Results 161-180 of 527 for speaker:Mary Wallace

National Health Strategy. (19 Feb 2009)

Mary Wallace: There are many specifics in respect of this and some may be of interest to Deputy O'Sullivan. I will move away from the medical health aspect because sometimes we think this is what health is all about. The plan is to review the adequacy of existing legislation to deter risk-taking behaviour in men, which involves the Department of Transport, the Department of Justice, Equality and Law...

National Health Strategy. (19 Feb 2009)

Mary Wallace: The Deputy is aware of the excellent work of Professor Tom Keane on breast cancer and he is now moving on to the area of prostate cancer. I refer to the work being done in St James's Hospital. Many things are being done at present within existing services. This document is to policy proof that in respect of men. I find myself on the opposite side of the table from where I have been for 20...

National Health Strategy. (19 Feb 2009)

Mary Wallace: The last recommendation will be of interest to Deputy Reilly. It refers to managing stress in the workplace, something we can all take on board.

Job Losses. (19 Feb 2009)

Mary Wallace: I thank the Deputy for raising this matter on the Adjournment. The live register figures for January 2009 show increases in all regions. The largest percentage increase was in the mid-east and the smallest percentage increase was in the south east. However, the live register is not designed to measure unemployment which is measured by the quarterly national household survey. The most...

Health Services. (19 Feb 2009)

Mary Wallace: I thank Deputy Jan O'Sullivan for raising this important issue. The HSE is engaged in an important process of reorganising acute hospital services. The first and utmost concern is patient safety so that people can have confidence in the services and the best possible patient outcomes can be achieved. The HSE has commissioned a number of reviews on how acute hospital services should be...

Written Answers — Product Labelling: Product Labelling (17 Feb 2009)

Mary Wallace: My Department is developing proposals on the labelling of all alcohol containers advising of the risks of consuming alcohol during pregnancy. The labelling of foodstuffs, including alcohol products, is subject to European regulation and scrutiny so the proposals will have to take this into account.

Written Answers — Health Services: Health Services (17 Feb 2009)

Mary Wallace: As this is a service matter, it has been referred to the Health Service Executive for a direct reply.

Written Answers — Food Safety Authority: Food Safety Authority (17 Feb 2009)

Mary Wallace: My Department have been in contact with the Food Safety Authority of Ireland (FSAI) which is currently collating the information requested from the official agencies. I have asked the FSAI to identify and to forward directly to the Deputy the details requested.

Hospital Services. (11 Feb 2009)

Mary Wallace: I thank Deputy Mattie McGrath for raising this important issue. The Government is committed to ensuring the delivery of the best quality health services possible, in an effective and efficient way. Ensuring patient safety is of paramount importance, such that people can have confidence in the care they receive and can expect the best possible outcomes. Patient safety and quality must be...

Visa Applications. (11 Feb 2009)

Mary Wallace: In March 2007 the UK introduced a visa waiver test to assess the effectiveness of its visa regime. Travel to the UK from every country outside of the EEA and Switzerland was measured against a range of criteria, including illegal immigration, crime and security concerns. In July 2008 the results of this test were assessed and the UK then entered into a six month period of dialogue with the...

Special Educational Needs. (11 Feb 2009)

Mary Wallace: I am glad the Deputy has raised this matter, because it provides us with an opportunity to clarify a few issues. I will take the Adjournment matter this evening on behalf of the Minister for Education and Science, which is about the decision of the Department to suppress a number of mild general learning disability classes in primary schools. A total of 128 classes are being suppressed in...

Written Answers — Tobacco Products: Tobacco Products (11 Feb 2009)

Mary Wallace: The Public Health (Tobacco) (Registration) Regulations 2009 (S.I. No. 41 of 2009) and the Public Health (Tobacco) (Self Service Vending Machines) Regulations 2009 (S.I. No. 42 of 2009) were finalised last week and will be available on my Department's website this week. The Public Health (Tobacco) (Retail Signs) Regulations 2009 provide for the sign to be displayed at a premises where tobacco...

Written Answers — Smoking Ban: Smoking Ban (11 Feb 2009)

Mary Wallace: Last July, I announced that further provisions of the Public Health (Tobacco) Acts 2002 and 2004 are to be commenced from 1 July 2009. From that date there will be no advertising or display of tobacco products in retail outlets and tobacco products must be stored in a closed container. There will be tighter controls on the operation of vending machines and anyone wishing to sell tobacco...

Written Answers — EU Directives: EU Directives (10 Feb 2009)

Mary Wallace: The Food Supplements Directive, 2002/46/EC, has been transposed into Irish law by Statutory Instrument No. 506 of 2007. That legislation is implemented by the Health Service Executive, under a Service Contract Agreement with the Food Safety Authority of Ireland (FSAI). This ensures that consumers in Ireland are protected by the harmonised EU rules on the sale of food supplements, in...

Written Answers — Food Safety: Food Safety (10 Feb 2009)

Mary Wallace: The information requested is being provided by the Health Service Executive and will be forwarded to the Deputy directly.

Written Answers — Food Safety: Food Safety (4 Feb 2009)

Mary Wallace: Parliamentary Question No. 205 of 25 November 2008 was answered in full. However, I understand that the Deputy is referring to Parliamentary Question No. 144 of 10 December 2008 which asked about "the number of bottled water plants that have been inspected in 2007 and 2008 out of the total number, by category; the number of infringements that were found; the nature of the infringements; and...

Written Answers — Tobacco-Related Diseases: Tobacco-Related Diseases (4 Feb 2009)

Mary Wallace: I regard the reduction of tobacco use in Ireland as a key public health priority. The Department of Health and Children is pursuing a range of measures aimed at reducing tobacco use. Price has also been identified as an effective tobacco control measure, particularly in preventing young people's initiation and subsequent addiction to tobacco. The minimum price of cigarettes below which...

Written Answers — Health Service Procurement: Health Service Procurement (3 Feb 2009)

Mary Wallace: The information requested is being provided by the Health Service Executive and will be forwarded to the Deputy directly.

Written Answers — Food Labelling: Food Labelling (29 Jan 2009)

Mary Wallace: General labelling is currently governed by Directive 2000/13/EC, which makes compulsory the indication of particulars of the place of origin or provenance only where failure to give such particulars might mislead the consumer to a material degree as to the true origin or provenance of the foodstuff. During 2008, the Department of Health & Children, on behalf of the Department of Agriculture,...

Seanad: Hospital Services. (29 Jan 2009)

Mary Wallace: As we are in the form for praising each other I would like to say that the Senator's contribution was well researched and that he presented an excellent case. As I read through the report before me, I find that his thought process is similar to the position of the Department of Health and Children and the Health Service Executive on developing these services throughout the country. There...