Results 11,141-11,160 of 45,510 for speaker:Simon Harris

Covid-19 (Health): Statements (11 Jun 2020)

Simon Harris: Yes. First, the Deputy does not need to tell me that it has been 124 days since the general election. I thought, come what may, after the general election life would move on and we would have a Government but I have been barely home since. I am well aware it has been 124 days since the election. The Deputy engaged in talks but there is a great irony in that many people in the House did...

Covid-19 (Health): Statements (11 Jun 2020)

Simon Harris: I thank Deputy Barry for raising this important issue. I am conscious that people watching this debate, like all others, could be experiencing mental health challenges. There is support available. There is a very useful website, yourmentalhealth.ie, that can direct people to the supports. I would encourage anybody in need of supports to reach out. The Deputy was right to highlight this...

Covid-19 (Health): Statements (11 Jun 2020)

Simon Harris: The Deputy certainly deserves an answer in respect of the cost of using a recruitment firm and I will undertake to get that answer for him. I had not directly seen the query but now that the Deputy has brought it to my attention, we will follow up on that and revert to him. When we talk about HSE recruitment, Be On Call for Ireland and the like, we have to look at the total number of...

Covid-19 (Health): Statements (11 Jun 2020)

Simon Harris: I have visited St. Mary's Centre and I know it. I will talk to the HSE about it and revert to the Deputy in writing.

Covid-19 (Health): Statements (11 Jun 2020)

Simon Harris: We are getting there.

Covid-19 (Health): Statements (11 Jun 2020)

Simon Harris: It is good, as the Deputy says, that we have had low use of it so far but I take the point it is not sustainable that this continues to be the case. The low occupancy rates to date are a direct impact of the public health measures we had. I remember standing in what would have been that field hospital in Citywest with the Taoiseach and the CEO of the HSE, thinking "It is great we have it...

Covid-19 (Health): Statements (11 Jun 2020)

Simon Harris: I fully agree with the last point the Deputy made and when I received her letter, yesterday I think, I immediately set about seeking to see if I could do as the Deputy asked, which was to mandate that there would be an extension to the notice period for the reasons she has fairly articulated. I am informed that the regulations do not permit me, as Minister, to amend the decisions or vary the...

Covid-19 (Health): Statements (11 Jun 2020)

Simon Harris: I will. I will undertake that my office will make contact today with the HSE and Beaumont Hospital to outline our view. I could say more but in the interests of time I do not think the Deputy would wish me to. The health research regulations do provide for an independent and diverse health research consent declaration committee and an independent appeals panel, which has to have regard to...

Covid-19 (Health): Statements (11 Jun 2020)

Simon Harris: I will write to the Deputy on the matter.

Covid-19 (Health): Statements (11 Jun 2020)

Simon Harris: Sure.

Covid-19 (Health): Statements (11 Jun 2020)

Simon Harris: My view remains - and has been conveyed to the disability organisations, to the HSE and to the Department - that that saving, or call it what one will, is not achievable in light of Covid. My Department is currently, as we do on a number of matters, engaging with other Departments. I truthfully hope to be able to bring the matter to a successful conclusion very shortly but I do not believe...

Covid-19 (Health): Statements (11 Jun 2020)

Simon Harris: The capital plan will fall to the new Government. It will have to make some big key decisions on the capital plan. There is only so much we can do in this interregnum. We have pushed the boat out on A Vision for Change because it was important but at some point the new Government must take over. Of course there will have to be revisions to capital plans. I thank the Deputy for his...

Covid-19 (Health): Statements (11 Jun 2020)

Simon Harris: Whoever is the Opposition and whoever is the Government - it is a fluid situation at the moment - there should be a regular meeting with the HSE. I would not like to see that dropped. I thought it was quite a useful engagement and would support ensuring that it happens again. What I am saying to the Deputy is that we already know there are impacts in terms of secondary morbidity and...

Covid-19 (Health): Statements (11 Jun 2020)

Simon Harris: The HSE is developing what it calls a framework document called Service Continuity in a Covid Environment: A Strategic Framework for Delivery. It exists. It has done that. It is right and proper, though, that it interact with my Department on this from a policy perspective, making sure it is aligned with policy and with the service plan. It may require us to amend the service plan because...

Covid-19 (Health): Statements (11 Jun 2020)

Simon Harris: That is it. I understand the final version is going to the board of the HSE on Wednesday. As the Deputy reminded me from day one, it is the HSE's plan to publish. I make the point that non-Covid care has resumed in many areas. I am not going to read out a long list and eat into the Deputy's time. That can be seen in the fact that there are far fewer vacant beds in our health service this...

Covid-19 (Health): Statements (11 Jun 2020)

Simon Harris: Truthfully, I do not have that information but I get what the Deputy is saying and I have a way of getting the information for him. I submit a report to the Government about phasing every three weeks and I will see what I can share with the Deputy on that matter in writing. I will also share it with the House. We do look at the different categories. So far as secondary mortality and...

Covid-19 (Health): Statements (11 Jun 2020)

Simon Harris: I thank the Deputy for his kind words. There are a couple of important issues. With regard to domestic and gender-based violence, I thank the organisations that have been doing incredible work alongside An Garda Síochána. I visited the National Ambulance Service some weeks ago at the height of this pandemic and they were experiencing an increase in calls related to domestic...

Covid-19 (Health): Statements (11 Jun 2020)

Simon Harris: Ironically, it is my Fine Gael colleagues who are throwing the most challenging questions at me today, between barbers and social dancing. I will have to revert to Deputy Feighan and his constituent on that matter. Under phase 2 of the plan, people are able to socialise again, while being asked to keep a distance. It is safe to dance as long as it is possible to stay 2 m away from the...

Covid-19 (Health): Statements (11 Jun 2020)

Simon Harris: Deputy Higgins is entirely right that the flow of information and data is our friend and ally in this pandemic. We have to keep bringing people with us and explain why we are asking them to make such serious changes in their lives and bear with serious restrictions. The Deputy is also right that we are now seeing several counties that have not had a case in several days. I think County...

Covid-19 (Health): Statements (11 Jun 2020)

Simon Harris: I thank Deputy Burke for his compliments to the officials in my Department, the HSE and our incredible front-line staff. It is very kind of him. People have been working extraordinarily hard. He raised the important issue of the testing strategy for hospitals, that is, who is to be tested, the criteria for being tested and what we do about the testing of staff and patients. Those are key...