Written Answers Nos. 248-255
248. Deputy Willie Penrose asked the Minister for Health if the Labour Court has made its final recommendation in relation to the home helps in a case which has been brought by SIPTU to address issues in relation to the contractural situation for home helps throughout the country and when the final recommendations will be brought forward by the 14 January 2013; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [9218/13]
View answerOn 29 June 2012, the Labour Court recommended that the HSE and SIPTU should engage in relation to matters concerning home help contracts. The Court issued a further recommendation on 12th December 2012 noting that management proposals to deal with the issues raised would be encompassed in a comprehensive delivery model for home help services. It recommended a meeting between management and the unions in the week beginning 14th January.
Management and the Unions met on Friday 18th January 2013 and management outlined proposals to address the issues identified by the Labour Court. The parties had two further meetings in early February. A further meeting under the auspices of the LRC has been arranged for 27 February, 2013.
It would not be appropriate for me, as Minister, to comment further given that the issues are being addressed through the State's industrial relations machinery.
249. Deputy James Bannon asked the Minister for Health if he will provide a full medical card in respect of a person (details supplied) in County Longford in view of a change in circumstances. [9221/13]
View answerThe Health Service Executive has been asked to examine this matter and to reply to the Deputy as soon as possible.
250. Deputy James Bannon asked the Minister for Health the position regarding a hospital appointment in respect of a person (details supplied) in County Longford; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [9224/13]
View answerThe management of inpatient and daycase waiting lists for patients awaiting public health care is based on the principle that after urgent and cancer patients are treated, then clinically assessed routine patients should be seen in chronological order (i.e. longest waiter first).
Should the patient's general practitioner consider that the patient's condition warrants an earlier appointment, he/she would be in the best position to take the matter up with the consultant and hospital involved.
In relation to the specific query raised by the Deputy, as this is a service matter it has been referred to the HSE for direct reply.
252. Deputy Finian McGrath asked the Minister for Health if the Disability Act is working for persons with a disability; his views on whether disability funding or payments are following the person; if this will be improved; if administration costs will be reduced; and if the P.A. system will be improved in 2013. [9242/13]
View answerThe overall coordination of the implementation of the Disability Act 2005 is the responsibility of the Department of Justice and Equality. In respect of Part 2 of the Act, which is under the aegis of my Department, a Cross-Sectoral Team was established in 2006 to provide for a joint approach by the Department of Health and the Department of Education and Skills to the implementation of the Disability Act 2005 and the Education for Persons with Special Education Needs (EPSEN) Act 2004. The Team now includes a representative of the Department of Children and Youth Affairs.
Part 2 of the Disability Act 2005 provides disabled individuals with an entitlement to an independent assessment of need and a statement of proposed services to be provided, and allows them to pursue a complaint and, if necessary, make an appeal to the independent Disability Appeals Officer. Part 2 of the Act was commenced on 1 June 2007 in respect of children under the age of five. It had been intended to have both the Disability Act 2005 and the EPSEN Act 2004 fully implemented during 2010 for children and young people aged up to 18. However, in 2008 the then Government decided, in light of financial circumstances, to defer further implementation of both Acts. Notwithstanding this the Cross-Sectoral Team continues to meet to address issues of mutual concern for children with disabilities.
The Value for Money (VFM) and Policy Review of Disability Services which I published last year found that HSE funding is based on an incremental determination process with relevant adjustments made to the previous year’s baseline allocation. In recent years, the funding of new places has been made at local level on the basis of providing services to named individuals, but, once allocated, the funding does not remain associated with or follow that individual but is absorbed into the agency’s base. The move towards a model of funding which is linked to individual need, and which by definition will follow that individual, is encompassed by the recommendations in the VFM Review. It is intended that the actions recommended in the VFM Review will lay the groundwork for individualised budgeting once sufficient analysis of the benefits is carried out in the Irish context and adequate financial management, resource allocation and governance structures are in place to ensure its long-term viability. The priority is to further improve current services, while expediting the analysis of the benefits to be gained from a person-centred supports model and developing the administrative and governance infrastructure necessary for a more accountable and individualised service.
The VFM Review also looked at the issue of administration costs, and found that there were many factors influencing the percentage of an agency’s budget which was spent on administration, including the size and function of the agency. The Review found that it was difficult to draw any conclusions about a universal approach to the generation of management/ administration savings, which were likely to vary on a case by case basis. On the broader front, the VFM Review identified significant opportunities to achieve savings in agencies’ unit cost base and to reduce average costs across the sector. Savings in management/ administration costs would be a component in this overall cost reduction.
In terms of driving efficiencies, a number of administrative areas such as Human Resources, Finance, and Procurement are being examined and progressed through the work of the National Consultative Forum. The Health Service Executive remains committed to working with all voluntary disability service providers to ensure that all of the resources available for specialist disability services are used in the most efficient and effective manner possible.
The Minister for Health is working to ensure that protection is afforded to the Disability Sector and to the Social Care area as a whole. In 2013, the Health Service Executive is seeking to maximise the provision of services within available resources and to maintaining a consistent level to that provided in 2012, which includes the provision of 1.68 million hours of Personal Assistant/Home Support.
253. Deputy Patrick Nulty asked the Minister for Health if assistance and support can be provided to a person (details supplied) in Dublin 15; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [9245/13]
View answerIn relation to waiting list management in general, the National Waiting List Management Policy, A standardised approach to managing scheduled care treatment for in-patient, day case and planned procedures, January 2013, has been developed to ensure that all administrative, managerial and clinical staff follow an agreed national minimum standard for the management and administration of waiting lists for scheduled care. This policy, recently been adopted by the HSE, sets out the processes that hospitals are to implement to manage waiting lists. In relation to this particular query raised by the Deputy, I have asked the Health Service Executive to investigate the situation and respond directly to the Deputy in this matter.
254. Deputy Róisín Shortall asked the Minister for Health the position regarding the case of a Health Service Executive employee (details supplied); if he will outline this person's pension rights; the supports available to assist with recouping lost salary and pension payments following a serious illness prior to their return to work in 2011; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [9246/13]
View answerAs this is a service matter it has been referred to the HSE for direct reply.
255. Deputy Gerry Adams asked the Minister for Health the position regarding cochlear implants in respect of a child (details supplied) in County Louth; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [9248/13]
View answerThe Deputy will be aware from previous responses to his questions relating to cochlear implants, that bilateral cochlear implants are not routinely available at present. However, some bilateral implantation has already occurred for patients, mainly very young children with certain medical conditions such as a history of meningitis or blindness. Beaumont Hospital, HSE Management and the HSE’s Audiology Clinical Care Programme have met recently to discuss a joint process to identify the options for developing and resourcing a programme of simultaneous and sequential cochlear implantation. An important element of this will be the development of clear clinical criteria to prioritise clients for assessment and follow on implantation. The introduction of this service is a matter between the HSE and Beaumont hospital and the HSE has advised me that these plans will be progressed through the HSE 2014 estimates process.
256. Deputy Dominic Hannigan asked the Minister for Health the position regarding a possible redress scheme for those patients who were excluded from the redress scheme at Our Lady of Lourdes Hospital, Drogheda, County Louth, who were under the care of Dr. Neary; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [9251/13]
View answerA commitment was made in the Programme for Government to seek a mechanism to compensate those women who were excluded on age grounds alone from the Lourdes Hospital Redress Scheme. The Scheme of Redress approved by Government in 2007 was a non-statutory, ex-gratia scheme. Awards were determined by an independent Redress Board in 2007 and 2008.
My Department has been engaged in a review to identify the most appropriate mechanism to compensate these women. This review has included taking instructions and legal advice, including advice from the Office of the Attorney General, with a view to bringing proposals to Government for a decision. This process is ongoing, and it is my intention that it will be brought to a satisfactory, legally sound conclusion as quickly as possible.
257. Deputy Seamus Kirk asked the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport if there will be a sports capital programme for 2013; if so, when application forms will be available; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [9204/13]
View answerNo decision has been taken on the timing of the next round of the Sports Capital Programme.
258. Deputy Sean Fleming asked the Minister for Transport; Tourism and Sport further to Parliamentary Question No. 304 of 20 November 2012, if he has approved a voluntary severance programme for Dublin Port Company; if so, the terms of the offer; the number of redundancies involved; the overall cost of the offer; the way the offer compares to typical voluntary service schemes within the public service and commercial semi State sector; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [9205/13]
View answer262. Deputy Sean Fleming asked the Minister for Transport; Tourism and Sport if he has approved a voluntary severance programme for Dublin Port Company; the terms of the offer; the number of redundancies involved; the overall cost of the offer; the way the offer compares to typical voluntary service schemes in the commercial semi State companies under the responsibility of his Department; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [9206/13]
View answerI propose to take Questions Nos. 258 and 262 together.
The approval and implementation of the voluntary severance programme referred to by the Deputy is an operational matter for Dublin Port Company and one in which I have no function.
However, I am informed by the Company that in July 2012 the Board approved a voluntary severance programme which offers five choices as follows:
- Traditional voluntary severance
- Income streaming comprising a lump sum plus ongoing payments of a specific percentage of current salary up to age 60 years
- Paid career breaks
- Early retirement for individuals over 60 years of age
- Transfer from permanent full time to permanent part time.
I am informed that it is a ‘double voluntary’ scheme which means that employees are free to apply for redundancy but the Company are also free to decide whether to accept the application or not. I also understand that to date a total of 16 staff have exited or are in the process of exiting under the terms of the programme.
259. Deputy Michelle Mulherin asked the Minister for Transport; Tourism and Sport in view of the significant volume of heavy trucks drawing materials daily to and from the Corrib Gas development site since 2004 along the N59 which is the designated route as per planning permission and the consequent wear and tear and damage to this road particularly in sections between Ballina and Bellacorrick, the contribution Shell Ireland have been required to make towards this road for restoration and improvement works; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [8993/13]
View answer263. Deputy Michelle Mulherin asked the Minister for Transport; Tourism and Sport in view of the volume of heavy trucks drawing materials daily to and from the Corrib gas development site along the N59 since 2004 which is the designated route as per planning permission and the consequent wear and tear and significant damage to and poor surface condition of this road particularly in sections between Ballina and Bellacorrick which have seen no restoration nor improvement works for years and in view of the fact that the Bord Gáis pipeline crosses the road several times along this stretch of the road and since the pipes were laid in 2007 no overlay surface finish works, the plans and priority he and the National Roads Authority have to bring the entire section of this road to an acceptable standard in view of its significance to the region; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [9238/13]
View answerI propose to take Questions Nos. 259 and 263 together.
As Minister for Transport, I have responsibility for overall policy and funding in relation to the national roads programme. The maintenance of individual national roads is a matter for the National Roads Authority (NRA) under the Roads Acts 1993 to 2007 in conjunction with the local authorities concerned. Noting this, I have referred the Deputy's question to the NRA for direct reply. Please advise my private office if you don't receive a reply within 10 working days.
260. Deputy Seamus Kirk asked the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport if the funding arrangements for the Narrow Water Bridge project have been finalised and if he will outline the details of same; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [9131/13]
View answerFirstly I would like to explain that the improvement and maintenance of regional and local roads, in its area, is a statutory function of each road authority in accordance with the provisions of section 13 of the Roads Act, 1993.
Louth County Council and its project partners submitted the Narrow Water Bridge project for Interreg IVA funding and the project was approved for €17.4m in funding by the Special EU Programmes Body (SEUPB) on the basis that both my Department and the relevant Northern Ireland Authorities would provide financial support.
My Department subsequently approved an up-front contribution of €3.9 million. Confirmation of the balance of the funding is a matter for the Northern Ireland Authorities.
261. Deputy Timmy Dooley asked the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport the amount of money spent on advertising to Londoners last summer to visit here during the Olympics and the number of persons from there who visited here; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [9198/13]
View answerWhile no official statistics are available on visits from Londoners to Ireland, and it would not be feasible to collect such micro data to a sufficiently robust standard, the Central Statistics Office recently reported 2,774,200 visits from Great Britain to Ireland in 2012. With regard to the cost of advertising campaigns undertaken last year, this is an operational matter for Tourism Ireland Limited as the body responsible for promoting the island of Ireland as a visitor destination overseas. Accordingly, I have referred the Deputy's question to Tourism Ireland for direct reply. Please advise my private office if you do not receive a reply within ten working days.
Question No. 262 answered with Question No. 258.
Question No. 263 answered with Question No. 259.
