Results 1,521-1,540 of 10,459 for speaker:Bertie Ahern

Leaders' Questions (7 Nov 2007)

Bertie Ahern: For the women involved, the problem was that the mammograms did not show cancers, so triple assessment would not have taken place. I hope the position is clear.

Leaders' Questions (7 Nov 2007)

Bertie Ahern: On the issue of low volumes, the difficulty is that in our hospitals — I made this point yesterday and have to return to it today — 15,000 mammograms are conducted outside the auspices of BreastCheck. We are endeavouring, with the recent decisions made by the HSE, to designate four managed control networks and eight cancer centres which will be implemented on a managed and phased basis....

Leaders' Questions (7 Nov 2007)

Bertie Ahern: The Deputy has asked more than one question.

Leaders' Questions (7 Nov 2007)

Bertie Ahern: First, I remind Deputy Gilmore that the hospitals in Portlaoise and Cork are both public hospitals, so the issues we are talking about are consultants appointed by the process that exists to do their professional job in public hospitals. These issues did not arise in private hospitals. The Deputy knows my view——

Leaders' Questions (7 Nov 2007)

Bertie Ahern: I said Cork and Portlaoise. I did not mention any others.

Leaders' Questions (7 Nov 2007)

Bertie Ahern: With regard to equipment, almost every hospital will argue all the time that it should have the most modern equipment. The argument in this case——

Leaders' Questions (7 Nov 2007)

Bertie Ahern: I am not disputing that. In fact, we are more advanced in this country than they are across the water and in other countries in moving towards digital equipment.

Leaders' Questions (7 Nov 2007)

Bertie Ahern: We are more advanced in this country, I am told by the medics, in moving towards digital equipment.

Leaders' Questions (7 Nov 2007)

Bertie Ahern: The machine in question was 15 years old. The normal period for a mammography machine would be in excess of 11 years and this machine had been tested on an annual basis. I am not saying that better equipment is not needed, but that is not the point. As I said earlier, it was the same mammograms that were examined by two different teams. It was the same mammograms and had nothing to do...

Leaders' Questions (7 Nov 2007)

Bertie Ahern: I am not here to decide whether Maurice Nelligan, when he had that job before he retired many years ago, did his cardiac surgery operations perfectly. Whether he made a mistake or not and somebody died, I am not here to form judgment on that or on any other consultant. I am not here to answer ——

Leaders' Questions (7 Nov 2007)

Bertie Ahern: I am not here ——

Leaders' Questions (7 Nov 2007)

Bertie Ahern: I am not here to answer for the consultants in this country when they are in their operating theatres, doing a perfect job. It does not do this House much good that I am reading out some of the clinical and surgical diagnoses of individual patients. That is not what I should be doing. We provide modern facilities to very well paid people in this country.

Leaders' Questions (7 Nov 2007)

Bertie Ahern: The vast majority earn far in excess of what I do in terms of salary.

Leaders' Questions (7 Nov 2007)

Bertie Ahern: One of the individuals the Deputy mentioned, to the best of my knowledge, has a huge private practice along with his public practice and the best of luck to him.

Leaders' Questions (7 Nov 2007)

Bertie Ahern: If Deputy Gilmore expects me to come in here every single morning and say that the 120,000 people working in the health service — every one of them, whether in an operating theatre or out in the community — have performed to the highest standards, I cannot do that.

Leaders' Questions (7 Nov 2007)

Bertie Ahern: I must say, though, that they are well facilitated by this State and I hope they provide that service——

Leaders' Questions (7 Nov 2007)

Bertie Ahern: ——and we will continue to do our best, as a Government, to improve that service.

Leaders' Questions (7 Nov 2007)

Bertie Ahern: As I said yesterday and numerous times in the last week, our work must be to try to help the people who are affected by this and not to get lost in all of the other details. Obviously, for those seven people and some other cases mentioned here over the last few years, the services did not work, for one reason or another. I am not the expert to write the reports. There is a person appointed...

Leaders' Questions (7 Nov 2007)

Bertie Ahern: People are entitled to due process in this investigation.

Leaders' Questions (7 Nov 2007)

Bertie Ahern: We will do all we can. I would say to Deputy Gilmore that before I took this position, there was not even BreastCheck in this country.