Written answers
Wednesday, 1 December 2021
Department of Health
Health Services
Michael Creed (Cork North West, Fine Gael)
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189. To ask the Minister for Health further to Parliamentary Question No. 178 of 24 November 2021, if he has raised with HIQA the issue of the challenge facing health service providers including in particular disability services in reopening facilities given the difficulty in complying with HIQA standards particularly around staffing levels; his views on whether there are grounds for reconsidering these on an interim basis given that the alternative is a total denial of service which is causing severe difficulty in many individual service user cases; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [59266/21]
Stephen Donnelly (Wicklow, Fianna Fail)
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The Health Information and Quality Authority (HIQA) is an independent authority established to drive high-quality and safe care for health and social care services in Ireland.
HIQA standards in regard to disability service providers focus on the delivery of high quality, safe services. Regarding staffing levels in designated centres, the regulations require providers to assess the staffing numbers and skill mix required to keep residents safe and to meet their assessed care and support needs. This is determined by the service providers.
When inspecting centres, HIQA inspectors confirm that the provider has undertaken the appropriate assessment of care and support needs, has identified the staffing numbers and skill mix required to meet those assessed needs and to keep residents safe, and that providers are ensuring that their actual staffing levels meet those assessed needs. HIQA inspectors do not determine the numbers and skill mix of staffing in a centre.
The Minister and his officials regularly engage with HIQA in regard to its functions and activities.
Seán Crowe (Dublin South West, Sinn Fein)
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190. To ask the Minister for Health if a decision has been made with regard to the allocation of the €500,000 to address the crack cocaine crisis announced as part of Budget 2022; if not, when this decision will be made in order that community drugs projects that are struggling to maintain services will have clarity on available funding from 1 January 2022; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [59275/21]
Frank Feighan (Sligo-Leitrim, Fine Gael)
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In Budget 2022, an additional €6m was provided for new health measures to support the implementation of the national drugs strategy, Reducing Harm Supporting Recovery.
As part of this €6m, €0.5m was allocated to address high risk drug use, such as crack cocaine and other drugs. The funding will expand harm reduction responses both in local communities and as a response to the use of stimulant drugs in the night time economy. It will also extend the Naloxone demonstration Project to prevent drug overdose deaths.
The Department of Health has published a factsheet on the additional funding in Budget 2022 which can be found at . This includes a summary of the new health measures in tabular format.
The HSE National Service Plan 2022 will provide details on the allocation of the new funding.
I believe this new funding will strengthen the health-led approach to drug and alcohol use as
set out in the Programme for Government and support the strategic priorities for 2021-2025 under the national drugs strategy, which I recently announced.
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