Results 11,281-11,300 of 45,510 for speaker:Simon Harris

Covid-19 (Health): Statements (4 Jun 2020)

Simon Harris: Let us not lose the ones we have. It would be an appropriate recognition of the work they have done. I am in their corner on that and if I have a role to play in the next Government I would like to advocate to make progress there. Deputy Shortall made a fair point on non-consultant hospital doctors. I will discuss that with the HSE. Obviously we made a decision to bring forward a...

Covid-19 (Health): Statements (4 Jun 2020)

Simon Harris: I offer my apologies to Deputy Kenny for the fact that we never got to have a debate on Spinraza. I am following up on some of the issues we discussed and which the Deputy raised with me in the House last week. I join with him in extending my sympathies to Melanie and her family and acknowledge the advocacy work he did with her. Perhaps it is a conversation we can pick up at another time...

Covid-19 (Health): Statements (4 Jun 2020)

Simon Harris: I thank Deputy Shortall and acknowledge that it was she who called for me to publish the Vision for Change document. We ran the risk of setting up ad hocstructures, special committees and the like, and the Deputy counselled against that. Subject to Government approval today or tomorrow, we will publish that document next week and the Minister of State, Jim Daly, will engage with...

Covid-19 (Health): Statements (4 Jun 2020)

Simon Harris: On the private hospitals issue, it was a political decision. It was a decision taken by the Government of Ireland on a memorandum brought to Government by me. There is no passing the buck. It was a decision taken by the Government, which decision many in this House advocated from a variety of political spectrums should have been made. It is not for me to speak for the HSE but it wants to...

Covid-19 (Health): Statements (4 Jun 2020)

Simon Harris: Without getting into the discussion about trolleys, the fact that we are seeing more people attending accident and emergency departments and GP surgeries and occupying more hospital beds this week compared with last week - fewer of them have Covid-19 - is a sign that the health service is getting busier and is trying to get back to as much business as usual in a very different way. The...

Covid-19 (Health): Statements (4 Jun 2020)

Simon Harris: I am certainly not aware of any joint order. Obviously, the HSE would be fully informed and I fully endorse the position of the HSE in respect of this matter. There is no joint order between the Republic of Ireland Government and the Government of Northern Ireland. There has been excellent co-operation between myself and my counterpart, the Northern Ireland health Minister, Mr. Robin...

Covid-19 (Health): Statements (4 Jun 2020)

Simon Harris: I thank the Deputy for his concern.

Covid-19 (Health): Statements (4 Jun 2020)

Simon Harris: I am in the full of my health.

Covid-19 (Health): Statements (4 Jun 2020)

Simon Harris: The first point I would make, which the HSE would make if its representatives were here, is that the HSE is not waiting for a point in time to resume non-Covid care. I know that Deputy Kelly knows this too and is aware of it from hospitals in his constituency. The number of vacant hospital beds has significantly decreased, despite the fact that the number of patients with Covid-19 in our...

Covid-19 (Health): Statements (4 Jun 2020)

Simon Harris: I thank Deputy Noonan for his questions. I echo his comments on the protest. There is an onus. It is easy to criticise a protest when one does not agree with its cause or the reason behind it, but it is more difficult to do so when one does support the cause. That does not mean we can be silent on it, though. What happened to George Floyd disgusts and repulses everyone in this country...

Covid-19 (Health): Statements (4 Jun 2020)

Simon Harris: I will respect your view on that absolutely, a Cheann Comhairle. I wish to join Deputy Feighan in thanking our front-line staff in the health service, as we do, rightly, every week. I have had really good engagement with the unions representing several of those workers this week. I also intend to meet the general practitioner representative body, the Irish Medical Organisation, next week....

Covid-19 (Health): Statements (4 Jun 2020)

Simon Harris: I remember visiting Mindspace in Mayo with Deputy Dillon. It has written to me a few times and kept in touch with me, and I am very taken by the work it does. The Deputy is right to highlight the issue of mental health as one of the next huge challenges coming down the track. The Ceann Comhairle and I have been in correspondence in this regard. I think there will be a big body of work...

Covid-19 (Health): Statements (4 Jun 2020)

Simon Harris: I thank the Deputy for raising the very important issue of mental health, particularly youth mental health. This week, the Government will consider the new A Vision for Change document that the Deputy referred to. A lot of work has been put in by a lot of expert people on this and I hope, subject to Government approval, to be in a position to publish that next week. I know that is...

Covid-19 (Health): Statements (4 Jun 2020)

Simon Harris: I thank the Deputy. I am not sure that she wants an independent investigation because she seems to have already delivered the verdict, which is rather disappointing. To endeavour to say that there was no proper plan and that nobody did anything-----

Covid-19 (Health): Statements (4 Jun 2020)

Simon Harris: -----does not reflect the reality of what I have seen as Minister. I have seen the most incredibly dedicated people in the HSE, at local level, and in the Department of Health working 24-7 against a global pandemic. As I stated last week, the villain here is not someone working in the HSE or even some bureaucrat, or even a Minister; the villain is a virus - the worst we have seen in a...

Covid-19 (Health): Statements (4 Jun 2020)

Simon Harris: I will revert to the Deputy in writing on the last few points.

Covid-19 (Health): Statements (4 Jun 2020)

Simon Harris: I do not think we ever did that in Greystones at any stage. We will have to ask Deputy Donnelly as he is at little bit older than me. I thank Deputy O'Reilly for the questions. I had a really good meeting with the INMO and SIPTU health on Monday and I am due to meet both again next week. We have started to discuss with them the issues raised by the Deputy on how we prepare to provide...

Covid-19 (Health): Statements (4 Jun 2020)

Simon Harris: I will answer as many of the Deputies' questions as I can in the time available and I will write to the Deputies on the other two queries. On Deputy James Browne's question on A Vision for Change, I have heard very clearly the calls on a cross-party basis in this House for the publication of the refreshed A Vision for Change. It is my intention to bring it to the Cabinet this week, I...

Covid-19 (Health): Statements (4 Jun 2020)

Simon Harris: I might write to Deputy Butler with more detail on screening so as not to use up her colleagues' time. I know how important this issue is and how many times she has raised it. The national screening service is holding daily meetings on this. I am very satisfied with the work being done by Dr. Caroline Mason Mohan, who is the interim director of CervicalCheck and a public health doctor as...

Covid-19 (Health): Statements (4 Jun 2020)

Simon Harris: I will do that. I agree with the Deputy in regard to the importance of cross-Border measures and I can send details on what we are doing. I will also write to the Deputy in regard to the statistics on Cavan and Monaghan.