Results 1-20 of 309 for speaker:Keith Swanick

Seanad: An tOrd Gnó - Order of Business (11 Dec 2019)

Keith Swanick: Today, the faculty of paediatrics of the Royal College of Physicians called on the Government to abolish the system of direct provision for asylum seekers because the welfare of children is at stake. The author of the report issued today, Dr. Niamh O'Brien, stated the system is unethical, stigmatising and needs to end. Children in direct provision present with increased mental health issues...

Seanad: Nithe i dtosach suíonna - Commencement Matters: Ambulance Service Provision (20 Nov 2019)

Keith Swanick: I welcome the Minister of State to the House. He is probably aware of the desperate situation regarding ambulance services in rural areas. Councillor Erin McGreehan from Louth recently raised with me the specific issue of ambulances in the Omeath area of north County Louth. At present no ambulances are operating in this district of the county. It has been revealed that ambulance services...

Seanad: Nithe i dtosach suíonna - Commencement Matters: Ambulance Service Provision (20 Nov 2019)

Keith Swanick: I thank the Minister of State for his comprehensive response. While the ambulance is based in Belmullet, if the ambulance is not available locally we have to get an ambulance down from Castlebar or Ballina. Returning to north County Louth, I would like the Minister of State to consider expanding the co-operation with the Northern Ireland Ambulance Service. Places such as Omeath are only...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Health: Workforce Planning in the Mental Healthcare Sector: Discussion (20 Nov 2019)

Keith Swanick: I understand the Mental Health Commission's remit covers inpatient acute units and patients detained against their will. Does the commission have information on how we compare with international standards with regard to access to child and adolescent mental health teams?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Health: Workforce Planning in the Mental Healthcare Sector: Discussion (20 Nov 2019)

Keith Swanick: Even accessing the service can be difficult. I am a GP and if I see a teenager who may be depressed or have an anxiety disorder, and I am sure the Chairman will agree with me, I send the patient off and refer him or her in good faith. Often the team reviewing the referral states it is inappropriate. One professional doctor refers somebody who genuinely needs help and the referral is...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Health: Workforce Planning in the Mental Healthcare Sector: Discussion (20 Nov 2019)

Keith Swanick: Does Dr. Finnerty have a comment on the fact that child and adolescent mental health teams undermine professional referrals from GPs that are sent in good faith after assessing a child? The GP would not refer the child to the mental health services unless he or she had a serious concern. Often GPs receive a letter stating the referral was inappropriate and asking whether the doctor had seen...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Health: Workforce Planning in the Mental Healthcare Sector: Discussion (20 Nov 2019)

Keith Swanick: If an appropriate referral is sent in it should be accepted in good faith. This is the problem. People are falling through the cracks. They are being referred to psychological services when they need psychiatric services.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Health: Workforce Planning in the Mental Healthcare Sector: Discussion (20 Nov 2019)

Keith Swanick: I understand that and I understand there are manpower problems. I totally understand all of this. I understand they are not second guessing clinical decisions. I am only concerned about the patients and I am afraid people are falling through the cracks who should not be and they are not getting the appropriate services. Sometimes the way the child and adolescent mental health service...

Seanad: Nithe i dtosach suíonna - Commencement Matters: Disabled Drivers and Passengers Scheme (13 Nov 2019)

Keith Swanick: I welcome the Minister of State to the House. I have asked him to come to the House today to discuss the need to expand the qualifying criteria for a primary medical certificate for the disabled drivers and disabled passengers scheme to persons with severe cases of autism spectrum disorder and severe sensory disabilities. This issue is close to my heart. As a GP, I come across it...

Seanad: Nithe i dtosach suíonna - Commencement Matters: Disabled Drivers and Passengers Scheme (13 Nov 2019)

Keith Swanick: I thank the Minister of State for his reply but I cannot accept it. I think it is disgraceful. I am sure the Minister of State will agree that this scheme is antiquated. It is antiquated in the qualifying criteria requiring people to be wholly without the use of one or both limbs etc. I deal with this every day of the week in my surgery. Not only are the qualifying criteria antiquated,...

Seanad: Nithe i dtosach suíonna - Commencement Matters: Disabled Drivers and Passengers Scheme (13 Nov 2019)

Keith Swanick: The appeals process-----

Seanad: Nithe i dtosach suíonna - Commencement Matters: Disabled Drivers and Passengers Scheme (13 Nov 2019)

Keith Swanick: Would the Minister not consider operating the appeals system locally, rather than having people travel to Dún Laoghaire from all over the country?

Seanad: Nithe i dtosach suíonna - Commencement Matters: Disabled Drivers and Passengers Scheme (13 Nov 2019)

Keith Swanick: This is every important-----

Seanad: An tOrd Gnó - Order of Business (13 Nov 2019)

Keith Swanick: I echo the sentiments of Senators Gallagher, Feighan and Marie-Louise O'Donnell on the Cuisle facility at Donamon in County Roscommon, which is very close to my heart and is a vital cog in providing respite to people with disabilities. I welcome members of the public who are here today to protest and are trying to save the facility. They are from all over Connacht, the midlands and the...

Seanad: Services for People with Disabilities: Motion (13 Nov 2019)

Keith Swanick: I welcome the Minister of State to the House. I am delighted to support the motion, on which there is much international research. A 2019 study on the impact of eye clinic liaison officers at various ophthalmology clinics in the UK found that eye clinic liaison officers who had a presence at hospital ophthalmology clinics were valuable for streamlining processes within the clinic, not least...

Seanad: Illegal Drugs: Motion (13 Nov 2019)

Keith Swanick: I move:“That Seanad Éireann: notes that:- individuals, families and communities throughout the country have been devastated by illegal drugs; - drug-related harm consistently clusters in communities marked by poverty and social inequality; - drug-related deaths in Ireland are at the highest figure ever, increasing from 431 in 2004 to 736 in 2016; - new drugs appear regularly...

Seanad: Illegal Drugs: Motion (13 Nov 2019)

Keith Swanick: I will be very brief. I thank the Minister of State, Deputy Bryne, for her comprehensive response and her support for the motion.I compliment the Minister of State on her efforts. I am fully convinced that she is a very solution-driven, pragmatic, motivated and hands-on individual. On a personal level, I would never criticise her efforts and I appreciate what she has done. It is...

Seanad: An tOrd Gnó - Order of Business (23 Oct 2019)

Keith Swanick: Last month, the Environmental Protection Agency's 57 air quality monitoring stations found that while air quality in this country is below EU limits, it is above the stricter World Health Organization air quality limits for fine particulate matter, ozone and nitrogen dioxide. The introduction of a nationwide ban on bituminous or smoky coal was promised by the Government back in 2017, but it...

Seanad: An tOrd Gnó - Order of Business (23 Oct 2019)

Keith Swanick: Well done.

Seanad: HSE Capital Plan 2019: Statements (23 Oct 2019)

Keith Swanick: I welcome the Minister and thank him for his recent visit to Mayo. There was a fantastic day last Friday in Castlebar with the opening of the Mayo-Roscommon hospice. It is truly a fantastic facility, full of hope, and somebody described it as a sacred place. It is a facility where the size of a bank balance makes no difference and the facility is there for people in the counties of Mayo,...