Results 9,001-9,020 of 26,394 for speaker:David Cullinane

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Health: Business of Joint Committee (11 Nov 2020)

David Cullinane: I would like to again raise an issue I raised yesterday. I propose that the committee be given a briefing on the issue of vaccines. Two issues arise. One is the matter of vaccines for Covid. We will receive part of whatever number of vaccines the European Commission procures but it is important the committee is briefed on how that is going to work and how many doses we expect to get this...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Health: Business of Joint Committee (11 Nov 2020)

David Cullinane: We agreed to do this at yesterday's meeting. Can we ask the clerk to draw up a paper on what it would look like and who would attend? That would move matters along.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Health: HSE Winter Plan: HSE (11 Nov 2020)

David Cullinane: Our guests will be aware we are under tight time constraints, so I would appreciate if our guests can respond to my questions as succinctly as they can. In some of my questions, I am merely seeking information. I will begin by putting a question to Dr. Henry about the flu vaccine. I understand he wrote to all GPs and pharmacists on Monday. Is that correct?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Health: HSE Winter Plan: HSE (11 Nov 2020)

David Cullinane: In that letter, Dr. Henry stated there were 1.3 million doses of the quadrivalent influenza vaccine, QIV, 700,000 of which had been administered. Some 600,000 doses had been distributed but not administered. Is that correct?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Health: HSE Winter Plan: HSE (11 Nov 2020)

David Cullinane: They have not been administered------

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Health: HSE Winter Plan: HSE (11 Nov 2020)

David Cullinane: They have not been lost; they just have not yet been administered to patients.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Health: HSE Winter Plan: HSE (11 Nov 2020)

David Cullinane: In his letter, Dr. Henry set out the high-risk categories, such as the over-65s, healthcare workers and pregnant women. Of the 600,000 doses that have not yet been administered, how can Dr. Henry guarantee that those high-risk patients will be prioritised? What checks or controls are in place? Can Dr. Henry guarantee that those who are deemed to be prioritised will be prioritised over others?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Health: HSE Winter Plan: HSE (11 Nov 2020)

David Cullinane: I apologise for interrupting but given that there is a significant demand this year, as Mr. Reid rightly noted, how can Dr. Henry guarantee that those 600,000 doses that have not yet been administered will go to the categories he outlined in his letter? He stated he wants to pause the remaining 50,000 to ensure they are prioritised, but how can he guarantee they will be prioritised?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Health: HSE Winter Plan: HSE (11 Nov 2020)

David Cullinane: We have sought a briefing not just on this issue but also on the potential for a Covid vaccine. We look forward to that briefing, which we hope will happen in the next couple of weeks. I wish the best of luck to the HSE in that work. It will be very important in the fight against Covid. I turn to Mr. Reid in respect of hospital wait times. At the end of September 2016, some 438,267...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Health: HSE Winter Plan: HSE (11 Nov 2020)

David Cullinane: I apologise to Mr. Woods but this is not Covid related. I will outline the figures year on year because it is not fair to say this is due to Covid. In 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019 and this year, the number of patients was 438,000, 493,000, 515,000, 568,000 and 612,000, respectively. Year on year, therefore, over recent years the numbers have been increasing. I am asking why. Turning to the...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Health: HSE Winter Plan: HSE (11 Nov 2020)

David Cullinane: None of that answers my question because we need capacity. In regard to cardiology wait times in 2016, some 16,806 patients were on waiting lists, while in 2020, the figure was 27,000, a considerable increase. In 2016, some 1,875 people had been waiting 18 months, whereas the figure is now 7,963. I have dealt with a number of other cases that I will put to Mr. Woods. An elderly woman has...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Health: HSE Winter Plan: HSE (11 Nov 2020)

David Cullinane: I am sorry but I need to come back in again. Elective hospitals are a long way down the road and I want those hospitals to be delivered as quickly as possible. All elected representatives and members of this committee get representations. I refer to an elderly woman waiting for more than two years to see a pain specialist, children with scoliosis waiting longer for treatment, people on...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: DEIS Scheme (10 Nov 2020)

David Cullinane: 480. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills if matters raised in correspondence (details supplied) will be addressed; if the concerns of the staff will be addressed; if DEIS band 1 and vertical schools will be included in the reduction in the pupil-to-teacher ratio; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [35374/20]

Written Answers — Department of Health: Health Services (10 Nov 2020)

David Cullinane: 773. To ask the Minister for Health when a service (details supplied) will resume; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [35367/20]

Criminal Justice (Enforcement Powers) (Covid-19) Act 2020: Motion (4 Nov 2020)

David Cullinane: In the early stages of the pandemic, we supported emergency measures that we felt were necessary to ensure there was a level of enforcement of the restrictions that were introduced. Despite some commentary from the Minister's party leader, and also from the Taoiseach, that the Opposition has not been supportive on occasions, the support that the Government in this State has got from the...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Health: Update on Covid-19 and Review of Budget 2021: Minister for Health (4 Nov 2020)

David Cullinane: I welcome the Minster. I ask that he reply to my questions with succinct responses. If I intervene, it will be only because I feel the questions are not being answered. My first question relates to the statutory instrument the Minister signed a couple of days ago to extend medical card access to certain categories of people, namely, the over-70s and six- to eight-year-olds. I assume there...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Health: Update on Covid-19 and Review of Budget 2021: Minister for Health (4 Nov 2020)

David Cullinane: Six- to eight-year-olds.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Health: Update on Covid-19 and Review of Budget 2021: Minister for Health (4 Nov 2020)

David Cullinane: My question was whether the negotiations have commenced. They have not yet commenced.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Health: Update on Covid-19 and Review of Budget 2021: Minister for Health (4 Nov 2020)

David Cullinane: Yes.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Health: Update on Covid-19 and Review of Budget 2021: Minister for Health (4 Nov 2020)

David Cullinane: I asked the Minister a question yesterday on the floor of the House and also inquired with the clerk to the committee. There is some controversy over previous negotiations with the IMO, as the Minister will appreciate. As an Opposition party, we have sought any documentation, emails or correspondence, between April and May 2019, with the National Association of General Practitioners, NAGP,...