Results 50,821-50,840 of 51,089 for speaker:Micheál Martin

Hospital Waiting Lists: Motion. (4 May 2004)

Micheál Martin: In 1994, when Labour and Fine Gael assumed responsibility for the reform of the health services, there were 1,179 pre-registration nurse training places in Ireland. The issue of medical manpower was already a pressing issue, and nurse shortages were becoming a serious issue. In its programme for Government, the rainbow Government spelt out: "It is now a matter of urgency that the issue of...

Twenty-seventh Amendment of the Constitution Bill 2004: Second Stage (Resumed) (21 Apr 2004)

Micheál Martin: I wish to share time with Deputy Wilkinson.

Twenty-seventh Amendment of the Constitution Bill 2004: Second Stage (Resumed) (21 Apr 2004)

Micheál Martin: There is no problem. I welcome the opportunity to express my support for this amendment of the Constitution and the legislation being proposed by my colleague, the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform, Deputy McDowell, and endorsed by the Government. It is important that we debate this issue calmly and reasonably. It is important that we have an informed view of the concept of...

Twenty-seventh Amendment of the Constitution Bill 2004: Second Stage (Resumed) (21 Apr 2004)

Micheál Martin: I will come to figures in a moment.

Twenty-seventh Amendment of the Constitution Bill 2004: Second Stage (Resumed) (21 Apr 2004)

Micheál Martin: I would appreciate if Members on the other side of the House would not interrupt me, as I do not intend to interrupt them. I am giving an honest assessment, as Minister for Health and Children, of what people have said to me. The figures are also available.

Twenty-seventh Amendment of the Constitution Bill 2004: Second Stage (Resumed) (21 Apr 2004)

Micheál Martin: Deputy McDowell said he had met with the masters of the maternity hospitals in Dublin. This is not something that happens every day.

Twenty-seventh Amendment of the Constitution Bill 2004: Second Stage (Resumed) (21 Apr 2004)

Micheál Martin: The masters asked for it. They met with me first.

Twenty-seventh Amendment of the Constitution Bill 2004: Second Stage (Resumed) (21 Apr 2004)

Micheál Martin: Will the Deputy please allow me to speak? He is asking for a calm debate, yet he is constantly interrupting. I will tell the House what happened.

Twenty-seventh Amendment of the Constitution Bill 2004: Second Stage (Resumed) (21 Apr 2004)

Micheál Martin: This is a debate, not a question and answer session.

Twenty-seventh Amendment of the Constitution Bill 2004: Second Stage (Resumed) (21 Apr 2004)

Micheál Martin: I just want to be able to say a few words about this, if I may. Two issues were raised by the masters of the maternity hospitals and other obstetricians. One was the impact of the fact that up to 60% of women over 16 attending the hospitals — asylum seekers — were pregnant. That creates pressure on the service. There is also the issue of funding. They also raised the issue of what we...

Twenty-seventh Amendment of the Constitution Bill 2004: Second Stage (Resumed) (21 Apr 2004)

Micheál Martin: The National Maternity Hospital reported that non-national births increased from 1,460 in 2002 to 1,707 in 2003.

Twenty-seventh Amendment of the Constitution Bill 2004: Second Stage (Resumed) (21 Apr 2004)

Micheál Martin: Non-national births at the hospital accounted for over 20% of all births at the hospital in 2003. At Our Lady of Lourdes hospital in Drogheda, non-national births increased from 229 in 2001 to 688 in 2003.

Twenty-seventh Amendment of the Constitution Bill 2004: Second Stage (Resumed) (21 Apr 2004)

Micheál Martin: The Deputy is correct.

Twenty-seventh Amendment of the Constitution Bill 2004: Second Stage (Resumed) (21 Apr 2004)

Micheál Martin: Non-national births at the hospital accounted for 20% of all births. The health board specifically approached us following the build up at Mosney. There is a direct correlation between that and the pressures on the maternity and obstetric units in Drogheda. The point is that most people are under no illusion that this nationality issue is a factor in this growth. Let us not deny that. There...

Twenty-seventh Amendment of the Constitution Bill 2004: Second Stage (Resumed) (21 Apr 2004)

Micheál Martin: Let me give the example of the Southern Health Board. There are ten refugees and 545 asylum seekers in the SHB area alone. There are 564 non-nationals who are not refugees nor asylum seekers. There were, therefore, 1,119 births to non-nationals in SHB hospitals out of 6,000. That is a substantial number. Some of them tend to be complex cases. If we have a system in Ireland that is...

Twenty-seventh Amendment of the Constitution Bill 2004: Second Stage (Resumed) (21 Apr 2004)

Micheál Martin: We have done it successfully. The people to whom we have spoken on this issue and who work in this area are in no doubt that one of the great incentives is our unique facility in Europe, whereby one is automatically a citizen in that situation. What we are doing in this amendment is bringing Ireland into line with its European partners. No other European state has this facility. We are still...

Written Answers — Pharmacy Regulations: Pharmacy Regulations (30 Mar 2004)

Micheál Martin: Council Directive 85/433/EEC provides for the free movement of pharmacists within the European Economic Area, EEA. Under EU Directives 85/432/EEC and 85/433/EEC, any EU/EEA national holding a recognised pharmacy qualification from such a state is entitled to register as a pharmacist in Ireland in accordance with free movement provisions. Article 2.2 of 85/433/EEC gives member states the...

Written Answers — Patient Statistics: Patient Statistics (30 Mar 2004)

Micheál Martin: I propose to take Questions Nos. 341 to 343, inclusive, and 345 together. The information requested by the Deputy is provided in the following tables. The figures are derived from the hospital in-patient inquiry, HIPE, system which records information on hospitalisations in all publicly funded acute hospitals in the State. This system records hospital episodes and is not a patient-based...

Written Answers — Medicinal Products: Medicinal Products (30 Mar 2004)

Micheál Martin: I have been informed by the Irish Medicines Board, which is the competent national authority for the regulation of medicinal products, that 120 medicinal products containing paracetamol as an active substance are currently authorised for placing on the market in Ireland, although not all are necessarily on the market at any one time.

Written Answers — Medicinal Products: Medicinal Products (30 Mar 2004)

Micheál Martin: The sale of products containing paracetamol as an active substance is controlled by the Medicinal Products (Prescription and Control of Supply) Regulations 2003, SI 540 of 2003. I have arranged to have a copy of these regulations forwarded to the Deputy.