Results 1,521-1,540 of 49,836 for speaker:Stephen Donnelly

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Pharmacy Services (3 Oct 2024)

Stephen Donnelly: I thank the Deputy for his ongoing advocacy and work in this area. The budget contained very good news for progress in this area. I have allocated full-year funding of €50 million for these negotiations. There would be €25 million available next year on an assumed commencement date of, let us say, July 2025. There is, however, full-year allocation of €50 million. The...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Pharmacy Services (3 Oct 2024)

Stephen Donnelly: It would not be helpful to set out the State’s negotiating position. What I have said to the IPU and my officials is that everything is on the table. The Government has put €50 million on the table this week, which is a sizeable amount. Of course, the IPU will say it is not enough and will want more. It is a sizeable amount, however. Everything can be discussed in the round...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Medical Cards (3 Oct 2024)

Stephen Donnelly: I will make two points. The first is on the discretionary cards. One in eight medical cards is discretionary, and that is meant to speak to exactly the kinds of cases the Deputy talks about. The discretionary medical card is issued to patients with big medical expenses. They might satisfy the gross income criterion but not the net income criterion. Once they have to pay all these medical...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Medical Cards (3 Oct 2024)

Stephen Donnelly: Our clear goal is universal healthcare. One of the three pillars of universal healthcare is that it is affordable, so a lot of what we are doing is trying to make sure that people can access care quickly, that it is great care when they get it and that they can afford it. Any debate like this is very important to constantly reviewing and finding those patients who find themselves outside of...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Health Services (3 Oct 2024)

Stephen Donnelly: We could do an entire Dáil statement and debate on this issue, so I thank the Deputy for raising it. The Deputy has raised several areas: cataract services, orthopaedic services, spinal care and more. As I just said, our goal is universal healthcare. One of the pillars is affordability, which we just discussed, and another is rapid access. A huge amount of what we have been doing...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Medical Cards (3 Oct 2024)

Stephen Donnelly: Medical card provision is primarily based on financial assessment. In accordance with the Health Act 1970, eligibility for a medical card is determined by the HSE, which assesses each application on a qualifying financial threshold. The idea of granting medical cards or GP visit cards based on any particular disease or illness has been considered. It is a topic we discuss regularly in the...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Dental Services (3 Oct 2024)

Stephen Donnelly: There is no question but that should not be happening, and I will talk to the Minister, Deputy O'Gorman, about it in the context of disability services. There is a clear overlap between my world of health and oral health policy, and that Minister's brief of disability services. I fully agree with the Deputy. All children should be able to get the services, but particularly those who have...

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Primary Care Centres (3 Oct 2024)

Stephen Donnelly: It is clear that urgent remediation is required. It is welcome that the HSE intends to conduct the assessments and will be back within a couple of weeks. There is important additional good news for the area. The planned primary care centre in nearby Tubbercurry is due to commence building early next year, which is welcome. The existing primary and mental health care centre in Ballymote is...

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Primary Care Centres (3 Oct 2024)

Stephen Donnelly: I thank the Deputy. I acknowledge the work of Dr. Fitzsimons on women's health. I was delighted earlier this week to be able to expand that. This will be our fifth budget in a row where we really do prioritise women's healthcare. There have been a few important additions which Dr. Fitzsimons and all the other GPs will be aware of and will be part of. One is the expansion of IVF...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Dental Services (3 Oct 2024)

Stephen Donnelly: I thank the Deputy and acknowledge his ongoing advocacy in terms of dental services, particularly the children's services and the school-based programme. There have been challenges and children have been waiting too long. A good deal of the delay came about through Covid and the HSE is still in the process of catch-up. The Government invests over €200 million into oral healthcare...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Dental Services (3 Oct 2024)

Stephen Donnelly: I thank the Deputy. Rest assured there have never been as many staff. We are hearing claims about suppression of posts. The reality is that there are nearly 30,000 more healthcare workers in the HSE now than there were when this Government came in. This week through the budget we have funded another 3,500 new posts. At the end of this year there are about 2,500 funded posts vacant. Not...

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: National Children's Hospital (3 Oct 2024)

Stephen Donnelly: The Deputy raised a few points. Let me be clear, in that I wanted the State to take ownership of the hospital around now. The contractor told us it would be in October or November, but it has missed its deadline. It has under-resourced the project repeatedly and failed to meet its deadline. I agree with the Deputy about how the hospital development board, which is acting on our behalf,...

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: National Children's Hospital (3 Oct 2024)

Stephen Donnelly: At this point, it would be a futile exercise to second-guess the contract. The contract is what the board has and we must manage the project within it. The board is using the contract to the fullest extent possible. I acknowledge the Deputy’s role in this. He must, and should, put pressure on us. I would were I in his chair, and did. There is value to us speaking with one...

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: National Children's Hospital (3 Oct 2024)

Stephen Donnelly: I just acknowledged that. I will cite an example that the Deputy’s colleague, Deputy Doherty, raised with me at the health committee. I believe Deputy Cullinane might have been present for it. It had to do with grilles. Clearly, he had been given information. I believe he was acting in good faith. He made an impassioned contribution and said that this was a design flaw and,...

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: National Children's Hospital (3 Oct 2024)

Stephen Donnelly: -----approximately €24 million and delay the project by months.

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: National Children's Hospital (3 Oct 2024)

Stephen Donnelly: That is clearly what he had been told and he brought it-----

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: National Children's Hospital (3 Oct 2024)

Stephen Donnelly: I will finish on this, as it is important. Not only were the claims not correct-----

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: National Children's Hospital (3 Oct 2024)

Stephen Donnelly: -----but the total cost was not €24 million. It was €200,000-----

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: National Children's Hospital (3 Oct 2024)

Stephen Donnelly: -----and the board got a third party to complete the work in a matter of weeks. We should be united in shining a light on this.

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: National Children's Hospital (3 Oct 2024)

Stephen Donnelly: By the way, the main contractor still sent an invoice to the board for the €24 million.