Results 42,461-42,480 of 49,836 for speaker:Stephen Donnelly

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Health: Workforce Planning in the Irish Health Sector: Discussion (Resumed) (16 Oct 2019)

Stephen Donnelly: I am not having a go but, with respect, the witnesses are making economic statements. If one is going to say not enough money is being spent on public healthcare, then one needs to be able to back that up. If the witnesses are not health economists, then they should not say it. I am not having a go. I am really trying to understand it. The figures I see are that we are well above average...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Health: Workforce Planning in the Irish Health Sector: Discussion (Resumed) (16 Oct 2019)

Stephen Donnelly: We can come back to it. Am I done, time wise?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Health: Workforce Planning in the Irish Health Sector: Discussion (Resumed) (16 Oct 2019)

Stephen Donnelly: Excellent. My next question concerns the FEMPI legislation. I spent a good deal of time interacting with the IMO which has repeatedly told me that the number one priority is the reversal of the FEMPI cuts for general practitioners, GPs, for whom Fianna Fáil and I went to bat very hard. We got a provision for its reversal this year. It was not done as quickly as we wanted, but we...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Health: Workforce Planning in the Irish Health Sector: Discussion (Resumed) (16 Oct 2019)

Stephen Donnelly: I know what it is. I am asking if, having achieved it, is it working?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Health: Workforce Planning in the Irish Health Sector: Discussion (Resumed) (16 Oct 2019)

Stephen Donnelly: I know, which is why we batted so hard.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Health: Workforce Planning in the Irish Health Sector: Discussion (Resumed) (16 Oct 2019)

Stephen Donnelly: I understand that, but what I am asking is if we are seeing a difference on the ground?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Health: Workforce Planning in the Irish Health Sector: Discussion (Resumed) (16 Oct 2019)

Stephen Donnelly: It was a long time to wait for five minutes.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Health: Workforce Planning in the Irish Health Sector: Discussion (Resumed) (16 Oct 2019)

Stephen Donnelly: Do not mind the next committee. We will be brief. I have many questions. I will ask them quickly and if the witnesses can answer them quickly, we will move through them as fast as we can in five minutes. NCHDs and consultants have stated repeatedly how poor the working practices are. I fully agree and I fully accept that. It begs the question as to why. The other healthcare systems...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Health: Workforce Planning in the Irish Health Sector: Discussion (Resumed) (16 Oct 2019)

Stephen Donnelly: I was surprised at the IMO's opposition to the National Treatment Purchase Fund, NTPF, in that GP are private sector employees and the NTPF is actually for public and private hospitals. The €50 million last year got 21,000 procedures done. That €50 million comprises 0.33% of the health budget. For 0.33% of the health budget, 21,000 people, who would still be waiting today,...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Health: Workforce Planning in the Irish Health Sector: Discussion (Resumed) (16 Oct 2019)

Stephen Donnelly: Is one robbing Peter to pay Paul if one pays a GP, because there are GPs who work in the public system as well? Is one doing something intrinsically wrong?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Health: Workforce Planning in the Irish Health Sector: Discussion (Resumed) (16 Oct 2019)

Stephen Donnelly: The NTPF is not paying on the double. That is the point of it.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Health: Workforce Planning in the Irish Health Sector: Discussion (Resumed) (16 Oct 2019)

Stephen Donnelly: One is not paying a second time. One is paying once, which is why it is so effective. Anyway, we will move on. On the IMO's solutions, I am delighted to see practical solutions to how we address this. One of the issues is new entrant pay inequality. Have talks started?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Health: Workforce Planning in the Irish Health Sector: Discussion (Resumed) (16 Oct 2019)

Stephen Donnelly: Soon?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Health: Workforce Planning in the Irish Health Sector: Discussion (Resumed) (16 Oct 2019)

Stephen Donnelly: That is soon. Are they concerned that there is no provision in the budget for any movement next year?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Health: Workforce Planning in the Irish Health Sector: Discussion (Resumed) (16 Oct 2019)

Stephen Donnelly: Have I time for a final question?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Health: Workforce Planning in the Irish Health Sector: Discussion (Resumed) (16 Oct 2019)

Stephen Donnelly: Great. I will put two together. The witnesses said we need to invest more in GP support and capacity. I fully agree. Could they give us the top one, two or three things that they would do? I am really concerned by the issue they raised of insufficient specialist training posts. If that is the case, we are setting ourselves up to fail. It seems such a glaringly obvious thing to not...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Health: Workforce Planning in the Irish Health Sector: Discussion (Resumed) (16 Oct 2019)

Stephen Donnelly: I accept that. Seeing as this is such a glaringly obvious failure, however, why is it happening? It is deadly serious if we are not even training future consultants.

Health and Childcare Support (Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill 2019 [Seanad]: Committee and Remaining Stages (15 Oct 2019)

Stephen Donnelly: There are British, Irish and EU citizens living in Northern Ireland. Let us say one was travel to France, get sick, incur healthcare costs of €20,000 and go home. This Bill provides for reimbursement, so that can happen. Will the Minister explain how that payment mechanism will work? Ultimately, will the Irish State pay the €20,000 bill or is there some reciprocal...

Health and Childcare Support (Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill 2019 [Seanad]: Committee and Remaining Stages (15 Oct 2019)

Stephen Donnelly: I seek clarification on two issues. First, the figure I have for the cost of the scheme is €5 million. Will the Minister confirm that is the figure with which he is working, and whether it is provisioned within the budget? Second, while I appreciate that the mechanism is not contained in the primary legislation, I presume the regulations are well advanced at this stage. Will the...

Health and Childcare Support (Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill 2019 [Seanad]: Committee and Remaining Stages (15 Oct 2019)

Stephen Donnelly: Regarding the exact mechanism by which this will work, citizens in Northern Ireland will not have one of these cards. The explanatory memorandum was not great at explaining exactly how the cash is going to flow. I can ask my question now or I can do so during the debate on the relevant section. I do not want to mix up Deputy O'Reilly's amendments.