Results 41-60 of 19,738 for speaker:Micheál Martin in 'Written Answers'

Written Answers — Cancer Treatment Services: Cancer Treatment Services (10 Feb 2004)

Micheál Martin: I propose to take Questions Nos. 333 and 334 together. As the Deputy is aware, I launched the report, The Development of Radiation Oncology Services in Ireland, in October 2003. I established the expert group on radiotherapy services to ensure that we effectively plan the current and future development of this element of cancer care. Palliative care was identified as a particular issue in...

Written Answers — Health Board Services: Health Board Services (10 Feb 2004)

Micheál Martin: Responsibility for the provision of health services to persons living in County Sligo rests with the North Western Health Board. My Department has therefore asked the chief executive officer of the board to investigate the matter raised by the Deputy and to reply to him directly.

Written Answers — Hospital Services: Hospital Services (10 Feb 2004)

Micheál Martin: The report of the national task force on medical staffing — Hanly — proposes that the hospitals referred to by the Deputy should form part of an integrated network alongside St. Vincent's University Hospital to meet the acute hospital needs of the east coast region. The report recommends that St. Columcille's Hospital, Loughlinstown, and St. Michael's Hospital, Dún Laoghaire, should be...

Written Answers — Medical Cards: Medical Cards (10 Feb 2004)

Micheál Martin: Responsibility for the provision of a medical card is, by legislation, a matter for the chief executive officer of the relevant health authority. I understand that the Deputy raised this matter previously in a parliamentary question last November and was subsequently informed by the South Eastern Health Board that there was a medical card valid until the end of November 2003 in this case and...

Written Answers — Health Board Services: Health Board Services (10 Feb 2004)

Micheál Martin: As the Deputy will be aware, the provision of health services, including hospices services, in the Galway area is a matter for the Western Health Board in the first instance. The Galway Hospice Foundation, has for the past number of years, provided a valuable service to cancer patients and their families in the west. I am aware that there are difficulties surrounding the operation of the...

Written Answers — Drugs Payment Scheme: Drugs Payment Scheme (10 Feb 2004)

Micheál Martin: My Department put in place a refund scheme to process applications from people who may be eligible for a refund due to the delay in putting the drugs payment scheme on a statutory basis. The scheme was advertised in the national press on 26 June 2003 and again on 12 and 14 September for the extension of the closing date for applications to 31 October. The GMS payments board is operating the...

Written Answers — Nursing Education: Nursing Education (10 Feb 2004)

Micheál Martin: The commission on nursing, which reported in 1998, recommended that pre-registration nursing education move from a three year diploma programme to a four year degree programme in each of the disciplines of general, psychiatric and mental handicap nursing. The Government expressed its commitment to implementing the programme by providing capital investment in excess of €240 million to ensure...

Written Answers — Health Board Services: Health Board Services (10 Feb 2004)

Micheál Martin: The provision of medical services to residents of County Mayo is the responsibility of the Western Health Board. My Department has asked the chief executive officer of the board to investigate the position in relation to this case and reply directly to the Deputy.

Written Answers — National Drugs Strategy: National Drugs Strategy (10 Feb 2004)

Micheál Martin: Responsibility for the provision of drug treatment services rests with the health boards in the first instance. I have been advised by the Eastern Regional Health Authority that the three area health boards within the eastern region provide detoxification and rehabilitation services on both an in-patient and out-patient basis. Those under 18 years old are prioritised for these services. For...

Written Answers — National Drugs Strategy: National Drugs Strategy (10 Feb 2004)

Micheál Martin: The overall objective of the National Drugs Strategy 2001-2008 is to reduce the harm caused to individuals and society by the misuse of drugs through a concerted focus on supply reduction, prevention, treatment and research with the ultimate aim of leading a drug-free lifestyle. The health related aspects of the strategy focus in particular on education and prevention and treatment and...

Written Answers — Organ Retention: Organ Retention (10 Feb 2004)

Micheál Martin: I propose to take Questions Nos. 346 and 369 together. The post-mortem inquiry is a non-statutory inquiry chaired by Ms Anne Dunne SC. Since the beginning of 2003, the inquiry has been concentrating on the investigation of the post-mortem policy, practice and procedure of the three main paediatric hospitals, the National Children's Hospital, Tallaght, the Children's University Hospital,...

Written Answers — Drugs Payment Scheme: Drugs Payment Scheme (10 Feb 2004)

Micheál Martin: I presume that the Deputy is referring to the drugs payment scheme, DPS. My Department put in place a refund scheme to process applications from people who may be eligible for a refund due to the delay in putting the drugs payment scheme on a statutory basis. The scheme was advertised in the national press on 26 June 2003 and again on 12 and 14 September for the extension of the closing date...

Written Answers — Hospital Services: Hospital Services (10 Feb 2004)

Micheál Martin: The rationale for the use of casemix systems as part of the budgetary process is the wish to base funding on measured costs and activity, rather than on less objective systems of resource allocation. It is also used to fund hospitals based on their mix of cases. The national casemix programme operates in 34 hospitals nationally. Those whose cost per case is higher than the mean have some of...

Written Answers — Compensation Scheme: Compensation Scheme (10 Feb 2004)

Micheál Martin: I met representatives of the Psychiatric Nurses' Association on 24 September 2003. Among the issues discussed was the report of the task force on assaults on psychiatric nurses and, in particular, the proposal that a scheme be established to compensate psychiatric nurses seriously injured as a result of assault by a patient. Officials from my Department prepared a draft memorandum for...

Written Answers — Medical Cards: Medical Cards (10 Feb 2004)

Micheál Martin: Responsibility for the provision of a medical card is, by legislation, a matter for the chief executive officer of the relevant health board or authority. My Department has, therefore, asked the CEO of the South Eastern Health Board to investigate the matter raised by the Deputy and to reply to him directly.

Written Answers — Health Board Services: Health Board Services (10 Feb 2004)

Micheál Martin: Statutory responsibility for the provision of orthodontic treatment to eligible persons rests with the health boards in the first instance. Entitlement to orthodontic treatment is determined by reference to orthodontic guidelines, a set of objective clinical criteria applied by health board orthodontists when assessing children's priority of need for treatment. The orthodontic guidelines were...

Written Answers — Health Board Funding: Health Board Funding (10 Feb 2004)

Micheál Martin: I propose to take Questions Nos. 354 and 355 together. The additional moneys, €857,000, allocated to the Southern Health Board in 2003 arose out of consideration of revised proposals from that board earlier in the year. This decision was taken after careful consideration of the applications from all boards for the available funding under this heading. The allocation sought and granted...

Written Answers — Health Board Services: Health Board Services (10 Feb 2004)

Micheál Martin: Responsibility for the provision of orthodontic treatment to eligible persons in County Mayo rests with the Western Health Board. My Department has asked the chief executive officer to investigate the matter raised by the Deputy and to reply to him directly.

Written Answers — Medical Cards: Medical Cards (10 Feb 2004)

Micheál Martin: Responsibility for the provision of a medical card is, by legislation, a matter for the chief executive officer of the relevant health board or authority. My Department has, therefore, asked the CEO of the South Eastern Health Board to investigate the matter raised by the Deputy and to reply to him directly.

Written Answers — Health Board Services: Health Board Services (10 Feb 2004)

Micheál Martin: The current waiting time in the North Western Health Board region in respect of cervical smears is four weeks for priority smears and 16 weeks for routine smears. The North Western Health Board will continue to make efforts to reduce the waiting times further.