Results 19,141-19,160 of 24,635 for speaker:Mary Harney

Written Answers — Cancer Screening Programme: Cancer Screening Programme (2 Mar 2006)

Mary Harney: I propose to take Questions Nos. 27, 51, 64, 68, 86 and 111 together. I am fully committed to the national roll-out of a cervical screening programme in line with international best practice to reduce incidence and mortality from cervical cancer. My Department is in detailed discussions with the Health Service Executive in relation to the most efficient and cost effective way to deliver a...

Written Answers — Health Care Strategy: Health Care Strategy (2 Mar 2006)

Mary Harney: Implementation of the primary care strategy requires the development of new ways of working and reorganisation of the resources already available to the health service, as well as additional investment in order to provide extra capacity. This whole-system approach to implementation means change will be required in many sectors in the health service, and not solely within primary care itself....

Written Answers — General Practitioner Services: General Practitioner Services (2 Mar 2006)

Mary Harney: Section 58 of the Health Act 1970 provides that the Health Service Executive, HSE, shall make available without charge general practitioner services to persons with full eligibility under the Act and to persons with limited eligibility for whom, in the opinion of the executive, it would be unduly burdensome to arrange such services for themselves and their dependants. In accordance with...

Written Answers — Consultants' Contracts: Consultants' Contracts (2 Mar 2006)

Mary Harney: I propose to take Questions Nos. 33 and 79 together. It will be recalled that both medical organisations — the Irish Medical Organisation, IMO, and the Irish Hospital Consultants Association, IHCA — would not participate in contract negotiations until the extension of the clinical indemnity scheme, CIS, to consultants was resolved. Talks on a new contract commenced on 24 November 2005...

Written Answers — Medical Inquiry: Medical Inquiry (2 Mar 2006)

Mary Harney: Following the death of Mr. Patrick Walsh in Monaghan Hospital on 14 October 2005, the Health Service Executive commissioned Mr. Declan Carey, a consultant surgeon at Belfast City Hospital and an honorary senior lecturer at Queen's University, and Professor John Monson, Professor of Surgery, University of Hull, to carry out an independent and external review. The executive has advised my...

Written Answers — Nursing Staff: Nursing Staff (2 Mar 2006)

Mary Harney: The Irish Nurses Organisation and the Psychiatric Nurses Association have recently lodged a number of claims for increases in pay and changes to working conditions. The unions concerned have signed up to the current national agreement — Sustaining Progress. A management team led by the Health Service Executive employers agency met the unions on 10 February 2006. They reminded the unions...

Written Answers — Accident and Emergency Services: Accident and Emergency Services (2 Mar 2006)

Mary Harney: My Department is in ongoing discussions with the Health Service Executive with regard to the need for improvement in the accident and emergency services, with a particular focus on reducing the numbers on trolleys and the waiting times for patients in individual hospitals. There is a need to build on the existing action plan for accident and emergency services and, in particular, to adopt a...

Written Answers — Hospital Accommodation: Hospital Accommodation (2 Mar 2006)

Mary Harney: I propose to take Questions Nos. 38, 46 and 110 together. The Health Services Executive's National Service Plan 2006 which has been laid before the Houses of Oireachtas, states that there are 53 public acute hospitals with a total of 13,771 beds, inpatient and day places, at October 2005. An Agreed Programme for Government includes a commitment to expand public hospital beds in line with the...

Written Answers — Hospital Services: Hospital Services (2 Mar 2006)

Mary Harney: My Department has been advised by the Health Service Executive that it is currently engaged in a procurement process to select a consultancy that will examine acute hospital services in the north eastern region. The terms of reference will include the determination, with reference to international best practice of the optimal configuration of hospital services and consultant staffing for the...

Written Answers — General Practitioner Co-operatives: General Practitioner Co-operatives (2 Mar 2006)

Mary Harney: The established and agreed policy on general practitioner out of hours co-operative services is outlined in the national health strategy Quality and Fairness A Health System for You, which commits to further development of this area. The GP co-operatives provide the means for all patients, both medical card and private, to access appropriate qualified medical care out of hours, including...

Written Answers — Health Services: Health Services (2 Mar 2006)

Mary Harney: I propose to take Questions Nos. 41 and 56 together. The Government is fully committed to the implementation of the principles contained in the primary care strategy, which provides a template for the reform and development of primary care services over a period of ten to 15 years. The chief executive officer of the Health Service Executive has also emphasised the importance of developing...

Written Answers — Pharmacy Regulations: Pharmacy Regulations (2 Mar 2006)

Mary Harney: The practice of pharmacy is governed by the Pharmacy Acts 1875 to 1962. I am aware that the current fitness to practice provisions in these Acts are inadequate for the modern practice of pharmacy. On foot of the recommendations of the pharmacy review group I obtained Government approval in June 2005 to commence the process of drafting, as a priority, new pharmacy legislation to allow, among...

Written Answers — Pharmacy Regulations: Pharmacy Regulations (2 Mar 2006)

Mary Harney: I propose to take Questions Nos. 44, 60, 96 and 133 together. On foot of the recommendations of the pharmacy review group, approval was given in Government decision S180/20/10/0831 of 21 June 2005 to allow my Department commence drafting new pharmacy legislation by way of two pharmacy Bills. The first Bill is to deal with fitness to practice provisions for pharmacists, the removal of the...

Written Answers — Proposed Legislation: Proposed Legislation (2 Mar 2006)

Mary Harney: I propose to take Questions Nos. 48, 54 and 83 together. I want to assure the Deputy that the publication of a new medical practitioners Bill is regarded as a priority task in my Department for the current year. Officials are currently considering a number of policy issues, and appropriate consultations are taking place with the Medical Council. Once those policy issues are settled,...

Written Answers — Departmental Staff: Departmental Staff (2 Mar 2006)

Mary Harney: The general practice information technology project, GPIT, was a joint project undertaken between the Irish College of General Practitioners, ICGP, and my Department with the objective of promoting the development of information technology in general practice. The project achieved significant progress in its core remit as well as in a number of related areas, including messaging standards and...

Written Answers — Medical Cards: Medical Cards (2 Mar 2006)

Mary Harney: The issue raised in the Deputy's 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 this matter investigated and to have a reply issued directly to the Deputy.

Written Answers — Health Services: Health Services (2 Mar 2006)

Mary Harney: I wish to see significant improvement in the level of services available to persons with cystic fibrosis. I am aware of the current service deficits in this area which are widely acknowledged and which have been identified most notably in the Pollock report, and by the Health Service Executive working group which is looking at this issue. As part of the overall funding for health services in...

Written Answers — Hospital Hygiene Audit: Hospital Hygiene Audit (2 Mar 2006)

Mary Harney: The first ever national hygiene audit took place last year. The results of this audit will form the basis for the changes that are required in both work environments and work practices so as to meet the highest possible standards of cleanliness in hospital settings. The second national hygiene audit of acute hospitals has commenced and will assess the extent of the improvements made at...

Written Answers — Proposed Legislation: Proposed Legislation (2 Mar 2006)

Mary Harney: Work has commenced on a new legislative framework to provide for clear statutory provisions on eligibility and entitlement for health and personal social services. The aim is to produce a clear set of statutory provisions that ensure equity and transparency and to bring the system up to date with developments in service delivery and technology that have occurred since the Health Act 1970....

Written Answers — Health Service Staff: Health Service Staff (2 Mar 2006)

Mary Harney: As the Deputy's question relates to human resource management issues which are a matter for the Health Service Executive, the parliamentary affairs division of the executive has been asked to respond directly to the Deputy in this matter. While information on vacancies in health and social care professional, paramedic grades, is not collected as a matter of routine in my Department,...