Results 161-180 of 1,040,804 for in 'Dáil debates' OR in 'Committee meetings' (speaker:Máiría Cahill OR speaker:Catherine Byrne OR speaker:Heather Humphreys OR speaker:Michael McNamara OR speaker:Peter Burke)

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Health Services (3 Oct 2024)

Stephen Donnelly: I agree with a lot of that. To be clear, it is not the case that we are telling people things will get better in the future. I am saying clearly that our healthcare professionals have made remarkable progress already. For example, with regard to cataract services, when this Government came in, the average waiting time for cataract treatment in Dublin, in the Deputy’s constituency...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Health Services (3 Oct 2024)

Bernard Durkan: The Minister is aware and understands this issue. He is at the coalface of it, as are the patients. It is about bringing the two sides closer together. I am aware the Minister realises the urgency of the situation. I know a patient who had cataract problems and was on a waiting list but could not wait because he was blind. He lived alone and he was blind. He could not drive,...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Health Services (3 Oct 2024)

Stephen Donnelly: First, I absolutely do not have an issue with using private care as a short-term means to get public patients faster care. We have used the NTPF as part of our waiting list action plan for the past four years and it has been highly effective in getting public patients care. While we should be building a public health service which does not rely on private care, I have no issue with using...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Health Services (3 Oct 2024)

Question No. 10 taken with Written Answers.

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Health Services (3 Oct 2024)

Aengus Ó Snodaigh: Bogfaidh muid ar aghaidh go dtí an chéad ceist eile as na Teachtaí atá i láthair, is í sin Ceist Uimh. 11 in ainm an Teachta Duncan Smith.

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Pharmacy Services (3 Oct 2024)

Pharmacy Services

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Pharmacy Services (3 Oct 2024)

Duncan Smith: 11. To ask the Minister for Health to provide an update on negotiations to increase fees for dispensing for pharmacists; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [39357/24]

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Pharmacy Services (3 Oct 2024)

Duncan Smith: There are ongoing negotiations on fees for pharmacy dispensing. In the context of the budget and the recent announcement, I am seeking an update on those negotiations and where they are going.

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Pharmacy Services (3 Oct 2024)

Stephen Donnelly: I thank the Deputy for his ongoing advocacy and work in this area. The budget contained very good news for progress in this area. I have allocated full-year funding of €50 million for these negotiations. There would be €25 million available next year on an assumed commencement date of, let us say, July 2025. There is, however, full-year allocation of €50 million. The...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Pharmacy Services (3 Oct 2024)

Duncan Smith: I agree with the Minister that pharmacists are all of those things. I am sure he will agree that they are also highly trusted in the community. The great potential of unlocking more community care that is in situ and close to where people live is an aim of both the Minister and me. The funding allocation is welcome but now the negotiation fee must be addressed. Before the financial...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Pharmacy Services (3 Oct 2024)

Stephen Donnelly: It would not be helpful to set out the State’s negotiating position. What I have said to the IPU and my officials is that everything is on the table. The Government has put €50 million on the table this week, which is a sizeable amount. Of course, the IPU will say it is not enough and will want more. It is a sizeable amount, however. Everything can be discussed in the round...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Pharmacy Services (3 Oct 2024)

Duncan Smith: A lot of the discussion among pharmacists concerns the volume of administration and paper-based work they must do. We had a debate last week – I brought this issue up in my budget discussions - about the move towards electronic health records and, more generally, towards an e-health model. We need to see that in the pharmacy sector as well. Pharmacists operate in a private retail...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Medical Cards (3 Oct 2024)

James O'Connor: I see the point the Minister is making. It does not necessarily mean I wholeheartedly agree with it, but he is right to outline that. We do this best on the basis of age. I acknowledge the Department with its enormous resources has to prioritise what it feels is in the best interests of caring for the needs of our population around this expenditure and providing the best access to...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Medical Cards (3 Oct 2024)

Stephen Donnelly: I will make two points. The first is on the discretionary cards. One in eight medical cards is discretionary, and that is meant to speak to exactly the kinds of cases the Deputy talks about. The discretionary medical card is issued to patients with big medical expenses. They might satisfy the gross income criterion but not the net income criterion. Once they have to pay all these medical...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Medical Cards (3 Oct 2024)

James O'Connor: I know I have raised this with the Minister previously, but in that specific area around Rathcormack and in north Cork generally, people accessing healthcare services has been a huge difficulty and a huge challenge. In particular, I think of the town of Mitchelstown. I have raised here many times cases of a concentration of the healthcare resources in a primary care centre that is privately...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Medical Cards (3 Oct 2024)

Bernard Durkan: I strongly support the sentiments expressed by the Deputy. This applies not only to north Cork but all over the country and has been raised numerous times in the health committee over recent years. The Minister himself has identified the word "discretion". The request has to be that the criteria need to be broadened to take into account the fact, as described by Deputy O'Connor and as we...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Medical Cards (3 Oct 2024)

Stephen Donnelly: Our clear goal is universal healthcare. One of the three pillars of universal healthcare is that it is affordable, so a lot of what we are doing is trying to make sure that people can access care quickly, that it is great care when they get it and that they can afford it. Any debate like this is very important to constantly reviewing and finding those patients who find themselves outside of...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Health Services (3 Oct 2024)

Health Services

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Health Services (3 Oct 2024)

Bernard Durkan: 9. To ask the Minister for Health to indicate the treatment pathways available for patients who suffer from scoliosis, cataracts and spina bifida, public or private, to help deal with the current backlogs; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [39443/24]

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Health Services (3 Oct 2024)

Bernard Durkan: This is a similar question. It seeks reassurance for patients who suffer from various illnesses, from scoliosis to cataracts, to spina bifida. Whether they are public or private patients, their concern is for access to treatment within a reasonable time. Do we have the facilities to treat them within this jurisdiction? My belief is that we do. Whether they are public or private, can the...