Results 4,661-4,680 of 9,393 for speaker:Alex White

Written Answers — Department of Health: General Medical Services Scheme Administration (8 Oct 2013)

Alex White: Under the General Medical Services (GMS) contract, a general practitioner (GP) is expected to provide his/her patients who hold medical cards or GP visit cards with all proper and necessary treatment of a kind generally undertaken by a GP. The contract between the HSE and GPs under the GMS Scheme stipulates that fees are not paid to GPs by the HSE in respect of certain medical...

Written Answers — Department of Health: General Practitioner Services (8 Oct 2013)

Alex White: 90% of the population have access to GP out-of-hours services in 14 centres nationally, in all HSE regions, in at least part of every county. Over 2,000 GPs provide services in the co-ops. As the Deputy's question relates to a service matter, I have asked the HSE to respond to the Deputy directly on the issue.

Leaders' Questions (3 Oct 2013)

Alex White: It is what the Opposition is there for.

Written Answers — Department of Health: Water Fluoridation (3 Oct 2013)

Alex White: Fluoride is a natural mineral found, in variable concentrations, in soil, fresh water, sea water, plants and many foods. The European Food Safety Authority in its "Tolerable Upper Intake Levels for Vitamins and Minerals" (2005) reviewed the upper levels of daily intakes of fluoride that are unlikely to pose a risk of adverse health effects and determined a value of 7mg/day. Fluoride is not a...

Written Answers — Department of Health: Dental Services Provision (3 Oct 2013)

Alex White: The HSE is responsible for providing dental care to school children. The matter has therefore been referred to the HSE for attention and direct reply to the Deputy.

Written Answers — Department of Health: Medical Card Applications (3 Oct 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: Misuse of Drugs (3 Oct 2013)

Alex White: Under the Misuse of Drugs Act, 1977, the manufacture, production, preparation, sale, supply, distribution and possession of cannabis or cannabis-based medicinal products are unlawful except for the purposes of research. It is not the intention of Government to legalise the use of cannabis. Notwithstanding the Government’s reluctance to loosen the controls on cannabis generally,...

Written Answers — Department of Health: Medical Card Applications (3 Oct 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: Primary Care Centres Provision (3 Oct 2013)

Alex White: The HSE has responsibility for the provision of Primary Care Centres; the operation and maintenance of existing health centres; and the provision of services at such centres. Therefore, this matter has been referred to the HSE for attention and direct reply to the Deputy.

Written Answers — Department of Health: Medical Card Data (3 Oct 2013)

Alex White: The HSE does not collate medical card eligibility by county or local authority areas. This data is collated Local Health area format. The number of persons currently eligible for a Medical Card at 1 September 2013 by Local Health area is provided below: LHO AREA NUMBER OF ELIGIBLE PERSONS ON MEDICAL CARDS as at 1st September 2013 NUMBER OF ELIGIBLE PERSONS ON GP VISIT CARDS as at 1st...

Written Answers — Department of Health: Prescription Charges (3 Oct 2013)

Alex White: Medical card holders are required to pay a €1.50 charge per item for medicines and other prescription items supplied to them by community pharmacists, subject to a cap of €19.50 per month for each person or family. Prescription charges do not apply to children in the care of the HSE or to methadone supplied to patients participating in the Methadone Treatment Scheme. Where a...

Written Answers — Department of Health: Medical Card Data (3 Oct 2013)

Alex White: The HSE has indicated that, given the large number of medical card holders, the variety of payment arrangements and the variation in drug costs, a single average annual cost figure in respect of the medical card is not a sufficiently refined measure for analysis.

Topical Issue Debate: Child Benefit Reform (2 Oct 2013)

Alex White: I am not sure there is a huge amount I can add to what the Minister indicated in his response. As I made clear, the social security rights of people living and working in the European Union are governed by EU regulations. The Deputy has raised a number of issues in his contribution, but the principal issue is the one on which he touched towards the end, namely, that depriving parents and...

Topical Issue Debate: Medical Card Applications (2 Oct 2013)

Alex White: I will take very seriously what the Deputy has said on this issue. Towards the end of his second contribution he distinguished between a decision on the basis of income, where the income categories are relatively straightforward and ascertainable and the person either satisfies the requirements or does not, and a discretionary decision. Where the discretionary aspect comes in, a decision is...

Topical Issue Debate: Child Benefit Reform (2 Oct 2013)

Alex White: I am taking this matter on behalf of my colleague, the Minister for Social Protection, Deputy Burton, who is before the Oireachtas Joint Sub-Committee on Public Service Oversight and Petitions. I thank Deputy Naughten for raising the issue of child benefit and school attendance. Both child income support and school attendance are important social policy concerns of the Government. Child...

Topical Issue Debate: Medical Card Applications (2 Oct 2013)

Alex White: I thank Deputy Nash for raising this matter. Medical cards are provided to persons who, under the provisions of the Health Act 1970, are in the opinion of the HSE unable, without undue hardship, to arrange general practitioner, GP, services for themselves and their dependants. The assessment for a medical card is determined primarily by reference to the means including the income and...

Written Answers — Department of Health: Medical Card Applications (2 Oct 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 (2 Oct 2013)

Alex White: Under the provisions of the Health Act 1970, the assessment for a medical card is determined primarily by reference to the means, including the income and expenditure, of the applicant and his or her partner and dependants. While people with specific illnesses are not automatically entitled to medical cards, the legislation provides for discretion by the HSE to grant a medical card where a...

Written Answers — Department of Health: Health Services Reform (2 Oct 2013)

Alex White: A review was carried out earlier this year under the Financial Emergency Measures in the Public Interest (FEMPI) Act 2009 in relation to the operation, effectiveness and impact of the amounts and rates payable to certain health professionals under the relevant Regulations. The professionals concerned were General Practitioners, Pharmacists, Dentists, Ophthalmologists, Optometrists and...

Written Answers — Department of Health: General Medical Services Scheme Payments (2 Oct 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...