Results 7,781-7,800 of 11,979 for speaker:Billy Kelleher

Written Answers — Department of Transport, Tourism and Sport: Departmental Agencies (31 Jan 2013)

Billy Kelleher: To ask the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport if he will provide in tabular form the number of organisations or agencies under the aegis of his Department that have vacancies on their board; the length of time any such vacancies have been unfilled; the number of vacancies that have been advertised; the number of applications to fill such vacancies that have been received; and if he...

Health Service Executive (Governance) Bill 2012 [Seanad]: Second Stage (30 Jan 2013)

Billy Kelleher: No one said the Deputy did.

Health Service Executive (Governance) Bill 2012 [Seanad]: Second Stage (30 Jan 2013)

Billy Kelleher: There is no need for the Deputy to do that because a member of his party is Minister for Health. He should be able to get the information for him.

Health Service Executive (Governance) Bill 2012 [Seanad]: Second Stage (30 Jan 2013)

Billy Kelleher: There were a good few press releases.

Health Service Executive (Governance) Bill 2012 [Seanad]: Second Stage (30 Jan 2013)

Billy Kelleher: I do not want to argue with the Deputy across the floor, but, as Chairman of the Joint Committee on Health and Children, he should know the reason for the increase in the number of medical cards. It has increased because applicants are qualifying for them on financial grounds. However, they are being denied on medical grounds. That is the key issue I am trying to raise. I have raised it...

Health Service Executive (Governance) Bill 2012 [Seanad]: Second Stage (30 Jan 2013)

Billy Kelleher: I am getting confused by all the Chairs around here. We will, of course, examine the Bill in finer detail on Committee Stage. It provides for the abolition of the board and the CEO structure which will be replaced by a system of directorates headed by a director general. The Minister has outlined his decision, although he has not necessarily outlined the logic behind it. This directorate...

Health Service Executive (Governance) Bill 2012 [Seanad]: Second Stage (30 Jan 2013)

Billy Kelleher: The Minister claimed that logistical logarithmic progression had been used to determine the location of primary care centres in Balbriggan and Swords. I have yet to see that logistical logarithmic theory in writing. We have submitted Dáil questions and freedom of information requests on the matter, but we are no closer to finding out the theorem according to the Minister....

Health Service Executive (Governance) Bill 2012 [Seanad]: Second Stage (30 Jan 2013)

Billy Kelleher: It is clear that the HSE and those who were statutorily responsible for the decision-making process were unsure about where the funding would come from. In fact, they were unaware of the decisions made until they read the press releases from the Ministers for the Environment, Community and Local Government and Public Expenditure and Reform in local newspapers one month in advance of the...

Health Service Executive (Governance) Bill 2012 [Seanad]: Second Stage (30 Jan 2013)

Billy Kelleher: The record is clear. The documents released in response to the freedom of information request made by RTE clearly state the Minister insisted on the projects being accelerated.

Health Service Executive (Governance) Bill 2012 [Seanad]: Second Stage (30 Jan 2013)

Billy Kelleher: The Minister has not yet explained why he decided they should be accelerated over and above any other project.

Health Service Executive (Governance) Bill 2012 [Seanad]: Second Stage (30 Jan 2013)

Billy Kelleher: The Minister made a complete change in regard to his commitments to Roscommon, Navan and many other hospitals. Why were they prioritised over others and why did he do a complete volte-face with regard to hospitals on which he had given clear funding commitments?

Health Service Executive (Governance) Bill 2012 [Seanad]: Second Stage (30 Jan 2013)

Billy Kelleher: They are very relevant because we will be giving the Minister sweeping powers to interfere on a daily basis not only with policy but also its implementation. He will have control over the director general and the HSE and will be deciding where funding will be provided, on the location of primary care centres and the provision of services. I have considerable concerns about the...

Health Service Executive (Governance) Bill 2012 [Seanad]: Second Stage (30 Jan 2013)

Billy Kelleher: As I said before, the Minister was like Wyatt Earp heading to the OK Corral. He was going to shoot them down anyway so they said they would flee before he got rid of them. That is the point. He had the cameras waiting as well for it so there is no point in us pretending otherwise. They were going to be dismissed. He then appointed another board. As early as March or April of 2012, the...

Health Service Executive (Governance) Bill 2012 [Seanad]: Second Stage (30 Jan 2013)

Billy Kelleher: And prescription charges.

Health Service Executive (Governance) Bill 2012 [Seanad]: Second Stage (30 Jan 2013)

Billy Kelleher: Along with sacking the board of the HSE, one of the Minister's first acts on entering Hawkins House was announcing the abolition of the prescription charge.

Health Service Executive (Governance) Bill 2012 [Seanad]: Second Stage (30 Jan 2013)

Billy Kelleher: The unfortunate thing is that the Minister is beginning to believe his spin if that is the case. He said he would abolish prescription charges. Why did he announce he was going to abolish them when he now states that he had no intention of abolishing them and increased them threefold in the last budget? At the time, he said that prescription charges were a barrier to people accessing very...

Health Service Executive (Governance) Bill 2012 [Seanad]: Second Stage (30 Jan 2013)

Billy Kelleher: He now increases the charge threefold. In respect of medical card eligibility, when one looks at the service plan, one sees the difficulty is that there have been changes to eligibility and I will tell the Minister where they are. Previously, when a person with cancer applied for a medical card, he or she almost always received it on medical grounds. We now have a very distasteful problem...

Health Service Executive (Governance) Bill 2012 [Seanad]: Second Stage (30 Jan 2013)

Billy Kelleher: It was the first time I ever heard about a benchmark position whereby the Minister decided 13 weeks would be the benchmark.

Health Service Executive (Governance) Bill 2012 [Seanad]: Second Stage (30 Jan 2013)

Billy Kelleher: Talk about inventing lists he knew he could easily get rid of. A period of 13 weeks was never the benchmark in the first place in respect of waiting for that procedure.

Health Service Executive (Governance) Bill 2012 [Seanad]: Second Stage (30 Jan 2013)

Billy Kelleher: I am trying to point out that in terms of the delivery of health care in this country, a lot has been said but, unfortunately, a lot of things said are now being unravelled completely. Eligibility for medical cards must be addressed urgently.