Seamus Healy
Question:252. Deputy Seamus Healy asked the Minister for Health the position regarding the mobility allowance and motorised transport schemes; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [24566/13]
View answerMobility Schemes Status
Questions (252)
Written answers
A Project Group, which is independently chaired by a former Civil Servant, has been established to seek an alternative method to provide for the priority transport needs of people in a manner that does not run counter to the Equal Status Acts. The work of the Project Group is being supported by the National Disability Authority and includes representatives from key disability sector organisations such as the Irish Wheelchair Association, the Disability Federation of Ireland, the Centre for Independent Living, along with an independent service user and advocate for people with disabilities and a former County Council Manager with relevant experience. Both Minister Reilly and myself have instructed the Project Group to seek solutions across the whole of Government, so that alongside representatives from the Department of Health and the Health Service Executive (HSE), membership also includes representatives from Pobal and from the Departments of Transport, Tourism & Sport, Environment, Community and Local Government, Social Protection and Finance and the Revenue Commissioners.
The Group, who will report to Government by the end of this month, has met six times, with the next meeting scheduled for 22nd May. The results of the review will be presented to the Government before any final decisions are made on future arrangements. At this stage, I am not in a position to pre-empt the outcome of the review or the decision of Government.
Medical Card Applications
Questions (253)
Finian McGrath
Question:253. Deputy Finian McGrath asked the Minister for Health the position regarding a medical card in respect of a person (details supplied) [24584/13]
View answerWritten answers
The Health Service Executive has been asked to examine this matter and to reply to the Deputy as soon as possible.
The Health Service Executive operates the General Medical Services scheme, which includes medical cards and GP visit cards, under the Health Act 1970, as amended. It has established a dedicated contact service for members of the Oireachtas specifically for queries relating to medical cards and GP visit cards, which the Deputy may wish to use for an earlier response. Contact information has recently reissued to Oireachtas members.
Speech and Language Therapy
Questions (254)
Michael McGrath
Question:254. Deputy Michael McGrath asked the Minister for Health the number of newly qualified speech and language graduates from Irish colleges that have been recruited by the Health Service Executive in 2011, 2012 and to date in 2013; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [24587/13]
View answerWritten answers
The detailed information sought by the Deputy in relation to the recruitment of newly qualified speech and language graduates in 2011, 2012 and to date in 2013 is a matter for the HSE and, accordingly, the Deputy's enquiry has been referred to the Executive for direct reply.
Disability Act Employment Targets
Questions (255)
Tom Fleming
Question:255. Deputy Tom Fleming asked the Minister for Health the target of his Department and subsidiary offices throughout the country regarding employment of persons with disabilities in the special category; if the target is being achieved; the total number of employees in that category currently and the percentage of the total workforce in his Department that it represents; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [24616/13]
View answerWritten answers
Public service bodies are subject to specific legal obligations under the Disability Act 2005 in relation to employment of people with disabilities. Part 5 of the Act sets out the requirement on public service bodies to promote and support the employment of people with disabilities; to comply with any statutory Code of Practice; to meet a target of 3% of employees with disabilities and to report every year on achievement of these obligations.
The target of 3% of employees with disabilities has been achieved in my Department for year ending 2012. The details are set out in the following table, which was included in our report for that year.
Employment of persons in the special category with disabilities - Department of Health
|
No of Employees with a Disability |
% of the Total Workforce |
Is target achieved |
|
14 |
3.7% |
Yes |
Freedom of Information Requests
Questions (256)
Caoimhghín Ó Caoláin
Question:256. Deputy Caoimhghín Ó Caoláin asked the Minister for Health when a Freedom of Information request from a person (details supplied) in Dublin 5 will be fulfilled; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [24681/13]
View answerWritten answers
The request referred to has been submitted to the Health Service Executive. Under the Freedom of Information legislation the Health Service Executive is a completely separate body from the Department of Health. Statutory responsibility for compliance with the provisions of the Freedom of Information Acts rests entirely with the Health Service Executive.
Provisions within the Freedom of Information legislation allow for an appeals process should any prescribed body fail to meet its requirements under the Acts.
Medical Card Applications
Questions (257)
Brendan Griffin
Question:257. Deputy Brendan Griffin asked the Minister for Health if he will grant a medical card on discretionary grounds to a person (details supplied) in County Kerry; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [24684/13]
View answerWritten answers
The Health Service Executive has been asked to examine this matter and to reply to the Deputy as soon as possible.
The Health Service Executive operates the General Medical Services scheme, which includes medical cards and GP visit cards, under the Health Act 1970, as amended. It has established a dedicated contact service for members of the Oireachtas specifically for queries relating to medical cards and GP visit cards, which the Deputy may wish to use for an earlier response. Contact information has recently reissued to Oireachtas members.
Ministerial Meetings
Questions (258)
Tom Fleming
Question:258. Deputy Tom Fleming asked the Minister for Health if he and his officials will meet with a delegation from St. Joseph's Home, Killorglin, County Kerry, at the earliest possible date to discuss the future viability of this home, which has 40 beds and employs 49 staff and has served the mid-, south and east Kerry area so well for many years; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [24685/13]
View answerWritten answers
Requests to meet my colleague the Minister, Deputy Reilly, are normally arranged through his office. Accordingly, I suggest that a representative of the delegation make contact with the Minister's office at ministers_office@health.gov.ie.
Food Safety Authority of Ireland Investigations
Questions (259)
Pearse Doherty
Question:259. Deputy Pearse Doherty asked the Minister for Health further to comments of 15 May 2013 by the British Member of Parliament, Anne McIntosh which criticized the Food Safety Authority of Ireland for failing to provide information to assist the probe into the horsemeat scandal in Britain, if he will outline the requests made to the FSAI by the British parliamentary probe and outline the responses provided. [24704/13]
View answerWritten answers
The fact that horsemeat was being substituted for beef in processed beef products came to light as a result of the work of the Food Safety Authority of Ireland (FSAI) following a survey it began in November 2012, the results of which were published in January 2013. This is a Europe wide problem involving many countries including the UK where the deceit had persisted unknown and undetected for some time. The work of Ireland's food control authorities has resulted in major changes in practice within the food processing industry and in the retail sector. It will also result in changes in EU food law. All of these changes are designed to ensure that there will be no recurrence of this deception and that consumer protection measures are strengthened.
The Environment Food and Rural Affairs Committee (EFRA) of the UK House of Commons is chaired by Anne McIntosh MP. Following the work of FSAI, the Committee began to inquire into food "contamination", that is the undeclared presence of horsemeat in beef products. The FSAI was invited to and did attend a meeting of the Committee on 23rd April 2013 to assist with its inquiries. The Committee appears to have formed a theory that Ireland is mainly responsible for the adulteration of beef products with horsemeat and that the FSAI conducted its survey of beef products based on a "tip off". Both of these suppositions are incorrect.
The FSAI survey of beef products was a routine activity. It was not based on a "tip off" or so called "intelligence". It was based on common sense and an understanding of the food chain which FSAI is required to police. A brief examination of the notifications from the EU's Rapid Alert for Food and Feed (RASFF) on adulteration of meat products shows that at least 23 countries were the source of adulterated products and the raw materials used came from at least 14 of those countries.
The EFRA Committee complained that the FSAI only informed the FSA UK about the results of its survey on 14th January 2013, the day before the FSAI issued its first press release on the subject. It is important to note that the FSAI was careful to ensure that its survey results were reliable and scientifically sound. Given the likely implications for trade and consumer confidence, FSAI was also careful not to be the source or cause of unfounded rumours about the authenticity of processed beef products. For these reasons, the FSAI was only in a position to inform the food business operators and my Department after it validated confirmatory tests which were received late on Friday 11th January. My Department advised me of the situation on Monday 14th January - the same day the Food Standards Agency (FSA) UK was informed.
The FSAI and the Food Standards Agency Northern Ireland (FSA NI) meet regularly and co-operate frequently on many levels, particularly in relation to food incidents. During 2012 the FSAI and the FSA UK also had a number of meetings and discussions in relation to the slaughter of horses destined for the food chain. On 23rd November 2012 at a scheduled meeting between the senior management teams of the FSAI and the FSA NI , FSAI informed FSA NI of the survey work which was in progress, and of the development of test methodology for horse DNA. FSAI also informed FSA UK's chief scientist on 10th January that authenticity checks on beef products were under way.
At all times the FSAI has communicated all relevant information on the outcome of the investigation to the food safety regulatory agencies across Europe (including the UK) and to Europol, the European policing agency. The FSAI does not accept the factually inaccurate and unfounded allegations being made by Anne McIntosh MP. Criminal investigations are under way across Europe by appropriate authorities and prosecutions may follow. The FSAI and the FSA UK have been collaborating with each other on this issue. Catherine Brown, CEO, FSA UK said at the EFRA Committee hearing on 14th May that there was no outstanding information from the FSAI. However, a number of enquiries to the UK authorities are still outstanding in relation to the role of a number of UK based companies which were significant suppliers of beef to processing companies in Ireland.
It is worth noting when the FSAI initiated the testing of the authenticity of the beef products, neither the FSA UK nor any other food control body including private inspection bodies were carrying out such checks on beef products for the presence of horsemeat. To conclude I would again emphasise that the FSAI considers there is no risk to consumer health associated with the identification of horse meat in certain beef burger products. The Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine has taken primary responsibility as the key issues concern labelling, traceability and potential fraud of meat products. More than 23 EU countries are now involved and investigations by the authorities are ongoing across Europe.