Results 15,341-15,360 of 24,635 for speaker:Mary Harney

Written Answers — Hospital Waiting Lists: Hospital Waiting Lists (21 Feb 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 question raised by the Deputy. My Department has requested the Parliamentary Affairs...

Written Answers — Irish Medicines Board: Irish Medicines Board (21 Feb 2007)

Mary Harney: Ginko Biloba is currently licensed for use in this country for the treatment of peripheral arterial occlusive disease, a disease caused by varying degrees of obstruction to blood flow through the arteries of the legs. This product has been classified as a prescription only medicine as its use is not considered suitable for self medication but more appropriate for treatment under the...

Written Answers — Health Services: Health Services (21 Feb 2007)

Mary Harney: The monitoring and appropriate care of patients receiving anti-coagulation therapy with Warfarin comes within the scope of competence of general practice. The Health Service Executive has the operational and funding responsibility for services provided by General Practitioners to persons eligible for such services free of charge and, accordingly, it is the appropriate body to consider the...

Written Answers — Health Service Staff: Health Service Staff (21 Feb 2007)

Mary Harney: Over 120,000 people work full-time or part-time in our public health services. In recent years, the Government's ongoing high level of investment in health has achieved and maintained significant increases in the numbers of doctors, nurses and other healthcare professionals employed in the public health services. The Government has also invested heavily in the education and training of such...

Written Answers — Homeless Persons: Homeless Persons (21 Feb 2007)

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

Health Insurance (Amendment) Bill 2007: Order for Second Stage (21 Feb 2007)

Mary Harney: I move: "That Second Stage be taken now."

Health Insurance (Amendment) Bill 2007: Second and Subsequent Stages (21 Feb 2007)

Mary Harney: I move: "That the Bill now be read a Second Time." The Government has decided today that emergency legislation should be introduced in the House today to amend the Health Insurance Acts. This urgent measure is required to support our system of community rating that ensures health insurance is affordable for older and sicker people. It closes any potential abuse of the three-year exemption...

Health Insurance (Amendment) Bill 2007: Second and Subsequent Stages (21 Feb 2007)

Mary Harney: They say a week is a long time in politics, but it is clear that a couple of hours is a long time in politics. I accept that Deputies had to reflect after this afternoon's briefing on this legislation. I want to repeat the comments I made when I spoke frankly and honestly at the briefing. I was asked when the Department became aware of this difficulty. The possibility that there may be a...

Health Insurance (Amendment) Bill 2007: Second and Subsequent Stages (21 Feb 2007)

Mary Harney: I want community rating and competition, above all else. My colleagues in Government and I will do whatever it takes to have both. I have been advised by legal personnel and others who are experts in this area that as long as there is a three year holiday, which does not exist in other countries which have risk equalisation, one will never be certain that a company will not exit after three...

Health Insurance (Amendment) Bill 2007: Second and Subsequent Stages (21 Feb 2007)

Mary Harney: I asked some of the companies that came knocking on my door recently to explain the reason they did not come into the market before. One replied they thought the Irish market was at saturation point at 37% a number of years and they never envisaged it would grow to 52% of the population. The market has grown by encouraging younger people to join, particularly in times of economic success...

Seanad: Health Insurance (Amendment) Bill 2007: Second Stage (21 Feb 2007)

Mary Harney: The Government decided today that emergency legislation should be introduced to amend the Health Insurance Acts. This urgent measure is required to support our system of community rating, which ensures that health insurance is affordable for old and sick people. It closes off any potential abuse of the three year exemption from risk equalisation payments. Deputies——

Seanad: Health Insurance (Amendment) Bill 2007: Second Stage (21 Feb 2007)

Mary Harney: I beg the Senator's pardon.

Seanad: Health Insurance (Amendment) Bill 2007: Second Stage (21 Feb 2007)

Mary Harney: Senators will be familiar with the regulatory framework which underpins the operation of the private health insurance market in Ireland. The key elements of this framework have been supported by successive Governments. These are community rating, open enrolment and minimum benefits. The adoption of this approach to regulating the market has been part of the reason the level of private...

Seanad: Health Insurance (Amendment) Bill 2007: Second Stage (21 Feb 2007)

Mary Harney: The current risk equalisation model was introduced by a Fine Gael Minister for Health, Deputy Noonan, in 1996. Until Senator Bradford spoke this evening, I thought Fine Gael supported risk equalisation. Why do we need to have risk equalisation? Community rating means that people pay the same rate for the same products regardless of how sick or old they are. That cannot be done without a...

Seanad: Health Insurance (Amendment) Bill 2007: Second Stage (21 Feb 2007)

Mary Harney: VHI has three younger members for every old member. BUPA has 18 young members for every older member. Clearly fair competition cannot take place in that scenario. Why the rush this evening? When the Quinn Group acquired BUPA, it did not acquire BUPA Insurance. It acquired BUPA Ireland, which is a service company servicing the insurance company. Therefore it needed to apply for...

Seanad: Health Insurance (Amendment) Bill 2007: Second Stage (21 Feb 2007)

Mary Harney: No. The HIA suggested that the phasing-in period should be changed from three to four years, with payments of 25% in year one, 50% in year two etc.

Seanad: Health Insurance (Amendment) Bill 2007: Second Stage (21 Feb 2007)

Mary Harney: I will outline the reason for eliminating the three-year rule. If we allowed companies not to pay any tax for the first three years, clearly they would use various corporate structures to keep changing their status to avoid paying tax. The advice is that for as long as the three-year exemption exists, companies could use what is called in the business the hit and run scenario. They would...

Seanad: Health Insurance (Amendment) Bill 2007: Second Stage (21 Feb 2007)

Mary Harney: A monopoly market with a single player does not promote innovation. We want competition, but it must be on the basis of community rating. It must be fair competition.

Seanad: Health Insurance (Amendment) Bill 2007: Second Stage (21 Feb 2007)

Mary Harney: When I receive the Barrington group report in March, I will bring proposals to Cabinet in April to address all the issues. It is not fair to suggest we have not addressed the status of the VHI. Recently the Government agreed to commercialise the VHI and put it on the same commercial footing as its competitors, which means it would be required to meet the solvency requirements of its competitors.

Seanad: Health Insurance (Amendment) Bill 2007: Second Stage (21 Feb 2007)

Mary Harney: I very much regret that was not done ten years ago.