Results 4,261-4,280 of 9,393 for speaker:Alex White

Written Answers — Department of Health: Primary Care Centres Provision (19 Nov 2013)

Alex White: Delivery of healthcare infrastructure is a service matter. Therefore your question has been referred to the Health Service Executive for direct reply.

Written Answers — Department of Health: Long-Term Illness Scheme Eligibility (19 Nov 2013)

Alex White: Ireland has been supportive of the EU proposals on rare disease which concluded with a Council Recommendation (2009/C 151/02) in June 2009. The end point is that countries are recommended to develop plans or strategies for rare diseases. Ireland is now well advanced in this work and it is expected that a rare disease plan will be finalised in the near future. The Long Term Illness (LTI)...

Written Answers — Department of Health: Local Drugs Task Forces (19 Nov 2013)

Alex White: Local Drugs Task Forces operate a range of education and prevention programmes locally which aim to promote healthier lifestyle choices among young people and other vulnerable groups at risk of problem drug use. In the region of €19.2m was made available from the Drugs Initiative to the Local Drugs Task Forces this year, of which €7.2m was allocated to prevention and education...

Written Answers — Department of Health: Medicinal Products Prices (19 Nov 2013)

Alex White: The prices of drugs vary between countries for a number of reasons, including different prices set by manufacturers, different wholesale and pharmacy mark-ups, different dispensing fees and different rates of VAT. The State has introduced a series of reforms in recent years to reduce pharmaceutical prices and expenditure. These have resulted in reductions in the price of thousands of...

Written Answers — Department of Health: Medical Card Delays (19 Nov 2013)

Alex White: 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: Medical Card Eligibility (19 Nov 2013)

Alex White: The income thresholds for a standard means tested medical card are determined by the HSE and the current weekly rates for a single person living alone and a married/cohabiting couple are detailed below. The Deputy will note that the rate for a single person living alone is approximately ⅔ of that of a couple for both age categories in the following table: Category Aged under 66...

Written Answers — Department of Health: Medical Card Applications (19 Nov 2013)

Alex White: 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...

Topical Issue Debate: Rent Supplement Scheme Administration (14 Nov 2013)

Alex White: I do not imagine I have much I can add to the response I have given on behalf of the Minster for Social Protection. Clearly, there is an acute problem, as described by the Deputy. As a Deputy, I am aware of the problem myself. I do not have any particular knowledge or insight other than what I have relayed to the House on behalf of the Minister. I gather the Deputy had an opportunity to...

Topical Issue Debate: Rent Supplement Scheme Administration (14 Nov 2013)

Alex White: I thank the Deputy for raising this issue, which I am dealing with on behalf of the Minister for Social Protection. The purpose of the rent supplement scheme is to provide short-term support to eligible people living in private rented accommodation whose means are insufficient to meet their accommodation costs, and who do not have accommodation available to them from any other source. The...

Topical Issue Debate: Rare Diseases Strategy Implementation (14 Nov 2013)

Alex White: I am pleased to have this opportunity to outline the position in relation to the matter raised by Deputy Broughan today. As outlined by the Deputy, a rare disease is defined in the EU as a disease or disorder affecting fewer than 5 in 10,000 of the European population. Although each disease is individually rare, there are a great many rare diseases. Collectively, rare diseases affect a...

Topical Issue Debate: Rare Diseases Strategy Implementation (14 Nov 2013)

Alex White: The Deputy has been very assiduous in raising this issue. Some of the specific questions raised by him are likely to be only fully addressed in the context of the national plan for rare diseases, on which I have indicated to the House work is well under way. Once finalised, the plan will be published. I do not have any direct involvement in that area but I am aware, because I work in other...

Topical Issue Debate: Special Educational Needs Services Provision (14 Nov 2013)

Alex White: I thank Deputy Collins for raising this matter, which I am dealing with on behalf of my colleague, the Minister of State, Deputy Kathleen Lynch. I have no doubt that everyone in the House is aware of the pressures on the health system to maintain services within the parameters of its budget. Notwithstanding these financial pressures, I would like to assure the Deputy at the outset that the...

Topical Issue Debate: Special Educational Needs Services Provision (14 Nov 2013)

Alex White: I am not in a position to add much more to what I have already said. However, I will undertake to raise this matter with the Minister of State, Deputy Kathleen Lynch, at the earliest opportunity. I will certainly have an opportunity to discuss it with her next week. If Deputy Collins reverts to me or directly to the Minister of State, Deputy Kathleen Lynch, we can see how to address the...

Topical Issue Debate: Tobacco Control Measures (14 Nov 2013)

Alex White: I thank the Deputy for raising this important issue. As she is aware, the Minister for Health and our Department have been public in our aims and objectives regarding smoking in Ireland. Last month, he launched Tobacco Free Ireland, which sets an ambitious target of Ireland being tobacco free by 2025. In public health terms, this means having fewer than 5% of people smoking by the year...

Topical Issue Debate: Tobacco Control Measures (14 Nov 2013)

Alex White: I will certainly discuss the Deputy's suggestion with the Minister. I thank her again for her insights and for the compelling additional points she has made. The value of Tobacco Free Ireland is that a policy statement and set of actions are in place to give guidance to those policy decisions that need to be made. In a sense, it can be added to in future, as new suggestions, such as those...

Written Answers — Department of Health: Orthodontic Services Provision (14 Nov 2013)

Alex White: The HSE provides orthodontic treatment to patients based on their level of clinical need. An individual's access to orthodontic treatment is determined against a set of clinical guidelines and priority is given to patients with greatest needs. The HSE has been asked to examine the specific query raised by the Deputy and to reply to him as soon as possible.

Written Answers — Department of Health: Audiology Services Provision (14 Nov 2013)

Alex White: As this is a service matter this question has been referred to the HSE for direct reply.

Written Answers — Department of Health: Medical Card Eligibility (14 Nov 2013)

Alex White: The information sought by the Deputy is not readily available. However, I have asked the Health Service Executive to supply this information to me and I will forward it to the Deputy as soon as possible.

Written Answers — Department of Health: Defence Forces Family Clinics (14 Nov 2013)

Alex White: Issues relating to the Defence Forces are a matter for my colleague, the Minister for Justice, Equality and Defence. I have asked the HSE to respond directly to the Deputy in relation to the availability of GP services in the Curragh area.

Written Answers — Department of Health: Medical Card Delays (14 Nov 2013)

Alex White: 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...