Results 3,601-3,620 of 15,268 for speaker:Kathleen Lynch

Committee on Health and Children: Select Sub-Committee on Health: Health (General Practitioner Service) Bill 2015: Committee Stage (13 May 2015)

Kathleen Lynch: We deeply appreciate the fact that the committee made itself available at the end of a very long day to conclude Committee Stage of the legislation. This shows our collective commitment to ensuring people in certain categories will have access to GP care, provided they meet the criteria laid down.

Topical Issue Debate: HSE Investigations (13 May 2015)

Kathleen Lynch: I share the Deputy's frustration over the inability to publish certain reports. We must find a way of on the one hand allowing people named in reports to have due process if that is what they want but on the other hand being able to publish the relevant information in order for us to take the necessary steps. The non-publication of the report does not mean that the necessary steps cannot be...

Topical Issue Debate: HSE Investigations (13 May 2015)

Kathleen Lynch: I say this on behalf of everyone. It is a difficult enough time for any family to find themselves in this position. Even when it is unavoidable, it is a difficult time. It must be doubly difficult when they have the spotlight of the nation on them.

Topical Issue Debate: Drugs Payment Scheme Coverage (13 May 2015)

Kathleen Lynch: My opinion on when we will have an answer is irrelevant. What we need to do is ensure the drug is affordable for the State. It was withdrawn by the drug company involved. Fampridine was never available under the GMS or the drug refund scheme. It was both cruel and unfortunate for people who had obtained huge benefits from it when it was withdrawn. We are still looking at the question of...

Topical Issue Debate: HSE Investigations (13 May 2015)

Kathleen Lynch: I should clarify for the House that the Minister for Health is not present to deal with this Topical Issue because he is meeting the families involved in the aforementioned tragedies at the Midland Regional Hospital in Portlaoise. I am sure the Deputy will agree that the Minister is right to meet them. I thank the Deputy for raising this issue and affording me the opportunity to offer my...

Topical Issue Debate: Drugs Payment Scheme Coverage (13 May 2015)

Kathleen Lynch: I thank the Deputy for raising this issue. He is right in saying that it has been raised on numerous occasions. It is not as if we are unaware of or sympathetic to the circumstances in which people find themselves. We have personal experience of this in that we know people who are desperately awaiting some relief in respect of this issue. Decisions on which medicines are licensed for...

Seanad: Commencement Matters: Mental Health Services Provision (13 May 2015)

Kathleen Lynch: I thank Senator Conway for raising this issue and giving me the opportunity to outline the position. The Senator will appreciate that the Health Service Executive has statutory and operational responsibility for the planning and delivery of services at local level. The mid-west mental health services provide a range of adult mental health services within the specialties of general adult,...

Seanad: Commencement Matters: Mental Health Services Provision (13 May 2015)

Kathleen Lynch: When mental health was at the bottom of the pile, voluntary organisations such as the West Clare Mental Health Association, Cork Mental Health Foundation and Housing Association and similar organisations elsewhere did the type of community-based support work recommended in A Vision of Change. They are very much a part of the solution and it is in the interests of everyone that their future...

Seanad: Commencement Matters: Hospice Services (13 May 2015)

Kathleen Lynch: I thank the Senator for raising this matter. It strikes me that we learn very little from the appalling circumstances in which people find themselves as a result of failures in the health service. The lesson we must learn from recent revelations about maternity services is that services must have continuous throughput and significant volumes if they are to be safe and this is not always the...

Seanad: Commencement Matters: Hospice Services (13 May 2015)

Kathleen Lynch: To say it is "unlikely" is not to give a clear answer. It is not a "Yes" or "No". What I am saying is that the people running the service in Waterford have indicated that it is a safe service, there is access for patients and they are still pursuing the possibility of extending and enhancing the cardiac service at UHW under the 2016 programme. It is an ongoing process. While I never...

Seanad: Commencement Matters: Ambulance Service Provision (13 May 2015)

Kathleen Lynch: As the Senator knows, I could not be here.

Seanad: Commencement Matters: Ambulance Service Provision (13 May 2015)

Kathleen Lynch: I do not mean to take up the Senator's time but it might be helpful to him to note that it is possible to defer this matter until such time as the Minister can deal with it.

Seanad: Commencement Matters: Ambulance Service Provision (13 May 2015)

Kathleen Lynch: I apologise to Senator Leyden for not being here last week. My absence was due to unforeseen circumstances. I hope he will agree that I generally make myself very available to Senators.

Seanad: Commencement Matters: Ambulance Service Provision (13 May 2015)

Kathleen Lynch: I am pleased to have an opportunity to inform the House of current developments in pre-hospital services, both nationally and in the Roscommon area. The National Ambulance Service, NAS, is working to ensure the provision of high-quality and timely emergency pre-hospital care services, using all available resources as effectively and efficiently as possible. As with any pre-hospital service,...

Seanad: Commencement Matters: Ambulance Service Provision (13 May 2015)

Kathleen Lynch: The Senator raised a matter that was discussed in the House last week. There are several issues to address concerning mental health services in County Roscommon. I am in the process of compiling a list of the more than 50 new posts we have put in place there. I am gathering both names and locations because I am constantly being told these appointments were not made. When that information...

Written Answers — Department of Health: Medicinal Products Availability (13 May 2015)

Kathleen Lynch: The information requested is not readily available and will be forwarded to the Deputy.

Written Answers — Department of Health: Health Products Regulatory Authority (13 May 2015)

Kathleen Lynch: I propose to take Questions Nos. 147 to 149, inclusive, 151, 152 and 154 together. Employees of the Health Products Regulatory (HPRA) are prohibited from holding any position with a pharmaceutical company while employed by the HPRA. Employees are also prohibited from having a financial or other beneficial interest in any company or organisation operating in a sector that the HPRA...

Written Answers — Department of Health: Autism Support Services (13 May 2015)

Kathleen Lynch: The Government is committed under the National Disability Strategy (NDS) to ensuring that people with autism are empowered by policy and programmes to participate meaningfully as citizens in Irish society. The NDS is driven by this basic but fundamentally important objective and is the most effective combination of legislation, policies, institutional arrangements and services to support and...

Written Answers — Department of Health: Medical Card Applications (13 May 2015)

Kathleen Lynch: The Health Service Executive has been asked to examine this matter and to reply to the Deputy as soon as possible. The Health Service Executive operates the General Medical Services scheme, which includes medical cards and GP visit cards, under the Health Act 1970, as amended. It has established a dedicated contact service for members of the Oireachtas specifically for queries relating to...

Written Answers — Department of Health: Treatment Benefit Scheme (13 May 2015)

Kathleen Lynch: The Minister for Social Protection is responsible for the Treatment Benefit Scheme, which provides dental, optical and aural services to qualified people.