Results 5,821-5,840 of 9,393 for speaker:Alex White

Seanad: Health (Alteration of Criteria for Eligibility) Bill 2013: Committee and Remaining Stages (28 Mar 2013)

Alex White: I do not propose to accept the amendment. There is no intention to roll back or renege on the position as set out in the 2012 Act, nor will it be the effect of section 7(9). I understand and accept the argument Senator Barrett made yesterday on the opening up of the system. He made some compelling points with which I agree and which were properly dealt with through the legislation to which...

Seanad: Health (Alteration of Criteria for Eligibility) Bill 2013: Committee and Remaining Stages (28 Mar 2013)

Alex White: At the risk of my own colleagues wondering why I would put it this way, I will say it anyway because I believe it. There is fear across the community in society, not only in Ireland but internationally. Unfortunately, there is much basis and reason for fear. One should not create fallacious fear. The Senators here can read the Bill as well as anybody else can. We all are intelligent...

Seanad: Health (Alteration of Criteria for Eligibility) Bill 2013: Committee and Remaining Stages (28 Mar 2013)

Alex White: The Senator has not explained how he is of the view that the section goes against the principle of universal health care. He merely asserts it, as his colleagues have, without explaining it. If he reads the section he will see that it does not go against the principle of universal health care. As he has acknowledged - although he seems to fail to recognise the implication of his words - he...

Seanad: Health (Alteration of Criteria for Eligibility) Bill 2013: Committee and Remaining Stages (28 Mar 2013)

Alex White: Today we have Committee Stage and of course questions of order are a matter for you, a Chathaoirligh, and not for me. However, I simply point out that I addressed that issue yesterday. It remains a commitment of the Government to extend free GP care to all in the community by the end of its term of office. I do not say that is necessarily a particularly easy task. I accept it is a big...

Written Answers — Department of Health: Medical Card Applications (28 Mar 2013)

Alex White: The Health Service Executive has been asked to examine this matter and to reply to the Deputy as soon as possible.

Written Answers — Department of Health: Medical Card Eligibility (28 Mar 2013)

Alex White: The Health Service Executive has been asked to examine this matter and to reply to the Deputy as soon as possible.

Written Answers — Department of Health: Medical Card Eligibility (28 Mar 2013)

Alex White: Under the provisions of the Health Act 1970, eligibility for health services in Ireland is based primarily on residency and means. Any person who is ordinarily resident in Ireland is entitled to either full eligibility (medical card holder) or limited eligibility (all others) for health services. Determination of eligibility for a medical card is the responsibility of the HSE. Medical...

Written Answers — Department of Health: Medical Card Appeals (28 Mar 2013)

Alex White: The Health Service Executive has been asked to examine this matter and to reply to the Deputy as soon as possible.

Written Answers — Department of Health: Medical Card Applications (28 Mar 2013)

Alex White: The Health Service Executive has been asked to examine this matter and to reply to the Deputy as soon as possible.

Written Answers — Department of Health: Medical Card Eligibility (28 Mar 2013)

Alex White: The Health Service Executive has been asked to examine this matter and to reply to the Deputy as soon as possible.

Topical Issue Debate: Prescription Charges (27 Mar 2013)

Alex White: I reiterate that the concern the Deputy has raised is one that is widely shared. The National Consumer Agency report is useful because it focuses public attention on the particular instances the agency has addressed. The Deputy is absolutely right that this is a matter of continuing concern. It is of continuing concern to me, as a Minister of State with responsibility in the area, to the...

Topical Issue Debate: Prescription Charges (27 Mar 2013)

Alex White: I thank the Deputy for raising this important issue. As indicated by him, a recently published survey by the National Consumer Agency found substantial variations in the prices charged for prescription medicines in pharmacies. At national level, the percentage difference found in the prices of 39 individual prescription medicines ranged from 37% to 199%, the average percentage difference...

Seanad: Health (Alteration of Criteria for Eligibility) Bill 2013: Second Stage (27 Mar 2013)

Alex White: Shoehorning it into this provision might be difficult. It is unlikely, but I will not express a definitive opinion on it, as it is not for me to do so. Senator Mullins asked about the administration of the medical card system, in particular its appeals system. That Ministers repeat the global figures on the scheme's success is sometimes a source of irritation for colleagues, but I should...

Seanad: Health (Alteration of Criteria for Eligibility) Bill 2013: Second Stage (27 Mar 2013)

Alex White: The move to centralise under the Primary Care Reimbursement Service, PCRS, has had a beneficial effect on the way the system is being administered. Some Senators are shaking their heads. As diligent public representatives, individual cases present to them. I have examined some cases, as I have also been approached. I have taken Adjournment debates and parliamentary questions. We have...

Seanad: Health (Alteration of Criteria for Eligibility) Bill 2013: Second Stage (27 Mar 2013)

Alex White: That happened more quickly than I expected. I thank Senators who contributed to this important and interesting debate. Senator Cullinane of Sinn Féin and the Fianna Fáil Senators are opposing the Bill for the reasons they explained. Those are reasons on which we all have views, one way or the other. However, no one actually made a strong case against the alterations to the eligibility...

Seanad: Health (Alteration of Criteria for Eligibility) Bill 2013: Second Stage (27 Mar 2013)

Alex White: They all get GP visit cards.

Seanad: Health (Alteration of Criteria for Eligibility) Bill 2013: Second Stage (27 Mar 2013)

Alex White: To clarify, nobody loses access to free GP care cover as a result of this Bill. The full medical card is removed from 20,000 people but each of those people will continue to have access to free GP care.

Seanad: Health (Alteration of Criteria for Eligibility) Bill 2013: Second Stage (27 Mar 2013)

Alex White: That is what it says.

Seanad: Health (Alteration of Criteria for Eligibility) Bill 2013: Second Stage (27 Mar 2013)

Alex White: Is that in the manifesto? I do not recall seeing it.

Seanad: Health (Alteration of Criteria for Eligibility) Bill 2013: Second Stage (27 Mar 2013)

Alex White: The maintenance of health services is a priority in 2013 for the Government, despite the need for significant and difficult financial savings in the health area. In the context of the very difficult financial circumstances in which the State has found itself in recent years, it is the Government?s intention that front line health services would be protected to the greatest extent possible....