Results 381-400 of 1,095 for speaker:Jimmy Devins

Written Answers — Mental Health Services: Mental Health Services (5 Mar 2008)

Jimmy Devins: Operational responsibility for the management and delivery of health and personal social services was assigned to the Health Service Executive under the Health Act 2004 and funding for all health services has been provided as part of its overall vote. The Executive, therefore, is the appropriate body to consider the matter raised by the Deputy. My Department has requested the Parliamentary...

Written Answers — Mental Health Services: Mental Health Services (5 Mar 2008)

Jimmy Devins: I assume the Deputy is referring to "The Lie of the Land" Report recently launched by the Irish Psychiatric Association. The Report gives examples of proceeds of assets allegedly lost to psychiatric services over a 20-25 year period. A small number of assets disposed of in the past two years are identified. "A Vision for Change", which is the basis for the future development of our mental...

Written Answers — Health Service Staff: Health Service Staff (5 Mar 2008)

Jimmy Devins: The staffing of primary schools is a matter for the Minister for Education and Science and the provision of health-related services to pupils in such schools is a matter, in the first instance, for the Health Service Executive. Since the establishment of the Health Service Executive, the number of speech and language therapists has increased by 215 to 712 — an increase of 43%, the number of...

Written Answers — Mental Health Services: Mental Health Services (5 Mar 2008)

Jimmy Devins: As part of the Multi-Annual Investment Programme 2006-2009 under the Disability Strategy, the Government provided the Health Service Executive with an additional €75m in both 2006 and 2007. This funding included monies to provide new and enhanced services for people with disabilities, to implement Part 2 of the Disability Act 2005, which came into effect on June 1st 2007 for the under 5s...

Written Answers — Health Services: Health Services (5 Mar 2008)

Jimmy Devins: My Department considers that there should be an over-arching policy framework to set out the broad policy guidelines for development of policy on cardiovascular health, including stroke. A new Cardiovascular Health Policy Group was established in September 2007 to develop this framework. The group, chaired by Professor Hannah McGee of the Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland, is due to...

Written Answers — Services for People with Disabilities: Services for People with Disabilities (5 Mar 2008)

Jimmy Devins: I propose to take Questions Nos. 237 and 238 together. The Department of Health and Children does not collect data on the number of children born with autism or Asperger's syndrome in this country. It does not know whether such information is available from each EU member state, or the extent of the research undertaken in each country. There has been an increase in recent years in the...

Services for People with Disabilities. (5 Mar 2008)

Jimmy Devins: The Government is committed to providing a high quality service for all people with a disability, as illustrated by the substantial investment in the disability sector in recent years. An integral part of the national disability strategy is the multi-annual investment programme, published in December 2004, which contains details of specific commitments in regard to the provision of high...

Services for People with Disabilities. (5 Mar 2008)

Jimmy Devins: The diagnosis of autism is outlined in the international classification of diseases and related health problems. There are five diagnoses under this umbrella. The overall estimated prevalence is in the order of 60 in 10,000 children. As I said, there has been a degree of inconsistency in the delivery of services throughout the State which the HSE is committed to correcting. To date, there...

Services for People with Disabilities. (5 Mar 2008)

Jimmy Devins: A cross-sectoral committee has been established comprising representatives from the Departments of Health and Children and Education and Science, the HSE and the National Council for Special Education, which meets on a monthly basis. I have attended one of its meetings and intend to do so more regularly. By these means, we will ensure progress in this area.

Mental Health Services. (5 Mar 2008)

Jimmy Devins: Under the Health Act 2004, the HSE is obliged to operate within its overall Vote. In this regard, it took steps to ensure that it met this objective in 2007 by delaying some of its planned developments, including developments in mental health. However, I understand from the HSE that some of the mental health services funded in 2006 and 2007 will be put in place in 2008. These include the...

Mental Health Services. (5 Mar 2008)

Jimmy Devins: I was not consulted in 2006 and 2007 for the simple reason I was not in this job. A Vision for Change is Government policy. As the Deputy knows, we have set up a monitoring group in the Department to closely monitor implementation of A Vision for Change. The most recent report, an interim report, for which I specifically asked on assuming this office, stated that responsibility for A...

Mental Health Services. (5 Mar 2008)

Jimmy Devins: I agree with the Deputy that it is too slow. The HSE now has an implementation plan.

Mental Health Services. (5 Mar 2008)

Jimmy Devins: As I said, the HSE board approved the implementation plan in February of this year. It includes that the definition and clarification of catchment areas be made clear; modernisation of the mental health infrastructure; community based mental health teams; child and adolescent mental health teams; mental health services for people with intellectual disability; and mental health information...

Mental Health Facilities. (5 Mar 2008)

Jimmy Devins: I propose to take Questions Nos. 83 and 144 together. The Government decision in May 2006 to approve the development of a new national forensic mental health facility at Thornton Hall, County Dublin, also required that a cost-benefit analysis be carried out. Department of Finance guidelines require that all projects over €30 million are subject to a cost-benefit analysis. This...

Mental Health Facilities. (5 Mar 2008)

Jimmy Devins: I do not have the figure with me but I will get it for the Deputy.

Mental Health Facilities. (5 Mar 2008)

Jimmy Devins: The Deputy will agree that the current location of the Central Mental Hospital, which was opened in 1850, is not suitable for a modern forensic psychiatric service.

Mental Health Facilities. (5 Mar 2008)

Jimmy Devins: I am talking about the building. The need to develop a new Central Mental Hospital is the responsibility of the HSE. A project team is progressing the development of the new hospital which will have a complement of 120 as distinct from 85 beds as at present. I should add that additional funding was provided in 2007 to enable the development of West Lodge, which is a high support community...

Mental Health Facilities. (5 Mar 2008)

Jimmy Devins: I accept that the Central Mental Hospital's new facility will be adjacent to the prison being built to replace Mountjoy. However, it is important to stress that the project relating to the former is stand alone in nature. The new facility will, therefore, have a separate entrance to the prison. There will also be separate road access. From an organisational point of view, it will be...

Mental Health Facilities. (5 Mar 2008)

Jimmy Devins: I must point out that the Mater Hospital, a medical institution of world renown, is located adjacent to Mountjoy Prison.

Health Services. (5 Mar 2008)

Jimmy Devins: The HSE has provided access to interpretation services for aurally impaired citizens in hospitals. A survey carried out in June 2007 among all hospital groups found that, when required, interpretation services are provided directly by contracting the services of approved sign language practitioners; a number of hospitals have identified staff members with a knowledge of medical terminology...