Noel Grealish
Question:187. Deputy Noel Grealish asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine when the agri-environment options scheme 2 payment will commence; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [13388/13]
View answerAgri-Environment Options Scheme Payments
Questions (187)
Written answers
Under the EU Regulations governing the Agri-environment Options Scheme (AEOS) and other area-based payment schemes, a comprehensive administrative check, including cross-checks with the Land Parcel Identification System, must be completed before any payment can issue.
Payments for the AEOS 2 2012 applications year have commenced and all applications which have cleared the administrative checking process have been paid. A large number of queries have arisen in relation to the claims submitted by participants in respect of the Capital Investment Option under the scheme. The Department has been in contact with the farmers involved and further payments are issuing as queries are resolved.
Water Fluoridation
Questions (188)
Billy Timmins
Question:188. Deputy Billy Timmins asked the Minister for Health his views on correspondence (details supplied) regarding fluoridation of the water supply here; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [13331/13]
View answerWritten answers
Surveys on children’s and adults’ oral health have been conducted on a regular basis to measure the effectiveness of water fluoridation. These include national studies in 1984, 1990, 2001 and 2002, regional studies between 1990 and 1999 and a cross border study in 2006. All of these studies showed a substantial benefit of fluoridation in terms of a reduction in tooth decay. The Health Research Board has recently approved funding for a study to be led by the Oral Health Services Research Centre of University College Cork. The Department of Health is a collaborator in the study. The study will consider the impact of changes on the oral health of children, following policy decisions relating to fluoride toothpaste use for infants and young children in 2002 and the reduced level of fluoridation in drinking water since 2007.
The Irish Expert Body on Fluorides and Health, which was established in 2004, monitors new and emerging issues on fluoride and its effects on health and related matters. The Expert Body provides advice and information on all aspects of water fluoridation. In evaluating ongoing research, the Expert Body accepts the fundamental scientific tenet that any single piece of scientific evidence by itself remains hypothetical unless it can be repeated or confirmed by other scientists. Therefore, it considers scientific evidence that has been submitted to examination by other scientists, usually by publication in recognised peer reviewed scientific journals, after such publication has been approved by independent referees. This ensures that the advice provided by the Expert Body is impartial and evidence-based. The Expert Body is satisfied that water fluoridation, at its optimal level, causes no ill effects to the health of adults or children. The effects of fluoridation on health and related matters are kept under constant review.
Hospital Waiting Lists
Questions (189)
Billy Kelleher
Question:189. Deputy Billy Kelleher asked the Minister for Health if he will provide quarterly waiting list figures for the ophthalmology department at Tullamore Hospital, County Offaly, for the years 2009 to 2012; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [13163/13]
View answerWritten answers
In relation to the particular query raised by the Deputy, as this is a service matter, I have asked the Health Service Executive to respond directly to the Deputy in this matter.
Home Help Service Provision
Questions (190)
Gerry Adams
Question:190. Deputy Gerry Adams asked the Minister for Health if he will provide a breakdown of the number of home help hours delivered in County Louth in 2010, 2011, 2012 and the number that will be delivered in 2013. [13173/13]
View answerWritten answers
As this is a service matter it has been referred to the Health Service Executive for direct reply.
Nursing Home Services
Questions (191)
Gerry Adams
Question:191. Deputy Gerry Adams asked the Minister for Health the number of public nursing home beds currently available in County Louth; and the number that were available when the Government took office in March 2011. [13174/13]
View answerWritten answers
As this is a service matter it has been referred to the Health Service Executive for direct reply.
Mental Health Services
Questions (192)
Gerry Adams
Question:192. Deputy Gerry Adams asked the Minister for Health the number of positions filled in the community and mental health services in County Louth; and the number vacant. [13175/13]
View answerWritten answers
As this is a service matter this question has been referred to the HSE for direct reply.
Hospital Services
Questions (193, 194)
Caoimhghín Ó Caoláin
Question:193. Deputy Caoimhghín Ó Caoláin asked the Minister for Health the position regarding the small hospitals framework; the hospitals included in the framework; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [13191/13]
View answerCaoimhghín Ó Caoláin
Question:194. Deputy Caoimhghín Ó Caoláin asked the Minister for Health the reason Monaghan Hospital was not included in the list of hospitals addressed in the context of the small hospitals framework; the other small hospitals that were also excluded; the reasons for same; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [13192/13]
View answerWritten answers
I propose to take Questions Nos. 193 and 194 together.
I plan to publish, with Government approval, Securing the Future of Smaller Hospitals: A Framework for Development to offer clear information about the role of our smaller hospitals and what they will do in the future.
While the Framework focuses in particular on the role of nine smaller hospitals, named below, which have been the subject of particular attention from the HIQA, the principles behind it will apply to all smaller hospitals, including Monaghan, regardless of whether or not they are specifically referenced.
Dublin North East:
- Our Lady’s Hospital Navan
- Louth County Hospital Dundalk
Dublin Mid Leinster:
- St. Colmcille’s Loughlinstown
South:
- Mallow
- Bantry
West:
- Ennis
- Nenagh
- St. John’s Limerick
- Roscommon County Hospital
In developing the framework to address the development of smaller hospitals, this Government is clear that:
- there is an important future role for smaller hospitals, in which they will provide services for more patients, not fewer
- no acute hospital will close, and
- safety issues in all acute hospitals, large or small, must be fully addressed, by providing the right type of service, for the right patient in the right setting.
This Framework will demonstrate clearly that the future of smaller hospitals is secure. It will set out what services can and should be delivered safely by these hospitals in the interest of better outcomes for patients.