Results 3,621-3,640 of 24,635 for speaker:Mary Harney

Written Answers — Health Service Plan: Health Service Plan (11 Feb 2010)

Mary Harney: I propose to take Questions Nos. 13 and 61 together. I approved the HSE National Service Plan 2010 on 5 February. In approving the Plan, I highlighted to the HSE the need to deliver, at a minimum, the levels of service set out in the Plan as well as operating within the limits of its Voted allocation of €14.069bn. The Plan commits the HSE to delivering activity levels for 2010 which are...

Written Answers — Hospital Services: Hospital Services (11 Feb 2010)

Mary Harney: Approximately 77 million laboratory tests are undertaken annually across 44 public hospitals. At present the annual cost of this service is approximately €470 million. The workload comprises both urgent and non-urgent tests and a significant proportion of the activity originates in the primary care setting. An external review of laboratory services was conducted for the HSE by Teamwork...

Written Answers — Proposed Legislation: Proposed Legislation (11 Feb 2010)

Mary Harney: Following the Supreme Court decision of July 2008, which found the Irish Risk Equalisation Scheme to be ultra vires,the Government decided to introduce an interim scheme of loss compensation. This was provided for under the Health Insurance (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 2009, covering the period 2009 to early 2012. In any community rated health insurance market, a comprehensive risk...

Written Answers — Accident and Emergency Services: Accident and Emergency Services (11 Feb 2010)

Mary Harney: I propose to take Questions Nos. 17 and 22 together. A small number of Emergency Departments have been recording high numbers of patients waiting to be admitted to hospital in recent weeks. However, detailed sampling from 24 hospitals, which began in February last year, to the end of December indicate that 87% of all patients attending an ED were either discharged or admitted within the...

Written Answers — Health Services: Health Services (11 Feb 2010)

Mary Harney: My Department has not commissioned any specific reports or studies to examine the long term health consequences, if any, of the decision by my colleague, the Minister for Social and Family Affairs, to curtail entitlements under the Treatments Benefits Schemes.

Written Answers — Substance Misuse: Substance Misuse (11 Feb 2010)

Mary Harney: I propose to take Questions No. 19, 65 and 67 together. The Misuse of Drugs Act 1977 and its associated regulations control the import, export, production, supply and possession of a range of named narcotic drugs and psychotropic substances listed in the Schedules to the Act. Substances are scheduled under the Act in accordance with Ireland's obligations under international conventions and/or...

Written Answers — Departmental Agencies: Departmental Agencies (11 Feb 2010)

Mary Harney: I propose to take Questions Nos. 20 and 73 together. The Board of the Health Service Executive have begun the recruitment process for the next Chief Executive Officer of the HSE as the contract of the current CEO, Professor Brendan Drumm expires in August this year. In accordance with Section 17 of the Health Act 2004, the HSE Board is responsible for making the appointment. That Act...

Written Answers — Hospital Services: Hospital Services (11 Feb 2010)

Mary Harney: I approved the HSE's 2010 National Service Plan last Friday, 5 February. The Plan targets a reduction of 54,000 inpatient cases through a combination of reducing emergency admissions by over 33,000 and providing access to diagnostics on a non-inpatient basis to at least 10,000 patients who are admitted each year only for that purpose. It also targets a further increase in day cases. Meeting...

Written Answers — Medical Training: Medical Training (11 Feb 2010)

Mary Harney: There is currently one model of GP training in Ireland, which is provided by the Irish College of General Practitioners (ICGP). This is a four year model, with 2 years based in hospital rotations and 2 years on an approved GP training programme. At present, there are 120 GP training places per year. The Health Service Executive (HSE) is pursuing a number of initiatives to increase the...

Written Answers — Proposed Legislation: Proposed Legislation (11 Feb 2010)

Mary Harney: I intend to bring a draft General Scheme of a Human Tissue Bill to Government as soon as possible for its approval. Subject to this approval, I will publish the General Scheme of the Human Tissue Bill. The purpose of the legislation is to meet the key recommendation of Dr. Deirdre Madden's 'Report on Post-Mortem Practice and Procedures' that no post-mortem examination should be carried out...

Written Answers — Primary Care Strategy: Primary Care Strategy (11 Feb 2010)

Mary Harney: I propose to take Questions Nos. 26, 46, 54 and 71 together. As these are service matters they have been referred to the Health Service Executive for direct reply to the Deputies.

Written Answers — Medicinal Products: Medicinal Products (11 Feb 2010)

Mary Harney: I have had discussions with the two representative bodies of drugs manufacturers - the Irish Pharmaceutical Healthcare Association (IPHA) and the Association of Pharmaceutical Manufacturers in Ireland (APMI) - with a view to securing significant savings in the State's drug bill. Agreement has been reached with IPHA on price cuts of 40% for a large number of drugs and medicines with effect...

Written Answers — Medical Cards: Medical Cards (11 Feb 2010)

Mary Harney: I wrote to all Oireachtas members on 19th January 2010, outlining a range of measures being employed by the Health Service Executive (HSE) to address issues arising from the centralising of the medical card application and review process to the Primary Care Reimbursement Service in Dublin, and I also referred to the various enhancements that this process will facilitate upon completion. As...

Written Answers — Pharmacy Services: Pharmacy Services (11 Feb 2010)

Mary Harney: The Minister for Finance announced in the Budget in early December last that there would be savings in the price of drugs and medicines. I and my officials also discussed the matter with the Irish Pharmacy Union (IPU) and the IPU were fully aware of the impending price cuts. In fact, the price cuts were delayed from 1 January until 1 February to allow, at the request of the IPU, pharmacists...

Written Answers — Long-Term Illness Scheme: Long-Term Illness Scheme (11 Feb 2010)

Mary Harney: The Long Term Illness Scheme (LTI) was introduced in 1971 under Section 59(3) of the Health Act 1970. It provides that a health board (now the HSE) may make arrangements for the supply without charge of drugs, medicines or medical and surgical appliances to persons suffering from a prescribed disease or disability of a permanent or long-term nature. The conditions which have been prescribed...

Written Answers — Voluntary Sector Funding: Voluntary Sector Funding (11 Feb 2010)

Mary Harney: The Government's decision to reduce its payroll costs in various ways – principally by reducing the salaries paid to public servants and reducing the numbers employed – was deliberately designed to protect existing levels of public services and to provide a more sustainable payroll cost base into the future. I understand that the HSE issued an early warning notice to its grant aided...

Written Answers — National Treatment Purchase Fund: National Treatment Purchase Fund (11 Feb 2010)

Mary Harney: The primary objective of the National Treatment Purchase Fund is to secure treatment for public patients who have been waiting longest for treatment. The Fund receives an annual financial allocation within which it must operate. In the current year this amounts to €90.092m. The volume and overall mix of activity to be undertaken each year is agreed between the Fund and my Department,...

Written Answers — Assisted Human Reproduction: Assisted Human Reproduction (11 Feb 2010)

Mary Harney: The Supreme Court recently decided in the RvR (frozen embryos)case that the frozen embryos at issue in the case do not have the constitutional protection of Article 40.3.3 of the Constitution. It is my intention to bring forward proposals to Government later this year with a view to drafting legislation to govern the area of Assisted Human Reproduction and related practices. The work...

Written Answers — Hospitals Building Programme: Hospitals Building Programme (11 Feb 2010)

Mary Harney: The Renewed Programme for Government re-affirms the Government's commitment to the current co-location programme. Preferred bidders have been selected for six co-located projects at Beaumont, Cork University, Limerick Regional, St. James's, Sligo and Waterford Regional Hospitals. Project agreements have been signed for the Beaumont, Cork, Limerick and St James's projects. Planning permission...

Written Answers — Vaccination Programme: Vaccination Programme (11 Feb 2010)

Mary Harney: The HSE had contracts in place for the provision of pandemic vaccine with Baxter for 4.25million doses and GSK for 3.45 million doses. Baxter has supplied a total of 619,200 doses and the HSE terminated this contract in December 2009. GSK has supplied 2.35 million doses and the HSE is currently in discussion with GSK regarding possible options for dealing with the balance. No pandemic...