Results 5,181-5,200 of 21,128 for speaker:James Reilly

Written Answers — Department of Health: Nursing Staff Remuneration (13 Feb 2014)

James Reilly: Under the Haddington Road Agreement, revised salary scales for 'new entrant' nurses are being prepared. These new salary scales will address the imbalance between those who entered the public service following 1 January 2011 and those who entered prior to this date. They are to apply retrospectively from 1 November 2013. In a time of very limited recruitment opportunities in the public...

Written Answers — Department of Health: Maternity Services (13 Feb 2014)

James Reilly: I believe that it is vitally important that we restore public confidence in the quality of the maternity services at Portlaoise, and have already taken steps to do so. My priority is to establish how our services failed the families involved and, if so, take remedial action to ensure that it can never happen again. I therefore moved immediately to ask the Chief Medical Officer to provide me...

Written Answers — Department of Health: Consultancy Contracts (13 Feb 2014)

James Reilly: My officials have received confirmation from the HSE that an organisation called Boardmatch Ireland was used to assist in identifying replacement candidates to fill vacancies on the Board of the Central Remedial Clinic. The HSE has also confirmed that it has not been able to identify any instance where a person appointed to a HSE board after recruitment advice was received from external...

Written Answers — Department of Health: Air Pollution (13 Feb 2014)

James Reilly: Matters relating to air quality and the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) are matters for the Department of the Environment, Community and Local Government in the first instance. I have been advised that the results from the EPA's national ambient air quality monitoring network show that there was no breach of air quality standards at any of the monitoring stations in the network for...

Written Answers — Department of Health: Cancer Screening Programmes (13 Feb 2014)

James Reilly: I propose to take Questions Nos. 19 and 43 together. The BreastCheck Programme provides free mammograms to all women aged 50-64. Ireland has improved breast cancer survival rates due to a combined approach of screening, symptomatic detection and improved treatment. Breast cancer 5 year survival is now estimated at 81.8% for people diagnosed between 2003-2007, up from 76.8% for people...

Written Answers — Department of Health: Patient Safety (13 Feb 2014)

James Reilly: HIQA's 'Investigation into the safety, quality and standards of services provided by the Health Service Executive to patients, including pregnant women, at risk of clinical deterioration, including those provided in University Hospital Galway, and as reflected in the care and treatment provided to Savita Halappanavar' was published on 7th October 2013. On publication I made it clear that...

Written Answers — Department of Health: Health Services Provision (13 Feb 2014)

James Reilly: The North-South Feasibility Study, finalised in 2009, examined the potential for joint co-operation in health across an extensive range of health and social care services. It set out 10 priority recommendations and many of these are already being taken forward. Areas of ongoing collaboration include - child protection, cancer research, health promotion, suicide prevention, radiotherapy...

Written Answers — Department of Health: Ambulance Service Provision (13 Feb 2014)

James Reilly: I propose to take Questions Nos. 22 and 53 together. I am aware that concerns have been raised recently concerning ambulance service response times. In the circumstances, I have asked HIQA to bring forward its planned review of pre-hospital emergency care, which had been due to commence in Q2 2014.  The Authority will review the governance arrangements of pre-hospital emergency care...

Written Answers — Department of Health: Midwifery Services (13 Feb 2014)

James Reilly: I wish to confirm to the Deputy that there is no embargo on the recruitment of midwives in the public health service. While the numbers employed across the public service must be reduced in order to meet fiscal and budgetary targets it is recognised that certain services such as maternity are demand led and require specialist staffing. Arrangements are in place in the HSE to allow the...

Written Answers — Department of Health: Hospital Waiting Lists (13 Feb 2014)

James Reilly: The Operational Plan 2014 of the HSE Acute Hospitals Division states the specific access targets which have been determined by the SDU, sets out funding and activity requirements in relation to achieving overall reductions in respect of waiting times and provides assurance that these will be monitored on a monthly basis. In addition, targeted funding of €30m is provided to address...

Written Answers — Department of Health: Health Insurance Prices (13 Feb 2014)

James Reilly: I propose to take Questions Nos. 26, 28 and 253 together. There are currently just over 2 million people, or 44.6% of the population with private health insurance. While this has fallen from a peak of 50.9% in 2008, Ireland continues to retain a high level of population holding voluntary private health insurance. There are a number of measures being progressed by my Department to help...

Written Answers — Department of Health: Maternity Services (13 Feb 2014)

James Reilly: I am aware of, and have noted, the variations in the rates of C-Section throughout the country. The Deputy may wish to note that a new National Maternity Strategy will be developed by my Department this year. This Strategy will determine the future model of services to ensure that women have access to safe, high quality maternity care in a setting most appropriate to their needs. As part...

Written Answers — Department of Health: Health Insurance Regulation (13 Feb 2014)

James Reilly: I propose to take Questions Nos. 30 and 54 together. The Government agreed in December 2011 to address the European Court of Justice ruling of September 2011 and to work with the VHI in its application process for authorisation by the Central Bank of Ireland (CBI), subject to further Government consideration of any application for authorisation. Despite good progress, it was not possible...

Written Answers — Department of Health: Substance Misuse (13 Feb 2014)

James Reilly: Ireland has a significant alcohol problem which needs decisive and innovative action to address it. Last October, the Government approved an extensive package of measures to deal with alcohol misuse to be incorporated in a Public Health (Alcohol) Bill. These measures are based on the recommendations contained in the Steering Group Report on a National Substance Misuse Strategy. The aim is...

Written Answers — Department of Health: Hospital Services (13 Feb 2014)

James Reilly: St Vincent's University Hospital is the designated National Adult Referral Centre for patients with cystic fibrosis. The hospital currently treats 330 adults, which accounts for over 50% of the CF adult population. The designated inpatient and day care CF unit in the Nutley Wing development at St. Vincent's University Hospital became operational during summer 2012 and represents a major...

Written Answers — Department of Health: HSE National Service Plan (13 Feb 2014)

James Reilly: There has been considerable focus, understandably, on the demanding and challenging financial and resource constraints within which the HSE has been required to prepare and adopt its 2014 Service Plan. Similar constraints have also applied in each of the last number of years due to the emergency financial situation the Irish State has had to address. During this period the HSE and its...

Written Answers — Department of Health: Rare Diseases Strategy Publication (13 Feb 2014)

James Reilly: I propose to take Questions Nos. 34 and 47 together. My Department is finalising a national plan on rare diseases which is set in the context of the council recommendation of 8th June 2009. While no specific rare disease is mentioned, the council decision declared that it is estimated that there are between 5,000 and 8,000 rare diseases; and hence it states that the specificities of rare...

Written Answers — Department of Health: Services for People with Disabilities (13 Feb 2014)

James Reilly: I propose to take Questions Nos. 35 and 56 together. The Government is committed to the provision and development of services for children with a disability, including early intervention services, within available resources. While these services are in the process of being reconfigured under the HSE's National Programme on Progressing Disability Services for Children and Young People (0-18...

Written Answers — Department of Health: Accident and Emergency Services Provision (13 Feb 2014)

James Reilly: The Department of Health, the HSE SDU and the INMO are at one in regarding trolley waits to be an unacceptable feature of the Irish healthcare system which must be addressed. However, year to date, on a national basis we are 2.9% ahead of 2013 and 33.7% ahead of the baseline trolley count. These percentages are equivalent to 237 and 4,015 fewer patients on trolleys respectively. There...

Written Answers — Department of Health: HSE Reports (13 Feb 2014)

James Reilly: The Health Service Executive conducts investigations into serious incidents including perinatal deaths and the Executive's Risk and Incident Investigation Process provides a framework for conducting such investigations. Investigations of serious incidents including baby deaths have been conducted under the Process with support provided by the Executive's National Incident Management Team as...