Results 34,361-34,380 of 49,836 for speaker:Stephen Donnelly

Written Answers — Department of Health: Data Collection (3 Mar 2021)

Stephen Donnelly: Since the Data Protection Act 2018 (section 36(2)) (Health Research) Regulations (SI 314 of 2018) were made in August 2018, my Department has engaged widely and publicly on the amendments that have now been set out in SI 18 of 2021. It had due regard to all the views put forward which came from a range of groups and individuals, including groups like the Medical Research Charities Group which...

Written Answers — Department of Health: Data Collection (3 Mar 2021)

Stephen Donnelly: I propose to take Questions Nos. 1013 to 1016, inclusive, together. The Health Research Regulations, which are derived from GDPR and are made under the Data Protection Act 2018, apply where there is processing of personal data for health research purposes. Where the health research does not involve, give rise to or become associated with personal data the Regulations, the Act and GDPR do...

Written Answers — Department of Health: Data Collection (3 Mar 2021)

Stephen Donnelly: The Health Research Regulations include explicit consent as a safeguard when an individual’s personal data is being processed for health research. However, before health research can be carried out it is invariably critical to establish whether there would be enough potential suitable or eligible research participants for the study to proceed. It seems reasonable to allow that...

Written Answers — Department of Health: Health and Safety Regulations (3 Mar 2021)

Stephen Donnelly: The Health Research Regulations 2018 and the amendments thereto were drafted in the Office of the Attorney General and are publicly available on the electronic Irish Statute Book (eISB) atwww.irishstatutebook.ie. I have no plans, at the present time, to prepare a composite version.

Written Answers — Department of Health: Covid-19 Pandemic (3 Mar 2021)

Stephen Donnelly: My Department does not hold the information requested. The COVID-19 Passenger Locator form is used for public health engagement with arriving passengers for the purposes of contact tracing and to issue targeted public health messages via SMS, rather than a record of passenger arrivals into the country.

Written Answers — Department of Health: Vaccination Programme (3 Mar 2021)

Stephen Donnelly: As this is a service matter, I have asked the Health Service Executive to respond to the Deputy directly, as soon as possible.

Written Answers — Department of Health: Abortion Services (3 Mar 2021)

Stephen Donnelly: It was originally intended to provide for safe access to termination of pregnancy services in the Health (Regulation of Termination of Pregnancy) Act 2018. However, a number of legal issues were identified which necessitated further consideration. Since services under the Health (Regulation of Termination of Pregnancy) Act 2018 commenced in January 2019, there has been a limited number of...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Health: Covid-19 Health Related Issues: Update (2 Mar 2021)

Stephen Donnelly: I thank the committee for inviting me today. I am joined by my three ministerial colleagues, namely, Deputy Butler, Minister of State with responsibility for mental health and older people; Deputy Rabbitte, Minister of State with responsibility for disability; and Deputy Feighan, Minister of State with responsibility for public health, well-being and the national drugs strategy. I thought...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Health: Covid-19 Health Related Issues: Update (2 Mar 2021)

Stephen Donnelly: I thank the Deputy. On the first issue, I wholeheartedly agree. Many of the HSE staff are exhausted. Before Covid arrived, they were run off their feet and over the past year they have been asked to step up again and again. They deserve huge credit for what they have done but we all agree simply thanking people for their work is not enough. We have to look very seriously at how fatigued...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Health: Covid-19 Health Related Issues: Update (2 Mar 2021)

Stephen Donnelly: That is exactly right. We do need a process. What I can tell the Deputy is that the HSE is engaged on an ongoing basis at a comprehensive level with the various cohorts. There are mechanisms in the HSE and there is a lot of engagement across the service. What we are speaking about now is something on top of this to look at addressing the very serious burden and very serious exhaustion...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Health: Covid-19 Health Related Issues: Update (2 Mar 2021)

Stephen Donnelly: That is exactly right. I have seen data and the committee in the previous Dáil saw data on various cohorts and why they might be leaving the profession or the country. Certainly some of what the Deputy has proposed is being done but at a HSE-wide level. It is an excellent idea. In fact, we could perhaps go further. Something we want to keep an eye to is that as many of our graduates...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Health: Covid-19 Health Related Issues: Update (2 Mar 2021)

Stephen Donnelly: I wholeheartedly agree and, in fact, I met a group of foreign doctors who are non-consultant hospital doctors. They have two very reasonable asks. One is on their visas. They need to update their visas regularly. From memory it is every six months but please do not hold me to that. It may be different for different countries. I am engaging with the Minister for Justice, Deputy McEntee,...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Health: Covid-19 Health Related Issues: Update (2 Mar 2021)

Stephen Donnelly: I will have to defer to the Chairman on that. I do not have any extra time. I was asked to cover a very wide gamut of issues, including capacity within the system, the impact of Covid on waiting lists and many other issues. I had five minutes as an opener, which is about 600 words. We have two hours now so my understanding is that any members who wish to ask any relevant questions can...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Health: Covid-19 Health Related Issues: Update (2 Mar 2021)

Stephen Donnelly: That is entirely up to the Chairman. As members will be aware, I commissioned an independent review by Professor Tom Collins to look at the allowances payable to student nurses and midwives while on clinical placement in the context of Covid. There are two different reviews. One is the review by Professor Collins, which is specifically in the context of Covid, while we are starting a...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Health: Covid-19 Health Related Issues: Update (2 Mar 2021)

Stephen Donnelly: Can the Deputy explain what he means by "reverting to the March agreement"?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Health: Covid-19 Health Related Issues: Update (2 Mar 2021)

Stephen Donnelly: To be clear, what happened last March was that the clinical placements were stopped and the students had to make up that time later in the year. The clinical placements were stopped and the supervising senior nurses were then deployed into the healthcare system. About one in three students who were on placement where the placements were paused came back as healthcare assistants and were...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Health: Covid-19 Health Related Issues: Update (2 Mar 2021)

Stephen Donnelly: Quickly, if the Deputy does not mind, the answer to his last question is "Yes".

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Health: Covid-19 Health Related Issues: Update (2 Mar 2021)

Stephen Donnelly: Can the Chairman hear me now?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Health: Covid-19 Health Related Issues: Update (2 Mar 2021)

Stephen Donnelly: Sorry. I thank the Deputy for that question. I will get Deputy Cullinane a detailed response as to the gap between the target and the full-time staff. The Deputy will forgive me, as I do not have the detail. It is not one of the topics that the committee asked us to discuss today and I do not have those exact figures in front of me. I understand the HSE is coming in next week and will...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Health: Covid-19 Health Related Issues: Update (2 Mar 2021)

Stephen Donnelly: I do not know how much time I have left. Can the Chair guide me?