Results 581-600 of 11,434 for speaker:Jennifer Carroll MacNeill

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Primary Care Centres (2 Oct 2025)

Jennifer Carroll MacNeill: Absolutely. When it is operational, it is expected that it will have GP, dental, community nursing, occupational therapy, physiotherapy, speech and language therapy, dietetics and psychology services, as well as diabetic breathanyl screening and outreach for chronic disease help, all of which are so very important. The Deputy is right when he says that recruitment is a challenge. We have...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Primary Care Centres (2 Oct 2025)

Jennifer Carroll MacNeill: I thank the Deputy. Clearly, we are trying to have a network serving counties Kilkenny and Carlow, and we need the staff. The vacancies are there. We are desperately trying to recruit and make sure the complete suite of services is there for the people of the county.

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Hospital Waiting Lists (2 Oct 2025)

Jennifer Carroll MacNeill: As the Deputy is aware, the Sláintecare target is 12 weeks for an inpatient procedure. That is how we measure performance across the entire health sector. Some 39% of the children on the active spinal waiting list in CHI were within Sláintecare targets at the end of August 2025, which is an improvement on 28% at the end of August 2024. Additionally, only 7% were waiting over 12...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Hospital Waiting Lists (2 Oct 2025)

Jennifer Carroll MacNeill: Yes, that is my intention. It is a partnership approach. At the end of the day, some terms of reference are going to have to be settled and it is absolutely our intention to do that in a partnership approach. The person leading it, of course, must have some knowledge of how it is going to be done and some hand in how best it can be delivered as well. That is an important perspective. It...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Hospital Waiting Lists (2 Oct 2025)

Jennifer Carroll MacNeill: I did not make any comment on that. I said there was an audit-----

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Hospital Waiting Lists (2 Oct 2025)

Jennifer Carroll MacNeill: -----so please do not put words with me because I did not say anything in relation to that.

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Hospital Waiting Lists (2 Oct 2025)

Jennifer Carroll MacNeill: Yes, I would also like to do that, but we have to recognise that there are some children for whom it is suitable and who have had good outcomes. I answered the Deputy's question in relation to medical devices. I said I was referring a concern that I had to HIQA. In relation to the clinical lead, I said that I have commissioned an audit, which is a really important process. I do not wish...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Hospital Procedures (2 Oct 2025)

Jennifer Carroll MacNeill: I thank the Deputy. There is an audit going on into equity of access on waiting list management. I expect to have that audit at the end of November. I will have to wait until then to confirm any figures. At the end of August this year, there were 135 patients on the CHI spinal active waiting list, compared with 150 in August 2024. That is a reduction of 10%. Outpatient lists are also...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Hospital Procedures (2 Oct 2025)

Jennifer Carroll MacNeill: No.

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Hospital Procedures (2 Oct 2025)

Jennifer Carroll MacNeill: I do not believe so. There is a separate portion of money to do that, so I do not believe that. I will check, but it is certainly not my understanding. I remain concerned about the number of children referred, or not referred, for international surgery. As I said earlier it is a source of deep frustration to me that those services are not being utilised. Part of the audit is an analysis...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Hospital Procedures (2 Oct 2025)

Jennifer Carroll MacNeill: I updated the House earlier. They should be fully in sympathy. I also recognise that whoever is leading the inquiry will need to clarify the terms and make a final decision on what they need to be. I anticipate a comprehensive and transparent inquiry where the terms of reference are developed in partnership. The Government is one piece. The advocates are another piece, as is the person...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Primary Care Centres (2 Oct 2025)

Jennifer Carroll MacNeill: I thank the Deputy for allowing me to update the house on the new primary care centre in Graiguenamanagh, County Kilkenny. The need for that primary care centre was identified as part of the HSE’s overall primary care centre development programme. It is to be delivered via the HSE operational lease mechanism. As the Deputy is aware, the HSE has advertised for and identified a...

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Cancer Services (2 Oct 2025)

Jennifer Carroll MacNeill: There are five public radiotherapy treatment centres with a total of 22 linear accelerators across the services. Galway has four, Cork has five and St. Luke's has 14 machines across the three sites in Dublin. The HSE also contracts radiation oncology services for public patients to centres in Waterford and Limerick and has a service-level agreement with the North West Cancer Centre in...

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Cancer Services (2 Oct 2025)

Jennifer Carroll MacNeill: There are a couple of different things. Staffing vacancies have decreased considerably, from 30% in 2024 to 14% in Dublin, 15% in Galway and, I acknowledge, 22% in Cork. CORU has changed some of the registration requirements, which has brought Ireland closer to international standards, providing access to work in Ireland for more radiation therapists generally. We have funding allocated in...

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Cancer Services (2 Oct 2025)

Jennifer Carroll MacNeill: I have jobs.

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Hospital Services (2 Oct 2025)

Jennifer Carroll MacNeill: I thank the Deputy for his ongoing concern, driven first by patient safety in Portiuncula hospital, which I greatly appreciate. It is an important focus. As the Deputy is aware, the Walker report came from a review commissioned by the then Saolta Group in 2014 following a number of serious maternity cases at Portiuncula maternity services from 2004 to 2014. It covered 18 cases and was...

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Hospital Services (2 Oct 2025)

Jennifer Carroll MacNeill: I do not know how else to say it to the Deputy but HIQA has verified that all of the recommendations were implemented. Perhaps we should arrange an opportunity for the Deputy to engage with HIQA about its assessment. It is the independent regulator and HIQA advised that they were implemented. One recommendation of 154 did not work and it was moved backwards. The issues that arose in...

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Hospital Services (2 Oct 2025)

Jennifer Carroll MacNeill: The Deputy is aware that an external management team, EMT, was put in place in January precisely to try to supervise, assess and make some of the improvements that are needed. There have been some infrastructural works and changes, some of which should have been done before the external management team arrived, which have now been completed, for example a four-bay maternity day assessment...

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Capital Expenditure Programme (2 Oct 2025)

Jennifer Carroll MacNeill: I thank the Deputy. As he is aware, the programme for Government will set out a review of the national development plan as a key priority. Through the NDP review, we are prioritising critical economic growth but also the health infrastructure we need to have, which the Deputy has articulated. The substantially enhanced NDP provision for the health sector of €9.25 billion will...

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Capital Expenditure Programme (2 Oct 2025)

Jennifer Carroll MacNeill: The question is around what is capable of being delivered to absolute completion within the next five years and how we balance and manage that. I do not think it is question of right or wrong. Both the Deputy and I want to see the infrastructure delivered immediately if possible but we both live in the real world where we have to go through planning and procurement processes. There is a...