Results 12,101-12,120 of 46,456 for speaker:Simon Harris

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...

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

Simon Harris: I assure the Deputy that I will appreciate my barber all the more after this. The Ceann Comhairle was possibly too generous to Members of this House when he described everyone as very well kept. I was certainly not in the Chamber at the time. I know this is a serious issue, especially for the people for whom this sector provides a livelihood. This industry employs many people in towns,...

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

Simon Harris: I will start with Deputy Tully's questions. I thank Naomi. In the interests of time, I think the Deputy will have heard my comments in the House earlier but I will revert to Naomi directly too. The Deputy is dead right that services have to be developed in line with policy. This House and the Government set policy. The policy is that there should be more MLUs in Ireland, not fewer. The...

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

Simon Harris: I join the Deputy in expressing my appreciation to all family carers. Family carers have had to do even more caring during the pandemic. Services were closed for public health reasons and to keep their loved ones safe, but a huge burden comes with that. I share the Deputy's view that we must do more for family carers. If this Dáil lasts four or five more years, God willing, one of...

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

Simon Harris: First, I cannot be so arrogant as to presume that I will be a part of the next Government, but I accept the broader point the Deputy makes on the need to do healthcare differently. The advice I would give to the Oireachtas, whoever is Minister for Health and whoever is in Government is that we must do two things. We will have to put the capacity in place, and that means beds and staff. The...

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

Simon Harris: I will be brief on this issue, although it is really important. I agree with the Deputy. I want this unit to remain open. I am meeting tomorrow with midwives from Cavan General Hospital and the Irish Nurses and Midwives Organisation, INMO. As the Deputy rightly said, the national maternity strategy is very clear in this regard. Women need more choice with regard to birth and pregnancy....

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

Simon Harris: I fully agree with the Deputy. We need such a public awareness campaign. I take the implicit and fair criticism that the messaging in this regard has been confused. This is possibly because so many different people and experts have an opinion on the matter. It is the clear view of our public health experts, of NPHET and of Government that one should wear non-medical face coverings when...

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

Simon Harris: I thank the Deputy. In the interests of time I will revert to him on the issue of respite in writing but I take the point that carers are exhausted. My colleague, the Minister for Education and Skills, Deputy McHugh, is working with the HSE specifically in respect of a summer programme that I hope will see some day respite, in the first instance, for children. I will come back to the...

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

Simon Harris: I thank Deputy Butler for raising the issue of nursing homes, as she does on a regular basis. I, too, listened to Dr. Nabarro today and he rightly highlighted the challenges and tragedies in respect of the passing of people in nursing homes from Covid-19. He also said that Ireland has a very honest accounting of the numbers, which I do not think many countries can say when it comes to care...

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

Simon Harris: I thank the Deputy. As he knows, the four national screening programmes - BreastCheck, CervicalCheck, BowelScreen and Diabetic RetinaScreen - were paused in March in line with public health advice. Such programmes were paused in many countries around the world, including Northern Ireland on this island, as well. This was done to protect patients and staff. It is important to say people...

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

Simon Harris: I very much welcome this opportunity once again to update this House on the Covid-19 disease and our national response to it. First and foremost, I wish to express my sympathy to the families and friends of those who have been lost to this disease since I was last in this House. Our thoughts are with each and every one of them at this very difficult time. Last Friday, we decided as a...

Written Answers — Department of Health: Labour Court (9 Jun 2020)

Simon Harris: My Department is currently engaging with the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform in relation to the content of this report. Once this engagement is complete, a decision will be made on the outcome of the review.

Written Answers — Department of Health: Medicinal Products (9 Jun 2020)

Simon Harris: I propose to take Questions Nos. 308, 309 and 348 together. The timely and sustainable access to medicines is a priority for Government. The Oireachtas put in place a robust legal framework, in the Health (Pricing and Supply of Medical Goods) Act 2013, to give full statutory powers to the HSE to assess and make decisions on reimbursement of medicines, taking account of a range of...

Written Answers — Department of Health: Covid-19 Pandemic (9 Jun 2020)

Simon Harris: The public health advice for passengers arriving into the State from overseas is to self-isolate for 14 days. Self-isolation means staying indoors and completely avoiding contact with other people. Information for those who are self-isolating and for people living with those who are self-isolating is published by the HSE on www.hse.ie. In the absence of a test that definitively shows that a...

Written Answers — Department of Health: Covid-19 Pandemic (9 Jun 2020)

Simon Harris: The measures taken are underpinned by a clear public health rationale. As the number of indigenous cases here declines and Ireland eases some restrictions, the relative importance of the risk of importation of cases from overseas increases. Ultimately, the progress towards suppression of community transmission which has been achieved and which should allow for greater resumption of social and...