to make it a criminal offence to alter medical records with the intent to mislead...

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Departmental Staff (16 Feb 2023)

Róisín Shortall: 86. To ask the Minister for Health if his attention has been drawn to the inordinate number of senior staff who left his Department in 2022; the analysis, if any, of the reasons for these high numbers; if exit interviews were carried out and, if so, the outcome of these; and the steps that will be taken to address this concerning matter. [8013/23]

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Departmental Staff (16 Feb 2023)

Róisín Shortall: I have a serious concern about the high turnover of staff in the Department of Health in the past two years. In 2021, the number of staff leaving jumped considerably and it jumped again in 2022. I am concerned about the instability this will cause and is causing in the health service. What is the Minister doing about it and what exactly is going on in the Department of Health?

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Departmental Staff (16 Feb 2023)

Róisín Shortall: By any standard the level of turnover is exceptional. For example, overall last year, 155 staff left, which represents about 24%. Almost one quarter of all staff in the Department of Health left last year. That must create instability and there must be some underlying reason for it. It is exceptional and completely out of line with previous years. Let us consider who those people were....

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Departmental Staff (16 Feb 2023)

Róisín Shortall: I am asking about the turnover.

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Departmental Staff (16 Feb 2023)

Róisín Shortall: It is not helpful for the Minister to deny the situation exists. These are exceptional figures. Almost a quarter of staff in the Department of Health left last year, including a large number of senior people. They have walked out of the Department of Health. These are not retirements. These people chose to leave the Department of Health. Why did that happen and, more important, what is...

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Departmental Staff (16 Feb 2023)

Róisín Shortall: The Minister should speak about the numbers.

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Departmental Staff (16 Feb 2023)

Róisín Shortall: The Minister should speak about the numbers. They do not lie.

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Departmental Staff (16 Feb 2023)

Róisín Shortall: No, the Minister has not.

Patient Safety (Notifiable Patient Safety Incidents) Bill 2019: Report Stage (Resumed) (15 Feb 2023)

Róisín Shortall: Tonight is an important and positive occasion in finalising the important legislation before us, but it is also a poignant occasion. Throughout the debate, we have held those women front and centre and thought of them continuously. That includes those women lost their lives as a result of what happened with CervicalCheck and those whose lives were turned upside down but who have survived....

Patient Safety (Notifiable Patient Safety Incidents) Bill 2019: Report Stage (Resumed) (15 Feb 2023)

Róisín Shortall: It does not stop a person being able to make a complaint to a professional body.

Patient Safety (Notifiable Patient Safety Incidents) Bill 2019: Report Stage (Resumed) (15 Feb 2023)

Róisín Shortall: It has to be said that the experience for patients in working through professional bodies has not been good. In terms of adverse incidents, generally speaking the HSE is the body named, as well as the hospital and individual. Allowing a person the opportunity to make a complaint about clinical judgment to the HSE does not preclude a person from making a similar complaint to a professional...

Patient Safety (Notifiable Patient Safety Incidents) Bill 2019: Report Stage (Resumed) (15 Feb 2023)

Róisín Shortall: I do not accept what the Minister is saying. This is yet another long-fingering of a critical aspect of healthcare, namely, the duty of candour. We have talked about this for many years. It is absolutely central to so many of the cases we see resolved in the High Court, the Supreme Court or on the steps of the courts. Earlier, I referred to the two cases yesterday. We cannot continue to...

Patient Safety (Notifiable Patient Safety Incidents) Bill 2019: Report Stage (Resumed) (15 Feb 2023)

Róisín Shortall: I move amendment No. 20: In page 49, between lines 5 and 6, to insert the following: “Amendment of section 48 of Act of 2004 40.Section 48 of the Act of 2004 is amended by the deletion of paragraph (b).”. This amendment arises out of the report by Dr. Scally. He was commissioned to carry out a number of reports on CervicalCheck. It does not make sense that the...

Patient Safety (Notifiable Patient Safety Incidents) Bill 2019: Report Stage (Resumed) (15 Feb 2023)

Róisín Shortall: I share that concern. It is not exactly clear. It may be in the small print but I cannot see where that power has been given to HIQA. In a general sense, I welcome the Minister's amendments relating to extending the powers of HIQA in certain respects. Of course, those powers will only be useful if the consequent resources are provided. What are the proposals to increase the resources...

Patient Safety (Notifiable Patient Safety Incidents) Bill 2019: Report Stage (Resumed) (15 Feb 2023)

Róisín Shortall: It is a planning issue.

Patient Safety (Notifiable Patient Safety Incidents) Bill 2019: Report Stage (Resumed) (15 Feb 2023)

Róisín Shortall: The Minister in passing referred to the new lab at the Coombe Hospital. By all accounts, it is a very fine facility. The big issue with it was that there were no staff. Certainly up to recently there were not adequate staff to deal with CervicalCheck smears. I asked a parliamentary question on this in December. The response indicated only private work was being done there. We were told...

Patient Safety (Notifiable Patient Safety Incidents) Bill 2019: Report Stage (Resumed) (15 Feb 2023)

Róisín Shortall: Two months have been lost on this and, hopefully, it was worth that delay. I want to welcome the fact that agreement was reached with the 221+ group last week around clarification on the notifications that would be provided to people to make them aware of the option of the Part 5 review. While that was provided for in the original legislation, it is good that there is additional clarity...

Energy Costs and Windfall Taxes: Motion [Private Members] (15 Feb 2023)

Róisín Shortall: I wish to share time with Deputy Whitmore.

Energy Costs and Windfall Taxes: Motion [Private Members] (15 Feb 2023)

Róisín Shortall: There is no disputing that we are in the midst of an unprecedented energy crisis. It is the key driver of the soaring cost of living that continues to affect every household in Ireland. However, we know that its impact is not indiscriminate. Low- and middle-income households are disproportionately affected by the soaring cost of living, as they spend a higher proportion of their budget on...