Results 301-320 of 1,109,938 for in 'Dáil debates' OR (speaker:Violet-Anne Wynne OR speaker:Cathal Crowe OR speaker:Mattie McGrath OR speaker:Jack Chambers OR speaker:Alan Dillon OR speaker:Holly Cairns OR speaker:Sorca Clarke OR speaker:Martin Browne OR speaker:Matt Shanahan OR speaker:Brian Stanley OR speaker:Michael Healy-Rae OR speaker:Seán Crowe OR speaker:Ivana Bacik OR speaker:Aengus Ó Snodaigh OR speaker:Aengus Ó Snodaigh28 OR speaker:Aindrias Moynihan OR speaker:Joan Collins OR speaker:Aengus Ó Snodaigh6 OR speaker:Brendan Smith OR speaker:Neale Richmond OR speaker:James Browne OR speaker:Catherine Connolly OR speaker:Brendan Griffin OR speaker:Seán Canney OR speaker:Stephen Donnelly OR speaker:Gino Kenny OR speaker:Jennifer Murnane O'Connor OR speaker:Cormac Devlin) in 'Committee meetings'

Select Committee on Health: Estimates for Public Services 2024
Vote 38 - Health (Supplementary) (16 Oct 2024)

Stephen Donnelly: It did, yes.

Select Committee on Health: Estimates for Public Services 2024
Vote 38 - Health (Supplementary) (16 Oct 2024)

Stephen Donnelly: I will talk to the chief nurse about that. The very clear advice I have from the Department is that the figure of 2,000 additional nurses is what is required for phase 1 and phase 2, that is, all the medical and surgical wards and the emergency departments. I am advised that 1,500 of those are in situ and another 500, which are fully funded, are to be hired. If there are additional issues...

Select Committee on Health: Estimates for Public Services 2024
Vote 38 - Health (Supplementary) (16 Oct 2024)

Stephen Donnelly: No problem at all. If that does prove to be the case, and if it were the case that 2,000 needs to be 2,150 or whatever that might be, we will do that.

Select Committee on Health: Estimates for Public Services 2024
Vote 38 - Health (Supplementary) (16 Oct 2024)

Stephen Donnelly: Which is the framework.

Select Committee on Health: Estimates for Public Services 2024
Vote 38 - Health (Supplementary) (16 Oct 2024)

Stephen Donnelly: I agree. If I could add one point, all of us listening to some of the narrative would be forgiven for thinking that we have a deficit of nurses in the country. In fact, the OECD figures show that we have the second highest level of nurses per head of population of anywhere in Europe. The safe staffing framework is seen around the world now as one of the highest levels of staffing.

Select Committee on Health: Estimates for Public Services 2024
Vote 38 - Health (Supplementary) (16 Oct 2024)

Stephen Donnelly: Sure.

Select Committee on Health: Estimates for Public Services 2024
Vote 38 - Health (Supplementary) (16 Oct 2024)

Stephen Donnelly: I thank the Deputy. I agree with much of what she said. We do urgently need more radiation therapists. I have funded more roles, including advanced practice roles in the budget and, critically to your point on the training co-ordinators, I have allocated funding for that as well.

Select Committee on Health: Estimates for Public Services 2024
Vote 38 - Health (Supplementary) (16 Oct 2024)

Stephen Donnelly: I have allocated funding in the budget for exactly the posts the Deputy is are talking about.

Select Committee on Health: Estimates for Public Services 2024
Vote 38 - Health (Supplementary) (16 Oct 2024)

Stephen Donnelly: The funding is allocated now on the basis that it takes time to hire. They can essentially get on and start recruiting them now. There was an ask in from the university that was completely over the top. Had a reasonable ask been made, it would have been sorted much quicker. The ask was to move from half a whole-time equivalent to six and a half whole-time equivalents for what was about a...

Select Committee on Health: Estimates for Public Services 2024
Vote 38 - Health (Supplementary) (16 Oct 2024)

Stephen Donnelly: My understanding is that the figure is at three. I think that is where we have come to. I have allocated funding for the specialist trainee roles as well.

Select Committee on Health: Estimates for Public Services 2024
Vote 38 - Health (Supplementary) (16 Oct 2024)

Stephen Donnelly: In some areas, yes. Some outsourcing, if one could call it that, works very well, such as with GPs, pharmacies and so forth. We are all happy with that. From an ideological perspective, my view is that core services within the HSE should be delivered by it. The Minister of State, Deputy Butler, may speak to it, but neither she nor I are happy with the percentage of private nursing home...

Select Committee on Health: Estimates for Public Services 2024
Vote 38 - Health (Supplementary) (16 Oct 2024)

Stephen Donnelly: What does the Deputy mean by "separate budgets"?

Select Committee on Health: Estimates for Public Services 2024
Vote 38 - Health (Supplementary) (16 Oct 2024)

Stephen Donnelly: The way the budget will be reported-----

Select Committee on Health: Estimates for Public Services 2024
Vote 38 - Health (Supplementary) (16 Oct 2024)

Stephen Donnelly: There is discretion now. At this meeting next year or at the budget meeting, we will start reporting region by region, which will allow for some important comparisons between the different regions. There is discretion within the regions. It is nuanced. We cannot provide full discretion because there are things we all want to roll out. If we fund the national cancer strategy, it is not up...

Select Committee on Health: Estimates for Public Services 2024
Vote 38 - Health (Supplementary) (16 Oct 2024)

Stephen Donnelly: Yes, before we can do it fully.

Select Committee on Health: Estimates for Public Services 2024
Vote 38 - Health (Supplementary) (16 Oct 2024)

Seán Crowe: I have a couple questions. I will walk through the Minister’s opening statement. He mentioned an additional €5 million for capital expenditure. Can he give us a flavour of what is involved?

Select Committee on Health: Estimates for Public Services 2024
Vote 38 - Health (Supplementary) (16 Oct 2024)

Stephen Donnelly: The officials will correct me if I am wrong but I think that is the Brexit adjustment for Dublin Airport and the two ports.

Select Committee on Health: Estimates for Public Services 2024
Vote 38 - Health (Supplementary) (16 Oct 2024)

Seán Crowe: Yes, he mentioned that later on. He also raised some of the key drivers of the supplementary budget. The Minister said that 60% of the Supplementary Estimate is required for pay costs, excluding pension costs. He mentioned “staffing roles that had previously been provided from temporary Covid funds along with funding for staff hired in excess of funded levels of recruitment”....

Select Committee on Health: Estimates for Public Services 2024
Vote 38 - Health (Supplementary) (16 Oct 2024)

Stephen Donnelly: In the agreement with the Minister, Deputy Donohoe, earlier this year, we got agreement to permanently fund about 4,000 staff for whom there were no wages allocated by Government. They fall into two groups. The first is the extra 2,000 the HSE hired last year. There was no funding for that. The HSE obviously paid their wages, but it was not funded to pay their wages. Therefore, we have...

Select Committee on Health: Estimates for Public Services 2024
Vote 38 - Health (Supplementary) (16 Oct 2024)

Seán Crowe: I am trying to get at the nub of why. The Minister also mentioned “higher agency, overtime and staff allowances due to increased level of demand, especially in acute settings”. He is saying that the people who came in from the Covid funds who were working in the system are needed in the health system.