Results 21-40 of 1,978 for speaker:Matt Shanahan

Covid-19 (Taoiseach): Statements (21 May 2020)

Matt Shanahan: I acknowledge the continuing impact of Covid-19 on our most vulnerable. Our debt of gratitude to our front-line and community healthcare workers grows ever greater. I want to update the House on some people from Waterford who are supporting our national efforts to overcome the many challenges the coronavirus epidemic is presenting every day. I thank Commandant Dr. Patrick Kelly of the...

Covid-19 (Taoiseach): Statements (21 May 2020)

Matt Shanahan: I thank the Taoiseach for those comments. Rather than asking his Department to project-manage this, if the Taoiseach could release the funding, that would speed up the whole process immeasurably.

Special Committee on Covid-19 Response: Business of Special Committee (26 May 2020)

Matt Shanahan: Is it worth taking a motion on a reconsideration?

Special Committee on Covid-19 Response: Business of Special Committee (26 May 2020)

Matt Shanahan: That is fine.

Special Committee on Covid-19 Response: Congregated Settings: Nursing Homes (26 May 2020)

Matt Shanahan: I thank the witnesses for attending today. On the temporary financial assistance payment, I understand the capitation payment is based on the number of public residents as opposed to private ones. Is that correct?

Special Committee on Covid-19 Response: Congregated Settings: Nursing Homes (26 May 2020)

Matt Shanahan: I would much prefer to concentrate on where we are going as opposed to where we have been. On the facilitation of isolation protocols in nursing homes now, is there an ability for the nursing home sector to be recompensed for that?

Special Committee on Covid-19 Response: Congregated Settings: Nursing Homes (26 May 2020)

Matt Shanahan: On Deputy O'Dowd's comments earlier, I met some of NHI's members in March. As somebody who has been involved in trying to help the HSE to source PPE through contacts that I have, I am well aware of the cost of PPE and of what was being paid by some of NHI's members and the difficulties getting it. I do not think Deputy O'Dowd was quite clear in highlighting the fact that NHI members are not...

Special Committee on Covid-19 Response: Congregated Settings: Nursing Homes (26 May 2020)

Matt Shanahan: I questioned the Minister on all of those subjects in the Dáil on 23 April, so I am glad that there has been some movement. On future testing regimes of staff and patients, the ECDC is calling for weekly tests. Is Mr. Daly engaging with the Department at the moment on how this might be achieved?

Special Committee on Covid-19 Response: Congregated Settings: Nursing Homes (26 May 2020)

Matt Shanahan: Some private hospitals are implementing their own PCR testing and they can turn around tests potentially in less than half an hour. Is this something that NHI might look at trying to facilitate for its members, both public and private?

Special Committee on Covid-19 Response: Congregated Settings: Nursing Homes (26 May 2020)

Matt Shanahan: On the isolation of residents at present, we know that four out of five residents who have come into contact with Covid have survived. We assume the science is not exact, but we know people have antibodies for a period. Is it possible that we could look at antibody testing to try to identify those nursing home patients and allow them to have access to their family and relatives, rather than...

Special Committee on Covid-19 Response: Congregated Settings: Nursing Homes (26 May 2020)

Matt Shanahan: On Mr. Daly's comments regarding the integrated model of care into the future and the clear guidelines for skills, everybody here would support that. We accept there are strictures imposed on the NHI by NTPF in terms of the overall burden of moneys there to assist that. Mr. Taylor mentioned advocacy for those in residential care being framed in legislation. In 30 seconds, could he give a...

Special Committee on Covid-19 Response: Congregated Settings: Nursing Homes (Resumed) (26 May 2020)

Matt Shanahan: I am unsure who these areas might relate to. They are possibly for HIQA or the HSE. Maybe a written answer for one or two of them might suffice. My first question relates to nursing homes and personal protective equipment availability. I understand gowns are still a particular issue for several nursing homes. There also appears to be confusion regarding the use of PPE in certain...

Special Committee on Covid-19 Response: Congregated Settings: Direct Provision Centres (26 May 2020)

Matt Shanahan: It is fair to say many inadequacies in our public health policy are being shown up by Covid-19. The direct provision situation is at the top end of things that must be addressed. I will ask a number of questions and the respondents can come back at the end. I have two questions for the Department of Justice and Equality. The witness said at the start that all staff have been Garda...

Covid-19 (Health): Statements (27 May 2020)

Matt Shanahan: We offer our condolences to family members who have been bereaved by Covid-19 and again give thanks to front-line healthcare workers and all those in the healthcare sector who are doing so much at this very difficult time. On 24 April in this House, the Minister expressed to me his wish to see the second Waterford cardiac cath lab built, with a construction tender to be awarded as soon as...

Special Committee on Covid-19 Response: Use of Private Hospitals (2 Jun 2020)

Matt Shanahan: On the deal done in early March, how soon does Mr. Varley think the alarm bells started to ring for his organisation that the capacity there was not going to be utilised? When did the IHCA bring that to the Department's attention forcefully?

Special Committee on Covid-19 Response: Use of Private Hospitals (2 Jun 2020)

Matt Shanahan: Given that there was a lack of activity in the public and private hospitals and understanding the efficiencies that were available in the private sector, does Mr. Varley think there was an ideological component to the Department's arrangements vis-à-visthe full-time private consultants?

Special Committee on Covid-19 Response: Use of Private Hospitals (2 Jun 2020)

Matt Shanahan: With respect to where we go from here, we have heard the doctors and the IMO speak about the dangers of a surge later in the year. I do not agree with my colleague, Deputy Murphy, about the NTPF. What we know about the present model, whatever the future model might be, is that if one incentivises activity, one gets increases. At the moment, the only way to do that is within the private...

Special Committee on Covid-19 Response: Use of Private Hospitals (Resumed) (2 Jun 2020)

Matt Shanahan: I have a couple of comments for Mr. Breslin. In respect of his comments about four fire tenders being sent out and are we not glad that we sent them, I would agree with him but I would also say that pretty soon we discovered that two fire tenders had the fire under control. We could have sent those other tenders off to treat fires elsewhere. In other words, the under-capacity was...

Special Committee on Covid-19 Response: Use of Private Hospitals (Resumed) (2 Jun 2020)

Matt Shanahan: I am not sure whether there is an ideological block here. On 8 May, a letter from the State Claims Agency, signed by a gentleman with the initials "C.B.", instructed pathology labs not to process specimens unless the sending consultant had signed a type A contract. How does that fit into public healthcare and cover?

Special Committee on Covid-19 Response: Use of Private Hospitals (Resumed) (2 Jun 2020)

Matt Shanahan: With respect to the payments, in the period of the three months the premium income that will have been paid over to private health insurers is approximately €700 million. The rebate that has come back is about €180 million. That is €520 million of moneys that could have been put into the private hospitals to take account of the efficiency that was there, aside from the...