Results 12,581-12,600 of 24,635 for speaker:Mary Harney

Written Answers — Health Service Staff: Health Service Staff (20 Nov 2007)

Mary Harney: The operation of the Parliamentary Affairs Division of the HSE (PAD) allows for the centralised receipt, assignment and tracking of Parliamentary Questions within the HSE's extensive network of operations. More generally, PAD monitors overall performance in relation to the timely issue of replies and provides a central contact for all requests from Oireachtas members for information relating...

Written Answers — Health Services: Health Services (20 Nov 2007)

Mary Harney: The Health Service Executive (HSE) has not refused to negotiate with the Irish Pharmaceutical Union (IPU). To address concerns expressed by the IPU, on behalf of community pharmacists, about the implications of the legal advice on competition law on their right to negotiate fees through the Union, a process of dialogue was established, chaired by Bill Shipsey SC, to explore ways in which...

Written Answers — Nursing Home Charges: Nursing Home Charges (20 Nov 2007)

Mary Harney: The Health Service Executive has responsibility for administering the Repayment Scheme and the information sought by the Deputy relates to matters within the area of responsibility of the Executive. My Department has requested the Parliamentary Affairs Division of the Executive to arrange to have the matter investigated and to have a reply issued to the Deputy.

Written Answers — Nursing Home Charges: Nursing Home Charges (20 Nov 2007)

Mary Harney: An appeals office was established in December 2006 and an appeals officer and four administrative staff were assigned to the office. A recruitment process is currently being undertaken by the Public Appointments Service to establish a panel of appeals officers. This panel will allow for the appointment of appeals officers as required.

Written Answers — Health Services: Health Services (20 Nov 2007)

Mary Harney: Operational responsibility for the management and delivery of health and personal social services is a matter for the Health Service Executive and funding for all health services has been provided as part of its overall Vote. Therefore, the Executive is the appropriate body to consider the particular case raised by the Deputy. My Department has requested the Parliamentary Affairs Division...

Written Answers — Hospital Services: Hospital Services (20 Nov 2007)

Mary Harney: I propose to take Questions Nos. 247 to 250, inclusive, together. The Programme for Government includes a commitment to provide 1,500 extra public acute beds. The co-location initiative which was announced in July 2005, aims to deliver about 1,000 of these additional beds for public patients through the development of private co-located hospitals on public hospital sites and the transfer of...

Written Answers — Health Services: Health Services (20 Nov 2007)

Mary Harney: The Deputy's question relates to the management and delivery of health and personal social services, which are the responsibility of the Health Services Executive under the Health Act 2004. Accordingly, my Department has requested the Parliamentary Affairs Division of the Executive to arrange to have this matter investigated and to have a reply issued directly to the Deputy.

Written Answers — Health Services: Health Services (20 Nov 2007)

Mary Harney: General Practitioners are self employed and my Department does not collect official statistics on the number of such doctors in practice. Information from the Health Service (HSE) indicates that in 2006 some 2,100 GPs had a General Medical Services (GMS) contract with the Executive. As aspects of the Deputy's question relates to the management and delivery of health and personal social...

Written Answers — Health Services: Health Services (20 Nov 2007)

Mary Harney: Operational responsibility for the management and delivery of health and personal social services is a matter for the Health Service Executive and funding for all health services has been provided as part of its overall Vote. Therefore, the Executive is the appropriate body to consider the particular issue raised by the Deputy. My Department has requested the Parliamentary Affairs Division...

Written Answers — Health Services: Health Services (20 Nov 2007)

Mary Harney: Operational responsibility for the management and delivery of health and personal social services was assigned to the Health Service Executive under the Health Act 2004 and funding for all health services has been provided as part of its overall vote. Therefore, the Executive is the appropriate body to consider the particular issue raised by the Deputy. My Department has requested the...

Written Answers — Services for People with Disabilities: Services for People with Disabilities (20 Nov 2007)

Mary Harney: The current recruitment pause is a temporary measure initiated as part of the HSE financial break-even plan and will be reviewed at the end of this month. In any instance where a critical or essential vacancy arises it may be filled through redeployment of existing staff by the line manager or re-assignment of responsibilities based on assessment of priority need. Notwithstanding this, the...

Written Answers — Community Care: Community Care (20 Nov 2007)

Mary Harney: The Primary Care Strategy aims to increase health service capacity through the development of services in the community to give people direct access to integrated multi-disciplinary teams of general practitioners, nurses, home helps, physiotherapists, occupational therapists and others. It has been estimated that up to 95% of people's health and social services needs can be properly met...

Written Answers — National Treatment Purchase Fund: National Treatment Purchase Fund (20 Nov 2007)

Mary Harney: As the Deputy's question relates to the operation of the National Treatment Purchase Fund, my Department has asked the Chief Executive of the Fund to reply directly to the Deputy in relation to the information requested.

Written Answers — Medical Cards: Medical Cards (20 Nov 2007)

Mary Harney: Medical cards are made available to persons and their dependants who would otherwise experience undue hardship in meeting the cost of General Practitioner (GP) services. In 2005 the GP visit card was introduced as a graduated benefit so that people on moderate and lower incomes, particularly parents of young children, who do not qualify for a medical card would not be deterred on cost grounds...

Written Answers — Infectious Diseases: Infectious Diseases (20 Nov 2007)

Mary Harney: I propose to take Questions Nos. 265 to 267, inclusive, together. MRSA is not currently a notifiable disease. However, the Health Protection Surveillance Centre (HPSC) of the HSE collects data on MRSA. The data is not available in the exact format or on an individual hospital basis as requested by the Deputy. It is collected on the first episode of blood stream infection of MRSA per...

Written Answers — General Register Office: General Register Office (20 Nov 2007)

Mary Harney: The Deputy's question does not refer to any specific type of application but it is assumed may refer to applications to the General Register Office for certificates of life events or to applications for funding from the National Lottery. Statutory responsibility for the administration of Civil Registration in Ireland rests with An tÁrd-Chláraitheóir (Registrar General)....

Written Answers — Gender Reassignment Surgery: Gender Reassignment Surgery (20 Nov 2007)

Mary Harney: The case referred to by the Deputy concerns the rights of a person who has undergone gender reassignment surgery to recognition of her acquired gender. In particular, the person in question sought a declaration pursuant to section 5 of the European Convention on Human Rights Act 2003 that the Civil Registration Act 2004 is incompatible with the provisions of Articles 8, 12 and 14 of the...

Written Answers — Water Fluoridation: Water Fluoridation (20 Nov 2007)

Mary Harney: I propose to take Questions Nos. 274 and 275 together. A Forum on Fluoridation was established to review the fluoridation of public water supplies in Ireland. The Report of the Forum, published in 2002, concluded that water fluoridation has been very effective in improving the oral health of the Irish population, especially of children, but also of adults and the elderly. The Forum...

Written Answers — Decentralisation Programme: Decentralisation Programme (20 Nov 2007)

Mary Harney: As the Deputy will be aware my Department is not one of the Departments scheduled for decentralisation under the Government's Decentralisation Programme. To date forty nine civil servants have transferred to decentralising Departments from my Department. Further details in respect of the transfer of these officers is available from the decentralising Departments and I understand that the...

Seanad: Cancer Services: Statements (20 Nov 2007)

Mary Harney: It is my fourth visit.