Results 21-40 of 23,912 for speaker:Róisín Shortall

Written Answers — Department of Health: Covid-19 Pandemic (2 Jul 2024)

Róisín Shortall: 465. To ask the Minister for Health if his attention has been brought to the difficulties faced by many Long Covid patients in accessing Covid-19 booster vaccines, in particular a non-MRNA vaccine (details supplied); if he will engage with the HSE to ensure that there is a clearly documented process to signpost how Long Covid and immunocompromised patients can access the non-MRNA vaccine; and...

Statutory Home Care: Statements (27 Jun 2024)

Róisín Shortall: He could be in another party.

Statutory Home Care: Statements (27 Jun 2024)

Róisín Shortall: Last week on the Order of Business I raised with the Taoiseach that seven years ago, as Minister for Health, he gave a commitment to introduce a statutory right to home care. Given the failure of that Government and the current Government to follow through on that commitment I asked for a debate on that issue today. We have a debate, but it is not on the statutory right to home care. It...

Health (Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill 2024: Report and Final Stages (26 Jun 2024)

Róisín Shortall: I commend the Minister of State on bringing this legislation through all Stages in the House. I thank the officials involved. It is important legislation. While I would have liked it to go further, we await the report of the expert group. I hope when it is delivered to the Minister in July, he does not sit on it for too long and it is published so we can move forward in utilising and...

Health (Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill 2024: Report and Final Stages (26 Jun 2024)

Róisín Shortall: It is regrettable that the Minister of State is not taking this on board. She said the timescale is too short, but I am requesting that the Minister provides a report within six months and that is reasonable. I am not saying that a scheme has to start within six months; I am saying that we should have a report on it and I think that is a reasonable request to make. It makes absolute sense...

Health (Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill 2024: Report and Final Stages (26 Jun 2024)

Róisín Shortall: When will that happen? A lot of other health legislation is backed up that is supposed to be a priority. Is it the case that there is no timescale?

Health (Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill 2024: Report and Final Stages (26 Jun 2024)

Róisín Shortall: I will press the amendment.

Health (Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill 2024: Report and Final Stages (26 Jun 2024)

Róisín Shortall: My other amendment is on contraception. Is the Minister of State saying that these amendments will facilitate the extension of the management of chronic illness as a set of conditions by community pharmacists?

Health (Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill 2024: Report and Final Stages (26 Jun 2024)

Róisín Shortall: That has been ruled out of order, unfortunately.

Health (Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill 2024: Report and Final Stages (26 Jun 2024)

Róisín Shortall: I think that is a missed opportunity. It is a pity the Minister of State did not go further, because we would presumably need additional primary legislation to have the management of chronic illnesses placed in the hands of pharmacists. It is regrettable that we did not. I regret that my amendment has been ruled out of order. I welcome what the Minister of State's amendments are doing,...

Health (Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill 2024: Report and Final Stages (26 Jun 2024)

Róisín Shortall: Is that the Minister or Department saying that?

Health (Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill 2024: Report and Final Stages (26 Jun 2024)

Róisín Shortall: Okay. That is good.

Health (Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill 2024: Report and Final Stages (26 Jun 2024)

Róisín Shortall: I move amendment No. 6: In page 10, between lines 7 and 8, to insert the following: “Report on prescription-free oral contraceptives 9. The Minister shall, within six months of the passing of this Act, prepare and lay before Dáil Éireann a report on allowing pharmacists to dispense prescription-free oral contraceptives.”. This concerns an issue that has been...

Health (Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill 2024: Report and Final Stages (26 Jun 2024)

Róisín Shortall: From what I understand of these amendments, I welcome what the Minister of State is saying there and the provision for the making of regulations. Given the shortages of healthcare staff, we need to maximise the capacity of all existing staff and services. Community pharmacies have particular benefits for the roll-out of different health initiatives, not least because they are in every...

Child Care (Amendment) Bill 2024: Committee and Remaining Stages (26 Jun 2024)

Róisín Shortall: I agree with a certain amount of the sentiment behind this amendment although I do not entirely agree with the wording. I will repeat a point I made on Second Stage, which is that, while it is sometimes a result of need, people very often consciously choose a childminder because they like the informality and the lower minder-child ratio. It is often viewed as being more homely than a...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Health: General Scheme of the Health (Amendment) (Licensing of Professional Home Support Providers) Bill 2024: Discussion (Resumed) (26 Jun 2024)

Róisín Shortall: I wish the witnesses a good morning and thank them for their presentation. It raises a huge number of issues very pertinent to the pre-legislative scrutiny we are doing here and a number of those need to be pursued. The reference to the Home Care Coalition is an important one. Has that coalition had input into the preparation of the legislation?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Health: General Scheme of the Health (Amendment) (Licensing of Professional Home Support Providers) Bill 2024: Discussion (Resumed) (26 Jun 2024)

Róisín Shortall: I think we are all disappointed at the limitations of the legislation. We expected it to go a lot further and to fulfil the programme for Government commitment on a statutory right to home care. There is much confusion around that. It is referred to as the statutory scheme, but it is not the statutory right to home care. On that, and with respect to the coalition, is ALONE saying the...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Health: General Scheme of the Health (Amendment) (Licensing of Professional Home Support Providers) Bill 2024: Discussion (Resumed) (26 Jun 2024)

Róisín Shortall: Okay. Mr. Moynihan also made reference to a Law Reform Commission report from 2011, which I was not aware of. That might be something we get a copy of as a committee to see what those recommendations are and he made the point they still hold. I want to get into some of the specifics of what Mr. Moynihan was saying there. He said, "Delivery of an equitable statutory scheme will not be...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Health: General Scheme of the Health (Amendment) (Licensing of Professional Home Support Providers) Bill 2024: Discussion (Resumed) (26 Jun 2024)

Róisín Shortall: I think many of us share the concerns about the outsourcing of more and more of our social care services. It certainly raises big issues like the ones Mr. Moynihan has outlined. He also talked about the tender process as it operates at the moment militating against not-for-profit organisations. I am aware of that in a general sense and many smaller not-for-profit organisations that were...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Health: General Scheme of the Health (Amendment) (Licensing of Professional Home Support Providers) Bill 2024: Discussion (Resumed) (26 Jun 2024)

Róisín Shortall: Is that the lack of certainty about it? The funding is similar to a private company as to a not-for-profit organisation, is it not?