Results 8,081-8,100 of 11,470 for speaker:Mary Butler

Written Answers — Department of Health: Hospital Services (17 Sep 2020)

Mary Butler: As this is a service matter, I have asked the Health Service Executive to respond to the Deputy directly, as soon as possible.

Written Answers — Department of Health: Hospital Services (16 Sep 2020)

Mary Butler: As this is a service matter, I have asked the Health Service Executive to respond to the Deputy directly, as soon as possible.

Written Answers — Department of Health: Covid-19 Pandemic Supports (16 Sep 2020)

Mary Butler: As this is a service matter, I have asked the Health Service Executive to respond to the Deputy directly, as soon as possible.

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Hospital Services (15 Sep 2020)

Mary Butler: I would like to correct the record. Speaking earlier, I may have inadvertently put the figures the wrong way around when I should have said there were 357 cases of Covid-19 and three deaths arising from the virus today. I thank Deputy Conway-Walsh for her question, which refers to Belmullet.  The Health Protection Surveillance Centre, HPSC, has developed an extensive body of...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Hospital Services (15 Sep 2020)

Mary Butler: Covid-19 is a reality and we are living with it on a daily basis. As I stated, we had 357 cases today, with three people losing their lives. I do not believe that for any reason a medical person would ask somebody to travel that distance unless absolutely necessary. I have said that no community hospital around the country is taking direct admissions currently. This is best practice...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Hospital Services (15 Sep 2020)

Mary Butler: I will bring the Deputy's concerns to the Minister but I have an update for her. A meeting was scheduled to take place this afternoon in Belmullet district hospital between personnel from HSE estates, the chief officer of community healthcare west and the head of services for older people services in order to review the infrastructural deficits within the district hospital and to assess and...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: National Children's Hospital (15 Sep 2020)

Mary Butler: I propose to take Questions Nos. 35 and 47 together. Like many other sectors of the economy, the construction sector was impacted by the Covid-19 pandemic. This resulted in construction-related work on the site of the new children's hospital stopping on 31 March due to Covid-19 restrictions. On 18 May, the restrictions in respect of the construction sector were eased. From this date,...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: National Children's Hospital (15 Sep 2020)

Mary Butler: The question that Deputy Daly initially asked related to the timeframe for the construction of the new children's hospital. I answered that by saying it would be completed at the end of 2022 and opened in 2023. Those are the dates I have been given. The Deputy also asked about the legal fees. In respect of legal costs, the NPHDB has statutory responsibility for planning, designing,...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: National Children's Hospital (15 Sep 2020)

Mary Butler: I thank both Deputies for their constructive replies. 9 o’clock Deputy Daly has issues in regard to County Kerry. I regret I am unable to answer them. There is probably not a Deputy in the country who does not have issues in regard to their constituency. I agree with Deputy Alan Kelly that the pilot programme rolled out in Tipperary is fantastic. There is a similar programme...

Priority Questions: Covid-19 Tests (15 Sep 2020)

Mary Butler: Testing of staff in nursing homes has been ongoing for the past two months and has proven very effective. As regards the meat factory the Deputy mentioned, I have two family members who have worked there for a very long time and they were tested last Thursday. There was a hullabaloo that there was no testing in meat factories last week, but in Dawn Meats in Grannagh over 800 people were...

Priority Questions: Budget 2020 (15 Sep 2020)

Mary Butler: I thank the Deputy for keeping me on my toes today. First, I acknowledge the difficult year older people in our society have experienced as a result of Covid-19. They have shown tremendous resilience in helping to fight the spread of Covid-19. The issue the Deputy raises is one that is very close to me as Minister of State with responsibility for older people and mental health. ...

Priority Questions: Budget 2020 (15 Sep 2020)

Mary Butler: As the Deputy will be aware, I am here representing the Minister for Health. I am glad the Deputy accepts my bona fides on this matter because I have spoken to the Minister about it and we are very anxious to make progress on the medical cards. Currently, 75% of persons aged over 70 have a medical card and if the potential beneficiaries, which could be up to 56,000 people, materialise then...

Priority Questions: Budget 2020 (15 Sep 2020)

Mary Butler: I can certainly say that I was not one of the people who said this was a done deal because it was always contingent on there being a surplus in the budget in 2020 to deliver it. That was the small print that was written into it but who bothers with small print?

Priority Questions: Budget 2020 (15 Sep 2020)

Mary Butler: I was very clear on that. This was always dependent on a surplus. We are in unprecedented times. There is a pandemic. The Minister for Health has gone home because he is sick and he has to have a Covid test. We need to be very careful where we are. Some 357 people died today and our focus has to be on Covid. I want to see the threshold extended and I will be pushing hard for that...

Priority Questions: Mental Health Services (15 Sep 2020)

Mary Butler: I will refer to the budget first. Budget 2020 saw the Government continue its commitment to mental health by increasing funding by €39 million to €1.026 billion. This represents an increase of over €315 million or 45% since 2012. Admittedly, we have a long way to go, and I am very conscious of that. I have three priorities for Tipperary. My first priority and...

Priority Questions: Mental Health Services (15 Sep 2020)

Mary Butler: When I visited the emergency department, ED, in South Tipperary General Hospital, I was delighted to meet the team operating there. All mental health patients attending the ED are triaged in accordance with assessed clinical need with the objective of referring them as soon as possible to the HSE mental health service when they are discharged from the ED. The ED has a 24-hour mental health...

Priority Questions: Covid-19 Tests (15 Sep 2020)

Mary Butler: This is a very important question because the entire premise of Covid is test, trace and isolate. A comprehensive, reliable and responsive testing and tracing operation is central to our public health strategy. Capacity has been in place since early summer to test 15,000 people a day. While the system came under pressure in recent weeks, overall the system is working well and is proving...

Priority Questions: Covid-19 Tests (15 Sep 2020)

Mary Butler: As I said, 71,000 people were tested last week. We have had to ramp up testing considerably in the last four to six weeks because Covid has changed and is changing. It is more prevalent in communities now. In March, April and into May we were testing many people, but we managed to flatten the curve. The lockdown worked. People stayed at home and did not move further than 2 km from their...

Priority Questions: Covid-19 Tests (15 Sep 2020)

Mary Butler: Yes.

Priority Questions: Health Services (15 Sep 2020)

Mary Butler: The Deputy is correct we are living in unprecedented times. I do not think it is a statement of the obvious to announce €600 million to support people in the winter plan that runs throughout the winter until after Christmas. The Deputy is right when he says bed capacity is the most important thing going forward. The whole purpose of this plan is to try to keep as many people in...