Results 1-20 of 1,058,051 for in 'Dáil debates' OR (speaker:Damien English OR speaker:Darragh O'Brien OR speaker:Éamon Ó Cuív OR speaker:Darren O'Rourke OR speaker:David Cullinane OR speaker:Peadar Tóibín OR speaker:Violet-Anne Wynne) in 'Committee meetings'

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Health: Productivity and Savings Task Force: Discussion (18 Sep 2024)

David Cullinane: Can I ask Mr. Gloster about the publication of the review of Mr. Justice Frank Clarke into the death of Aoife Johnston? The witnesses might have seen reports in the media today that the report might be published next month and that the family has asked for the report to be published by this Friday. It is obviously a really important issue. As well as waiting for the publication of that...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Health: Productivity and Savings Task Force: Discussion (18 Sep 2024)

David Cullinane: I will move on to performance and outputs. When we are talking about productivity what people will measure is, obviously, what we get at the other end of the investments we make. Since 2019, there has been a 50% increase in health spending, which we all welcome. Of course, additional funding will be needed over the next number of years in areas as well. One of the measurements is waiting...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Health: Productivity and Savings Task Force: Discussion (18 Sep 2024)

David Cullinane: Can I hold Mr. Gloster on that point?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Health: Productivity and Savings Task Force: Discussion (18 Sep 2024)

David Cullinane: It does strike people as a bit bizarre that a country with a population of 5.2 million has 840,000 people on active waiting lists. That is acute waiting lists. We also have 240,000 people on community waiting lists, which do not get published. Members must submit parliamentary questions to get those responses. That is across a whole range of community services. That is a lot of people...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Health: Productivity and Savings Task Force: Discussion (18 Sep 2024)

David Cullinane: If can come back in-----

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Health: Productivity and Savings Task Force: Discussion (18 Sep 2024)

David Cullinane: -----I have given Mr. Gloster a lot of time.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Health: Productivity and Savings Task Force: Discussion (18 Sep 2024)

David Cullinane: I accept that, and I have given Mr. Gloster a good deal of time to respond. I accept that long waiting times have come down; I acknowledged that twice. I make the point again, however, that there are still many people who are either coming onto waiting lists or who are still on them. I spoke to the head of the Department of Health about this matter a number of times. I want to see more...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Health: Productivity and Savings Task Force: Discussion (18 Sep 2024)

David Cullinane: -----integrated waiting list management systems and getting a better bang for buck. Those are the outputs we are talking about. When we look at the big numbers of people waiting, they just do not make sense in the context of the size of our population. One of the issues that has come up in respect of expenditure is that of aids and appliances. Spending in this regard has, again, gone up...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Health: Productivity and Savings Task Force: Discussion (18 Sep 2024)

David Cullinane: Say that again.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Health: Productivity and Savings Task Force: Discussion (18 Sep 2024)

David Cullinane: I will start; we will not waste any time. As regards the productivity and savings task force action plan that was published, one of the areas that was key to identifying savings was agency spend - overtime, obviously. As part of the pay and numbers strategy that was published, there were a number of pillars to it setting a ceiling for staff recruitment. The ceiling is too low. We have had...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Health: Productivity and Savings Task Force: Discussion (18 Sep 2024)

David Cullinane: What progress are we making? My partner is a nurse looking for extra hours in the public system, by the way, and she cannot get them. Her only option was to use the agency which was not what she wanted to do. There are a lot of nurses in the same position. The HSE has set a target for itself which is to achieve savings. I am not sure we are anywhere near that target or will achieve that...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Health: Productivity and Savings Task Force: Discussion (18 Sep 2024)

David Cullinane: I would say it is more than that.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Health: Productivity and Savings Task Force: Discussion (18 Sep 2024)

David Cullinane: Is it about 10,000?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Health: Productivity and Savings Task Force: Discussion (18 Sep 2024)

David Cullinane: That is a lot.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Health: Productivity and Savings Task Force: Discussion (18 Sep 2024)

David Cullinane: Could Mr. Gloster outline what progress has been made?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Health: Productivity and Savings Task Force: Discussion (18 Sep 2024)

David Cullinane: Some 1,000 staff.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Health: Productivity and Savings Task Force: Discussion (18 Sep 2024)

David Cullinane: There is still a long way to go. If it is somewhere just under 10,000 we have a long road to the travel here.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Health: Productivity and Savings Task Force: Discussion (18 Sep 2024)

David Cullinane: I know, but we should be aiming to convert at least half of it.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Health: Productivity and Savings Task Force: Discussion (18 Sep 2024)

David Cullinane: Mr. Gloster has answered that one. We have had a number of very good and constructive meetings on the roll out of the regional health areas and in fairness to Mr. O'Connor and his team and Mr. Woods, they have been very helpful in departmental meetings. The regional health areas are going to be a key part of driving reform, productivity, population based budgeting and so on. There has been...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Health: Productivity and Savings Task Force: Discussion (18 Sep 2024)

David Cullinane: That is what they want. They want to be part of that decision-making.