Results 3,261-3,280 of 24,635 for speaker:Mary Harney

Written Answers — Medical Cards: Medical Cards (23 Mar 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.

Nomination of Members of the Government: Motion (Resumed) (23 Mar 2010)

Mary Harney: The Deputy would not wish that on her.

Nomination of Members of the Government: Motion (Resumed) (23 Mar 2010)

Mary Harney: It is a privilege to stand here today and be nominated by the Taoiseach to serve in his Government. It will be the eighth time that I have been asked to serve in a Government since 1997. It is a privilege that I do not take lightly. It is one that I take seriously and I apply all my energy to the task in hand. I will deal in a moment with some of the issues that have been mentioned...

Nomination of Members of the Government: Motion (Resumed) (23 Mar 2010)

Mary Harney: Deputy Kenny himself marched-----

Nomination of Members of the Government: Motion (Resumed) (23 Mar 2010)

Mary Harney: Deputy Kenny himself marched in his own home town in opposition to that policy.

Nomination of Members of the Government: Motion (Resumed) (23 Mar 2010)

Mary Harney: Deputy Kenny is a man who aspires to be Taoiseach, leading the Government and the country. In his speech he referred to the need for courage and clarity, so I am entitled to make these points. The Labour Party said the cancer control plan could not be implemented because we did not have millions of euro to invest in it. Professor Tom Keane showed that by redirecting resources, not by...

Nomination of Members of the Government: Motion (Resumed) (23 Mar 2010)

Mary Harney: It is not about the past; it is about the future. It is about having an agenda. The words "reform" and "change" have been debased in this House. It is about improving services for patients bit by bit, day by day. What is the agenda now? It is to provide a risk equalisation scheme, for example, that encompasses solidarity between younger and older people and sicker and healthier people....

Nomination of Members of the Government: Motion (Resumed) (23 Mar 2010)

Mary Harney: I will deal with that in a moment.

Nomination of Members of the Government: Motion (Resumed) (23 Mar 2010)

Mary Harney: It is about licensing and accrediting health facilities, which we have never done in this country but for which legislation is currently being prepared. It is about providing an information regime to allow information to be used to improve services to patients. This is the agenda for the next two years as far as health is concerned. With regard to the issue raised by Deputy Gilmore, we do...

Nomination of Members of the Government: Motion (Resumed) (23 Mar 2010)

Mary Harney: -----that is no longer accepted, including by the people at the National Rehabilitation Hospital.

Nomination of Members of the Government: Motion (Resumed) (23 Mar 2010)

Mary Harney: The problem with the Opposition is that it has a magic-wand approach to health. Fine Gael favours compulsory private health insurance. It talks about it as fair care.

Nomination of Members of the Government: Motion (Resumed) (23 Mar 2010)

Mary Harney: -----let us find out the cost of that policy. The Labour Party favours compulsory social insurance. However, there is no magic wand in health. The issue is not about how to raise the money.

Nomination of Members of the Government: Motion (Resumed) (23 Mar 2010)

Mary Harney: The issue is about how to allocate the resources, however they are raised - whether through taxation or compulsory insurance or a combination of both. Contrary to the view of the Opposition-----

Nomination of Members of the Government: Motion (Resumed) (23 Mar 2010)

Mary Harney: -----the best health systems in the world do not favour a fee-per-item approach, which is seen as out-of-date and too costly, with too much emphasis on unnecessary diagnostics. That is a fact.

Nomination of Members of the Government: Motion (Resumed) (23 Mar 2010)

Mary Harney: I have suggested to the Joint Committee on Health and Children that it might consider the operation of Kaiser Permanente or the Veterans Health Administration in the United States. Other health care systems are also moving away from that model. I say this with sincerity. We have established a group, led by Professor Ruane and with many experts from Ireland and overseas, which will report...

Nomination of Members of the Government: Motion (Resumed) (23 Mar 2010)

Mary Harney: -----and no matter what patient turns up or where, the money will be always there to look after the patient.

Nomination of Members of the Government: Motion (Resumed) (23 Mar 2010)

Mary Harney: We talk about saving money. I spent last summer arguing with Deputy Reilly about taking on costs in the pharmacy sector, which will save us €250 million this year. This Deputy, who is the leader of the Opposition as far as health is concerned, opposed me all the way as I tried to obtain better value for taxpayers' money. There is no point in pretending-----

Nomination of Members of the Government: Motion (Resumed) (23 Mar 2010)

Mary Harney: -----that we should take tough decisions, only to oppose them one by one when they are taken.

Nomination of Members of the Government: Motion (Resumed) (23 Mar 2010)

Mary Harney: Letterkenny is north of that line.

Nomination of Members of the Government: Motion (Resumed) (23 Mar 2010)

Mary Harney: The Deputy knows that technically that cannot happen.