Results 1-20 of 309 for speaker:Keith Swanick

Seanad: Order of Business (15 Jun 2016)

Keith Swanick: I take this opportunity to congratulate you, a Chathaoirligh, on your appointment and wish you the very best of luck. As Fianna Fáil spokesperson on health, I ask the Leader to invite the Minister to come to the House to discuss the district hospital network with a view to establishing a capital investment programme to upgrade some of the facilities. District hospitals should not be...

Seanad: Health: Statements (21 Jun 2016)

Keith Swanick: I welcome the Minister to the House to discuss important issues regarding the health system. As a GP based in rural Ireland, I would like to outline some of the issues in primary care, which is a crucial aspect of our health sector. I commend the Minister for his support of the ten-year consensus on health care. It is a hugely promising step for the Government, which will refocus...

Seanad: Order of Business (5 Jul 2016)

Keith Swanick: Some 266 people were handed the gift of life in 2015 through organ donation. This figure has increased substantially due to the diligent work of Organ Donation and Transplant Ireland, which is headed by Professor Jim Egan. Outcomes for transplant recipients in Ireland continue to rank among the best in Europe. Currently, organ donation in Ireland is based on a voluntary donation system and...

Seanad: Local Authority Members' Terms and Conditions: Motion (5 Jul 2016)

Keith Swanick: It is a Fianna Fáil motion.

Seanad: Order of Business (12 Jul 2016)

Keith Swanick: I share my colleagues' concerns regarding the leaked recommendations from the trauma steering group, published in The Sunday Business Post. As of three hours ago, 419 people were waiting on trolleys in emergency departments in this country, and this is the middle of the summer. The hit list of emergency services covers all parts of the country. As we know, overcrowding in accident and...

Seanad: Health (Amendment) Bill 2016: Second and Subsequent Stages (14 Jul 2016)

Keith Swanick: I welcome the Minister of State to the House. Along with my party, I will be supporting the Bill. I am disappointed that it is necessary and that there are still many residential centres that are non-compliant with HIQA regulations. While I appreciate that measures are being taken to make said centres compliant, it is unfortunate that the deadline needs to be extended by a further two...

Seanad: Commencement Matters: Parking Charges (20 Jul 2016)

Keith Swanick: I thank the Minister of State, Deputy Helen McEntee, for coming to the House. I want to ask for a review of parking charges at HSE hospitals across the country to ensure low-cost parking is available to patients and visitors to the public hospital system. I also want to ask if any single organisation has a contract with the HSE to charge for parking and-or clamping on hospital grounds....

Seanad: Commencement Matters: Parking Charges (20 Jul 2016)

Keith Swanick: I welcome the response of the Minister of State. I wish to highlight the fact that we need an alternative and fairer system. Vulnerable patients are being penalised unfairly, especially elderly patients who may need to visit hospitals for outpatient appointments on a frequent basis. I will follow up with the HSE with regard to introducing a flat nominal fee throughout the country.

Seanad: Order of Business (20 Jul 2016)

Keith Swanick: I wish to bring to the attention of the House the fact that, despite the Government's assurances that the recovery is going strong, much-needed services are still being disbanded throughout the country, which is affecting those who need them most. This week, I was told of an autistic child in the Waterford region whose specialist therapists, who the child knows well and has become...

Seanad: Order of Business (20 Jul 2016)

Keith Swanick: Most of the time.

Seanad: Order of Business (4 Oct 2016)

Keith Swanick: According to the HSE, on average at least six people die accidentally from carbon monoxide poisoning each year. Everyone in this House will be aware that last week was Carbon Monoxide Awareness week. The reason I raise this matter today is that this is a preventable issue. The risk of carbon monoxide poisoning is something that we should be aware of 365 days a year and not just for one...

Seanad: Order of Business (13 Oct 2016)

Keith Swanick: At the end of December in the Dublin north-east regional health forum a motion was put forward relating to dental health in children. The motion called on the HSE to make available sufficient funding to ensure all primary schoolchildren receive a minimum dental service in second and sixth class and, ideally, in fourth class as well. The motion comes as a result of the problem posed by tooth...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Health: Open Disclosure: Department of Health (13 Oct 2016)

Keith Swanick: I have two very brief points. Dr. Holohan said that the senior clinical physician may be engaged in the reporting mechanism. On a practical level, patients spend a lot more time in the community than they do in hospitals. How would Dr. Holohan envisage this reporting happening in a community or a primary care setting where the health professional might be working in isolation, be it a GP,...

Seanad: Commencement Matters: Ireland Strategic Investment Fund Investments (19 Oct 2016)

Keith Swanick: I thank the Minister of State for taking this important motion on investments held by the National Treasury Management Agency, NTMA, through the strategic investment fund. This is a health and financial policy issue, because tobacco use is the leading cause of preventable death in Ireland and is an enormous strain on our health system. We always want to see the NTMA generate a significant...

Seanad: Commencement Matters: Ireland Strategic Investment Fund Investments (19 Oct 2016)

Keith Swanick: I will be brief. I would like to remind the House of some keys facts from the World Health Organization. Tobacco kills up to half of its users and approximately 6 million people each year globally. Why is the taxpayer continuing to invest in this sector? I refer the Minister of State, Deputy Murphy, to a previous statement by the former Minister of State, Deputy Fergus O'Dowd, during the...

Seanad: Order of Business (19 Oct 2016)

Keith Swanick: One image or storyline often defines a conflict or tragedy. For example, we often think of the iconic image of nine year old Kim Phuc, the girl pictured naked as she fled horrific violence in south Vietnam in 1972. In the midst of the carnage and the suffering she experienced as a result of severe burns on her back, there can seem to be no hope at times. Seventeen surgical procedures were...

Seanad: Order of Business (26 Oct 2016)

Keith Swanick: Since the Seanad commenced its sitting this morning, over 200 calls will have been received by the emergency call answering service, which is responsible for all 999 and 112 calls. In 2015, it received 1.8 million calls, an average of 5,100 per day. The reason I raise this issue today is because Hallowe'en night is only days away and, unfortunately, has become a byword for stories about...

Seanad: Public Health (Alcohol) Bill 2015: Committee Stage (26 Oct 2016)

Keith Swanick: Fianna Fáil welcomes the Public Health (Alcohol) Bill. Harmful drinking is a major issue. More than 8,000 people were treated for problem alcohol use in 2012. Alcohol is associated with 2,000 beds being occupied every night in the acute hospital sector, one quarter of injuries suffered by those presenting at emergency departments and over half of all attendances at specialised...

Seanad: Public Health (Alcohol) Bill 2015: Committee Stage (Resumed) (26 Oct 2016)

Keith Swanick: I welcome the comments of my fellow Senators on alcohol advertising. I acknowledge what the Minister of State has said with regard to securing European agreement. However, the whole process needs to be accelerated, especially with regard to online advertising. Much of the time children do not watch television; they are on their iPads all the time. We are going to be behind the ball if we...

Seanad: Order of Business (27 Oct 2016)

Keith Swanick: I again bring to the attention of the House the National Treasury Management Agency, NTMA, and the strategic investment fund equity holding in tobacco companies. Last week in the House, the Minister of State, Deputy Eoghan Murphy, confirmed to me that the NTMA and the Ireland Strategic Investment Fund, ISIF, have equity holdings in three separate tobacco companies. I acknowledge that all of...