Results 10,601-10,620 of 19,445 for speaker:Brian Cowen

Leaders' Questions (14 May 2008)

Brian Cowen: That flexibility is something that has to be achieved. I am glad to hear that Deputy Kenny supports at least some health sector reforms, such as that one. He might not be as selective and perhaps he should support them all so that we can deal with all these work practice issues. The way work practice issues are operated within the system is the reason we are not getting the outputs we...

Leaders' Questions (14 May 2008)

Brian Cowen: With regard to the number of speech and language therapists coming into the system, the basic problem, as I have outlined, that has been in existence for some time is that there were not sufficient numbers of speech and language graduates coming through the system while at the same time there was an increased demand from the public. This has been addressed and we must ensure that the work...

Leaders' Questions (14 May 2008)

Brian Cowen: With respect, I do not have specific answers to the questions being asked by the Deputy——

Leaders' Questions (14 May 2008)

Brian Cowen: They are more appropriate to a parliamentary question. However, I can deal with the policy issues.

Leaders' Questions (14 May 2008)

Brian Cowen: On the question of the provision of more beds in the system through the co-location method, under the traditional public service delivery system of going through the various stages of capital programme requirements, it would take between seven and ten years before all the beds could be brought on stream. The purpose is to introduce into the public service delivery system another method of...

Leaders' Questions (14 May 2008)

Brian Cowen: If I am on notice of questions I can give the Deputy the facts.

Leaders' Questions (14 May 2008)

Brian Cowen: The Deputy's questions are quite specific.

Leaders' Questions (14 May 2008)

Brian Cowen: That is the cost delivered indirectly.

Leaders' Questions (14 May 2008)

Brian Cowen: This is continual ideological blindness by Deputy Gilmore and his party to recognise that what we are trying to do here is improve the system for all patients, including public patients. That is the whole purpose of it.

Leaders' Questions (14 May 2008)

Brian Cowen: In the same way that if we did not introduce the nursing homes tax incentive scheme——

Leaders' Questions (14 May 2008)

Brian Cowen: Let me explain. I am trying to explain something. The public is entitled to know the context in which we are bringing forward this proposal. The Deputy was misrepresenting both the motivation and the outcome of what we are trying to achieve.

Leaders' Questions (14 May 2008)

Brian Cowen: He is deliberately and continually misrepresenting the position.

Leaders' Questions (14 May 2008)

Brian Cowen: Had we not used the private sector mechanism to provide thousands of nursing home beds in a short space of time, relative to had we tried to build them through the traditional system, many people in this country would not now have the beds that are required. That is a fact.

Leaders' Questions (14 May 2008)

Brian Cowen: That is a fact. That is the first point. The whole purpose of bringing forward this proposal is about trying to improve the capacity for public patients by providing more beds as quickly as is possible.

Leaders' Questions (14 May 2008)

Brian Cowen: I do not have the facts in front of me here this morning——

Leaders' Questions (14 May 2008)

Brian Cowen: I will have them for the Deputy in half an hour. That is the answer to that aspect of the question. In terms of the detail he wants, there is no problem in getting that. The context in which Deputy Gilmore is putting the question is to suggest that this Government is interested in having a different level of treatment for different patients.

Leaders' Questions (14 May 2008)

Brian Cowen: We are not.

Leaders' Questions (14 May 2008)

Brian Cowen: Allow me to answer the question. In the same way as we did in regard to nursing home care——

Leaders' Questions (14 May 2008)

Brian Cowen: ——we are not trying to provide differentiated treatment. The whole idea of bringing in the fair deal scheme is to give equality of treatment and equality of eligibility for people, whether public or private. That is what we are trying to achieve. It is the same with the hospital system. All we hear from people who, on the one hand, want to see capital developments in the hospital...

Leaders' Questions (14 May 2008)

Brian Cowen: ——is the suggestion that the only way one can build it is go the traditional route. If we are to have an improved health care system, as the OECD suggests, we need to look at different types of delivery systems and different models of delivery so that we can get outcomes for patients. That is what we are doing.