Charles Flanagan
Question:11 Mr. Flanagan asked the Minister for Health if he proposes to implement the recommendations of the National Aids Strategy Committee; and if so, when.
Ceisteanna — Questions. Oral Answers. - National AIDS Policy.
Michael Finucane
Question:41 Mr. Finucane asked the Minister for Health the way in which he intends to implement the recommendation of the National Aids Strategy Committee.
Liz McManus
Question:45 Ms. McManus asked the Minister for Health if he will appoint an independent and representative task force to oversee the implementation of the recommendations of the National Aids Strategy Committee; and if he will also appoint a national AIDS co-ordinator.
Pádraic McCormack
Question:71 Mr. McCormack asked the Minister for Health if he intends reappointing a national Aids co-ordinator.
Máirín Quill
Question:100 Miss Quill asked the Minister for Health the precise amount of State funding that is given to the prevention, diagnosis and treatment of AIDS patients as compared to the amount of money spent on the prevention, diagnosis and treatment of breast cancer patients having regard to the fact that twice as many women die of breast cancer in Ireland each year as compared to the national figure of AIDS related deaths.
Liz McManus
Question:275 Ms McManus asked the Minister for Health if he has satisfied himself with the accuracy of the recent Department of Health report on AIDS in Ireland which claims a levelling off in the spread of the infection within at risk groups, in view of the fact that figures show that the number of homosexuals who tested positive for the virus in 1992 increased by nearly 23 per cent, IV drug users who tested positive increased by nearly 11 per cent, while among heterosexuals, the increase was over 28 per cent.
I propose to take Questions Nos. 11, 41, 45, 71, 100 and 275 together.
Effective planning, implementation and review structures are in place which are addressing the serious public health challenges which AIDS-HIV represent. As Minister for Health, I am directly involved in the development of a comprehensive and integrated national AIDS policy in terms of prevention, treatment, care and rehabilitation. The National AIDS Strategy Committee, of which I am chairman, has developed a number of strategies to implement national policy goals as a priority on a multi-sectoral basis. The Deputies will be aware of these strategies which concern the care and management of persons with HIV-AIDS, HIV-AIDS surveillance, education and prevention strategies and measures to avoid discrimination.
The implementation of the strategies which received a major additional investment of £3.3 million during 1992, is currently being undertaken by statutory and voluntary agencies. A sum of £4.4 million has been allocated specifically for the HIV-AIDS strategy during the current year. This has facilitated the delivery of a range of innovative services and programmes aimed at stemming the spread of the infection. These include: primary care clinics for IV drug users at which preventative and risk-reduction services such as methadone, needles and condoms are available on the basis of individual counselling and assessment; the provision of a consultant-led HIV-AIDS service in the Mater and Beaumont Hospitals and hospice and palliative care for persons with AIDS. This £4.4 million is additional to the general funding provided for the care and management of persons with HIV-AIDS through the mainstream health services.
Programmes and services for the prevention, diagnosis and treatment of breast cancer are an integral part of the health services, in common with the programmes and services for HIV-AIDS. These are also funded as part of the mainstream health services through the budgets of individual hospitals and a major mammography breast-screening programme is currently under way at the Mater Foundation.
A prevention programme by way of information and education on HIV-AIDS is an integral feature of the ongoing work of my Department's Health Promotion Unit. This element of the national AIDS strategy will be developed further with the implementation of a multi-media campaign on HIV prevention which I will launch during the present month. The campaign will be very intensive and will involve TV and radio advertisements. The campaign will be promote the need to practise safe sex and the role of condoms in this area. In this regard, previous campaigns have been rather coy in relation to the role of condoms and the need to practise safer sex, and I intend that these issues will be dealt with more openly in the new campaign.
In addition, the Programme for a Partnership Government provides for the more widespread availability of condoms and I propose to bring a new Bill in this regard before the Oireachtas as early as possible. Also in the area of prevention, I am extending the HIV-risk reduction methadone programme aimed at IV drug users in line with the recommendations of the expert groups established to draw up a protocol for methadone prescribing. The protocol will ensure that methadone is available to IV drug-users in an accessible and controlled manner.
The surveillance of HIV-AIDS is an integral and essential element of the national AIDS strategy. The National AIDS Strategy Committee has recommended an extension of our existing surveillance programme which is based on: (i) the reporting of cases of, and deaths from, AIDS to the Department of Health; (ii) the reporting of positive HIV tests from the Virus Reference Laboratory, UCD, to the Department of Health, under the voluntary, linked HIV testing service and (iii) the anonymous, unlinked surveillance of HIV through the screening of bloods taken for routine clinical purposes at ante-natal clinics and which is surplus to requirements. This will include testing of unlinked surplus bloods taken at STD clinics and out-patient departments. This will be done on a phased basis. I am satisfied that the summary of HIV-AIDS statistics and service developments which I issued in January 1993 accurately reflects the known position based on our present method of surveillance. In this context, the number of HIV positive homosexuals reported during 1991 was 38 and 37 during 1992; and in HIV positive intravenous drug users it was 49 during 1991 and 67 during 1992.
As regards AIDS co-ordination, the current structure facilities the effective development and implementation of our national AIDS strategy on a multi-sectoral basis and in a co-ordinated manner. They are being kept under review to ensure that they are responsive to any change in the reported epidemiology of the disease.
I accuse the Minister of a certain amount of negligence in so far as this entire issue is concerned. With specific reference to his reply, will the Minister state the number of times the National AIDS Strategy Committee met since he took up office? How many times has this committee met the incumbent Minister for Health since last April? In view of the fact that he does not appear to be on top of the problem, will the Minister consider the request to set up an independent body who would oversee the implementation of the very sound recommendations of the strategy committee, as published in April 1992?
It is not the first time the Deputy has accused the Minister of negligence, and once again he is wrong. I am taking the issue very seriously. I have had one meeting with the National AIDS Strategy Committee, which I chaired, since I came into office some three months ago.
A brief meeting.
It was a very long meeting and covered a number of issues, including reports from three Government Departments, a number of voluntary agencies and all the statutory agencies involved in the foundation of a national AIDS strategy. Since I came to office, I have promulgated new legislation which, I hope, will be brought before the House in the immediate future. The charges laid against me by the Deputy opposite are totally without foundation. I am convinced he will realise this when he sees the impact of the initiatives I have announced, including the multi-media campaign, a new protocol on methadone prescribing, new clinics for treatment and the improvements in palliative care for those with AIDS. This campaign and the legislation will provide ample proof that I am a very concerned Minister and very much on top of my brief in this regard.
In view of the fact that he ignored my comments on the setting up of an independent body, I take it that the Minister does not favour this idea. Is he prepared to reappoint the national AIDS co-ordinator, a post abolished by his predecessor almost a year ago?
I am satisfied that the National AIDS Strategy Committee is the most effective way of dealing with this problem. The former national AIDS co-ordinator is retained as a consultant to my Department and is a member of the national AIDS co-ordinating team. In fact, he was involved in the drawing-up of the methadone protocol. He is available to me for advice, and I shall take any such further action I deem appropriate to deal most effectively with the issues which arise.
The Minister in his reply referred to the legislation on condoms. Is he prepared to put a timeframe on this legislation? We have been hearing about this legislation since the Minister came to office. We also heard about the activities of the Office of Public Works in Clare and in regard to national monuments; legislation in these areas was passed with the agreement of the House within a matter of hours. Having regard to the fact that he confirmed, through the statistics he has given today, that the increase in HIV is within the heterosexual community, and not within the other at risk groups which were heretofore responsible for the increase in this infection, will the Minister take the matter a little more seriously?
I am sure that my short sojourn in the Department of Health seems a long time to the Deputy opposite, but I can assure him that the Bill is at an advanced stage of preparation and it is my objective to have it brought before the House to coincide with national AIDS day, which is this month.
I am sorry I cannot call Deputy McDaid. Standing Orders do not permit it.