Results 4,521-4,540 of 21,128 for speaker:James Reilly

Other Questions: Ambulance Service Provision (1 Apr 2014)

James Reilly: This year, we are spending €146.9 million on the ambulance service, which is 6% more than two years ago. This year, the ambulance fleet stands at 534 vehicles, including national ambulance service emergency ambulances, rapid response and intermediate care vehicles, motorbikes and Dublin Fire Brigade ambulances. That is 77 more than four years ago when the Deputies opposite were in...

Other Questions: Ambulance Service Provision (1 Apr 2014)

James Reilly: It is 77 more, Dara.

Other Questions: Ambulance Service Provision (1 Apr 2014)

James Reilly: The Deputies are all welcome to Question Time. Last year, our ambulance service responded to 280,776 emergency calls, which was almost 14,000 more calls than in the previous year.

Other Questions: Health Insurance Prices (1 Apr 2014)

James Reilly: I do not think any specific reason has been identified to date but the matter continues to be examined. I am concerned that in the past there has been a history of passing on increases to the customer. There was an acceptance, or even a resignation, that medical inflation runs at 9% yet in some years we have seen health insurance costs for consumers increase by up to 25%. That is not...

Other Questions: Health Insurance Prices (1 Apr 2014)

James Reilly: The Deputy has raised a valid question. The whole point of having a number of insurers is to create competition in the market-place. So far, however, this has not led to the sort of changes we would like to see. The main insurer in the country is the semi-State VHI which, although it is only responsible for 57% of the market, is responsible for 80% of the payout. The VHI now has a...

Other Questions: Health Insurance Prices (1 Apr 2014)

James Reilly: I thank the Deputy for raising this issue which is of critical importance. I have consistently emphasised the need for much greater cost control in the private health insurance industry in order that premiums are affordable for as many people as possible. My Department and the Health Insurance Authority, HIA, monitor the factors that contribute to costs on an ongoing basis. The health...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: Children in Care (1 Apr 2014)

James Reilly: I anticipate that the response to the last issue will come fairly soon. I would like to apologise; this is the area of the Minister of State, Deputy Lynch, who is unavailable to us today due to a family bereavement. I am here in her stead. I remember that when I was on the benches across and we were discussing child care, it was about the terrible tragedy of so many deaths in care in the...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: Children in Care (1 Apr 2014)

James Reilly: We all share the Deputy's concerns that children might fall through the cracks and we must guard against that when we have so many people involved in their care and well being. In September 2012, access protocols for CAMHS services were approved by the HSE, with effect from 1 January 2013. The protocol reiterates the position of children accessing services in line with the Mental Health...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: Hospital Staff Recruitment (1 Apr 2014)

James Reilly: The number of consultants has been increasing year on year, and that has been the case for the past number of years. In 2011, there were 2,470; in 2010 there were 2,410; in 2012 there was a further increase to 2,510 and last year the figure increased to 2,560. Year on year we are not only replacing those who are leaving but also adding to the total number. However, I must return to the...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: Children in Care (1 Apr 2014)

James Reilly: I note the report referred to by the Deputy which was published recently by the Office of the Ombudsman for Children. A significant part of the report refers to services provided by the Child and Family Agency, and my colleague, the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs, has recently responded to the issues raised in the report. As a number of the report's recommendations relate to the...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: Hospital Staff Recruitment (1 Apr 2014)

James Reilly: I thank the Deputy for his question. It is Government policy to move to a consultant-delivered service. I am pleased to inform the House that, since the establishment of the HSE, there has been a significant increase in the number of whole-time equivalent, WTE, consultants by 723 from 1,947 in January 2005 to 2,670 in December 2013. However, there are some specialties in which there is an...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: Hospital Staff Recruitment (1 Apr 2014)

James Reilly: Radiologists.

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: Hospital Staff Recruitment (1 Apr 2014)

James Reilly: Just for clarity, and I am not in any way trying to be difficult, but the Deputy mentioned radiographers. They are the people who take the pictures and are not consultants per se. Radiologists are the consultants who read the pictures. I will conclude my answer. The ability of the public service to attract and retain high-quality consultants shapes the extent to which the HSE can...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: Ambulance Service Provision (1 Apr 2014)

James Reilly: I will address the specific issues. Since 2011 the HSE has been implementing response time standards on a phased basis in tandem with planned service improvement. In 2013 the HSE target for patient carrying vehicles to respond within 19 minutes was 70% for echo calls, that is, life-threatening cardiac and respiratory incidents, and 68% for delta calls, that is, life-threatening other than...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: Ambulance Service Provision (1 Apr 2014)

James Reilly: Again, the Deputy across loves to talk about crises and doom and gloom and has engaged in shroud-waving on several occasions.

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: Ambulance Service Provision (1 Apr 2014)

James Reilly: Sorry. I do not-----

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: Ambulance Service Provision (1 Apr 2014)

James Reilly: Deputy Ó Caoláin is not proving to be a very serious contributor if all he can do is shout instructions across the Chamber.

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: Ambulance Service Provision (1 Apr 2014)

James Reilly: There is no bluster.

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: Ambulance Service Provision (1 Apr 2014)

James Reilly: No, sorry, Deputy.

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: Ambulance Service Provision (1 Apr 2014)

James Reilly: I will answer the question and I will keep the people informed of reality and the facts, not Deputy Ó Caoláin's bluster and shroud-waving. We have had quite enough of it over the years.