Results 12,221-12,240 of 46,456 for speaker:Simon Harris

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

Simon Harris: In the interests of time, I suggest that I respond to the Deputy in writing on the matters he raised. I am reluctant to disagree with Deputy Naughten because he is often right, as I find out in this House, and he highlighted very important issues here before. My information, for what it is worth, is that when it comes to contact tracing of meat plant staff, and I specifically asked this on...

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

Simon Harris: To be clear, I am told that since 18 May the average wait from swab to result is one to two days, with overall end-to-end turnaround times of within three days. I will share the data I have with the Deputy rather than taking up his time now. He made the very important point that testing is only a point in time. I think he would acknowledge that we have built up a lot of extra capacity...

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

Simon Harris: I would like to create a universal healthcare service in line with Sláintecare. I think the Deputy's group is the only one that possibly has not signed up to Sláintecare. We both agree we need extra capacity, but Deputy Murphy wants me to just go in and take it. I recognise the reality of the world and that we might have to pay for it. The Deputy did not like the deal we had....

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

Simon Harris: I thank Deputy Naughten for raising this issue, and I will direct the HSE to share with him any information it has. The HSE should do that and it should want to do that, because I believe it did everything it possibly could in this situation. I do not share the Deputy's view that the transfers were done to reduce bed blocking, or any similar phrase. If we think back, there was a view...

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

Simon Harris: In addition to my meetings, I read at the weekend a comment from the clinical director of BreastCheck in one of our national newspapers outlining her hope that the programme can resume in the autumn. The priority at the moment must be symptomatic people. I urge anyone with a symptom of cancer to come forward. The GP surgeries are open, and the GPs want to see such patients. If it is an...

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

Simon Harris: The Deputy comes into the House and makes valid points as a Member of the Oireachtas, as he has a right, duty and obligation to, and I have an obligation to answer his questions and give my view. I find it very frustrating that he then puts in little loaded terms like "sweetheart deals". We need to remind ourselves what was happening here. I know the further it gets away from that...

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-----