Results 7,881-7,900 of 24,635 for speaker:Mary Harney

Computerisation Programme. (16 Dec 2008)

Mary Harney: I have confidence in the chief executive officer of the HSE and its board. The famous PPARs was "specked" and procured under the old model delivered by health boards. It was not an appropriate model. What was "specked" at the time was completely inadequate for the task at hand, which is the reality. We know that. Clearly, we must learn from that experience because at the end of the day...

Hospital Services. (16 Dec 2008)

Mary Harney: The HSE has made considerable progress in improving the delivery of services in emergency departments. The vast majority of hospitals are now fully or substantially compliant with the 12-hour target for those requiring admission. The Health Service Executive introduced this target in October last year. Patient waits of longer than 24 hours, following a decision to admit, have been totally...

Hospital Services. (16 Dec 2008)

Mary Harney: Deputy Jan O'Sullivan is familiar with the proposals tabled by the HSE to the various employee representatives. She was well briefed prior to the previous attendance of Professor Drumm at the Dáil committee. Essentially, the HSE has tabled a number of proposals requiring greater flexibility. We want to treat more patients next year on a day-case basis, in line with best practice not only...

Hospital Services. (16 Dec 2008)

Mary Harney: It is a fact that in many hospitals in this city we have more staff than attendances on a daily basis at accident and emergency units. In some hospitals the ratio is 1:1. No health system in the world of which I am aware can sustain that ratio of staff level to patient care. In the context of next year——

Hospital Services. (16 Dec 2008)

Mary Harney: Separate issues arise that relate to safety, who is on-call, and volumes of activity that are being dealt with in the context of the mid-west and the north east. The reality is that patient safety issues arise in those places where there is a low level of throughput. I can supply the Deputy with the figures for each of the hospitals in Dublin on a daily basis. I can show her that in some...

Private Health Insurance. (16 Dec 2008)

Mary Harney: In reply to a priority question from Deputy Reilly on 25 November, I said that the measures announced by the Government the previous week should not, in themselves, lead to an overall increase in the €1.5 billion in private health insurance premiums paid by all health insurance customers as the new levy on health insurance companies will yield approximately the same amount as the enhanced...

Private Health Insurance. (16 Dec 2008)

Mary Harney: The market was segmenting. Citizens could see that some plans were geared to couples in their child bearing years, where maternity benefits were being offered and sports injuries were being included as well as teeth whitening. These products are not of interest to older people, so within a specific plan everybody will have to pay the same rate. However, the manner in which different...

Private Health Insurance. (16 Dec 2008)

Mary Harney: The market here was liberalised in the mid 1990s and perhaps other decisions could have been made then, but they were not. At the time, some 37% of the population had health insurance and everybody thought we were at market saturation level. However, some 53% of people now have health insurance. The VHI is required to be authorised during 2009 and must meet the same requirements as its...

Written Answers — Medical Cards: Medical Cards (11 Dec 2008)

Mary Harney: Medical cards are made available by the Health Service Executive (HSE) to persons and their dependants who would otherwise experience undue hardship in meeting the cost of General Practitioner (GP) services. In general, eligibility for medical cards and GP visit cards is determined following an examination of the means of the applicant and his/her dependants (income and relevant outgoings)....

Written Answers — Health and Safety Assessments: Health and Safety Assessments (11 Dec 2008)

Mary Harney: My Department has no water fountains in any of its buildings. In December 2007, Health Buildings International (HBI) were contracted by the Office of Public Works to carry out a Risk Assessment Survey on water systems in Hawkins House. The survey was carried out with reference to all current legislation and best practice guidelines and in accordance with Health and Safety Commission...

Written Answers — Departmental Expenditure: Departmental Expenditure (11 Dec 2008)

Mary Harney: The concept of Better Regulation is one to which my Department is wholly committed. Officers from my Department at Principal, Assistant Principal and Administrative Officer level, as appropriate, have in 2008, as part of their relevant responsibilities, attended meetings of the Inter-Departmental Group on Administrative Burden Reduction and the Regulatory Impact Analysis Network. Further,...

Written Answers — Nursing Homes Repayment Scheme: Nursing Homes Repayment Scheme (11 Dec 2008)

Mary Harney: The Health Service Executive has responsibility for administering the Repayment Scheme and the information sought by the Deputy relates to matters within the area of responsibility of the Executive. My Department has requested the Parliamentary Affairs Division of the Executive to arrange to have the matter investigated and to have a reply issued to the Deputy.

Written Answers — Health Services: Health Services (11 Dec 2008)

Mary Harney: As this is a service matter it has been referred to the HSE for direct reply.

Written Answers — Nursing Homes Repayment Scheme: Nursing Homes Repayment Scheme (11 Dec 2008)

Mary Harney: The Health Repayment Scheme Appeals Office is an independent office established to provide an appeals service to those who wish to appeal the decision of the Scheme Administrator under the Health (Repayment Scheme) Act 2006. The Health Repayment Scheme Appeals Office received a completed appeal form from the claimant referred to by the Deputy on 19 September 2007 and the Appeals Officer...

Written Answers — Vaccination Programme: Vaccination Programme (11 Dec 2008)

Mary Harney: As this is a service matter it has been referred to the HSE for direct reply.

Written Answers — Departmental Offices: Departmental Offices (11 Dec 2008)

Mary Harney: Office space in the Health Service Executive estate in County Donegal is a service issue and the query has been referred to the Executive for direct reply.

Written Answers — Departmental Offices: Departmental Offices (11 Dec 2008)

Mary Harney: As this is a service matter it has been referred to the HSE for direct reply.

Written Answers — Nursing Homes Repayment Scheme: Nursing Homes Repayment Scheme (11 Dec 2008)

Mary Harney: As this is a service matter it has been referred to the HSE for direct reply.

Written Answers — General Medical Services Scheme: General Medical Services Scheme (11 Dec 2008)

Mary Harney: The number of General Practitioners who are in active practice is some 2,500, of which some 2,100 are contracted by the Health Service Executive (HSE) to provide services under the General Medical Services (GMS) Scheme. General Practitioners (GPs) are self employed contractors and my Department does not therefore collect the statistics sought by the Deputy. Accordingly, my Department has...

Written Answers — Hospital Staff: Hospital Staff (11 Dec 2008)

Mary Harney: As this is a service matter it has been referred to the HSE for direct reply.