Results 1-20 of 45,202 for speaker:Stephen Donnelly

Ceisteanna ar Pholasaí nó ar Reachtaíocht - Questions on Policy or Legislation (2 May 2024)

Stephen Donnelly: If the child is being referred for primary care psychology, that falls under my remit. If the case is more severe, it might fall under the remit of the Minister, Deputy O'Gorman, in terms of the children's disability networks.

Ceisteanna ar Pholasaí nó ar Reachtaíocht - Questions on Policy or Legislation (2 May 2024)

Stephen Donnelly: If it is in my remit - it is mild to moderate and a primary care referral - will the Deputy send me on the details? I will look into it and revert to the Deputy with a note.

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Health Services Staff (2 May 2024)

Stephen Donnelly: I thank the Deputy. As he said, the focus right now is on getting these consultants in place. I fully accept that. Letterkenny has approved two full-time posts, with 100% commitment at the hospital and, as the Deputy said, there is also a third post. The focus is on these endocrinology posts. There was very effective intervention by central HSE for recruiting more consultants for...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Health Services Staff (2 May 2024)

Stephen Donnelly: Certainly the next time I am in Donegal there will be no issue with that. We are very clear on what the issue is; it is a lack of recruitment. We have the money and we have the posts. We need the advanced nurse practitioners and the endocrinologists. I want to use the time to get the posts in place. I am very aware of the issues being raised and there is ongoing engagement through the...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Cancer Services (2 May 2024)

Stephen Donnelly: The national cancer strategy provides recommendations concerning the monitoring, testing and provision of comprehensive care to people who have an inherited predisposition to cancer, and the national cancer control programme, NCCP, leads on the development of services for this potential patient cohort. The national cancer control programme hereditary model of care was published last...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Cancer Services (2 May 2024)

Stephen Donnelly: The service line is essentially a subset of the national cancer strategy, so any funding we get will be in the context of funding through next year for the national cancer strategy. There is also a separate funding line for the genetics and genomic strategy, which is fairly recent. Specifically on those services for patients with a predisposition to cancer, we have direct ordering of BRCA...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Cancer Services (2 May 2024)

Stephen Donnelly: I will ask the Department to revert to Deputies Bruton and Staunton. I want to mention good progress in two other areas. Two new types of testing were introduced last year for specific treatments. The first was homologous recombination deficiency testing for treatment of ovarian cancer. The second test is for NTRK gene fusions, which can lead to cancers of the brain, head, neck, thyroid,...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Health Services Staff (2 May 2024)

Stephen Donnelly: As the Deputy said, I have met the group in question, which is very active and effective in Donegal. I will highlight some of the important progress that our healthcare workers in Letterkenny University Hospital, LUH, have achieved. It really is very encouraging to see. In the last while, they have reduced the number of patients awaiting first appointment by two thirds, which is fantastic....

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Dental Services (2 May 2024)

Stephen Donnelly: I fully take on board what the Deputy said. It is very worrying for these children and their parents. Good progress is being made. We have to go further. I am happy to ask my Department to engage with the HSE and revert to the Deputy along with Deputy Cullinane, who tabled the question, with a note relating to category five and give them more detail for Louth and Meath, the counties...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Dental Services (2 May 2024)

Stephen Donnelly: The Deputy referred to two cases. If he send me the details, I will ask the HSE to take a look and revert to him directly.

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Medical Aids and Appliances (2 May 2024)

Stephen Donnelly: What happened here was that the HSE published national procedures without discussing the issue with me and without proper consultation with the Department. I got a phone call from a fantastic activist who is also a Fianna Fáil councillor, Teresa Costello, asking me what in the name of God I was doing removing supports from women. I said that under no circumstances were any supports...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Medical Aids and Appliances (2 May 2024)

Stephen Donnelly: Regarding the proposal that was put together, the HSE did consult various stakeholders, including included service users, nurses, health and social care professionals and the Irish Cancer Society. I have also met fitters and suppliers and they asked that their views be considered, which is fine. Of course, we should listen to them and I am sure they will have something to add....

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Dental Services (2 May 2024)

Stephen Donnelly: I thank the Deputy for her ongoing representations, made on behalf of the good people of Carlow, on the health services they deserve. I will provide some good news on the orthodontic lists. For people in Carlow, rather than getting the service in Carlow, the priority is getting the service for these children. I will report to the Deputy and the House some very good news. Over the last...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Dental Services (2 May 2024)

Stephen Donnelly: There might be some competition with Kilkenny but I take the Deputy's point. She can rest assured that this Government will continue to invest in health services for the people of Carlow. I was delighted to be able to visit, with Deputy Murnane O'Connor, the upgraded ambulance base in Carlow in the last few days. We now want to continue with that progress of the permanent ambulance base in...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Dental Services (2 May 2024)

Stephen Donnelly: We are currently drafting the implementation plan for the next three years of the national oral health policy. There will be a regional view but with something as specialist as orthodontic care, the priority is making sure children get the care. We all want care provided as close to us as possible and we must always strive to do that. While orthodontic treatment is, hopefully, one of a...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Dental Services (2 May 2024)

Stephen Donnelly: I have just had a back-and-forth discussion on this issue with Deputy Murnane O'Connor. Good progress is being made. I know there are still parents who are anxiously waiting. I fully accept that and we must get to all of these children. It is important to note that in the lifetime of this Government, the number of children waiting has fallen by 44%. That is great to see. In the Dublin...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Health Services Staff (2 May 2024)

Stephen Donnelly: I thank Deputies Collins and Kenny. This is a serious issue and I fully accept the Deputies' representations. I absolutely take Deputy Collins's point. We cannot have children not getting these developmental checks, we cannot have parents who are worried and we certainly cannot have the kinds of delays the Deputy has referenced. I will commit to taking this up at a senior level within the...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Health Services Staff (2 May 2024)

Stephen Donnelly: I agree that it is not good enough. We need a resolution to this and we need it more quickly than one is now coming about. I will raise it with the HSE and come back to the Deputies with a note. If they would like, I will set up a meeting with HSE officials so that they can explain exactly where we are. Other parts of the country are not experiencing this difficulty. Some might be but...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Health Services Staff (2 May 2024)

Stephen Donnelly: I am not proposing that they ask GPs to do the developmental checks. What I mean is that, if parents see something with their child that they are concerned about, they should go to the GP. I am not asking the GPs to replace the public health nurses in providing the general checks.

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Hospital Services (2 May 2024)

Stephen Donnelly: I do not disagree with any of that. The families are angry and they have every right to be angry. There is no defending what has happened. We have to fix it and fix it permanently. That is what this dedicated spinal unit is going to do. The team in CHI are meeting other international providers this week. I have told them that as far as I am concerned they have full authority to go and...