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Wednesday, 12 Mar 2014

Written Answers Nos. 202-209

Debt Collection

Questions (202)

Róisín Shortall

Question:

202. Deputy Róisín Shortall asked the Minister for Health if his Department has provided guidelines for the use of debt collectors by hospitals; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [12276/14]

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Written answers

As this is a service matter, I have asked the HSE to respond directly to the Deputy.

Health Services Staff

Questions (203)

Terence Flanagan

Question:

203. Deputy Terence Flanagan asked the Minister for Health the action that is being taken to address the problem of health employers breaching the EU and Irish working time directive (details supplied); and if he will make a statement on the matter. [12278/14]

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Written answers

The Haddington Road Agreement provides for a process of negotiation under the auspices of the Labour Relations Commission in relation to this matter in respect of staff working in residential care settings. Following a referral to the Labour Court in early 2014, it was agreed that the matter should be referred back to the Labour Relations Commission for completion of discussions by 31 May 2014. A series of meetings is scheduled to take place in March and April involving my Department, the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform, the HSE, Service Providers and the Trade Unions representing the employees.

Departmental Funding

Questions (204, 241)

Dara Murphy

Question:

204. Deputy Dara Murphy asked the Minister for Health the reasons funding was withdrawn from an organisation (details supplied) in Dublin 24; if there are other options to source funding from his Department; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [12283/14]

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Niall Collins

Question:

241. Deputy Niall Collins asked the Minister for Health if his attention has been drawn to the fact that the Health Service Executive has made a decision to stop all Government funding to Teen-Line Ireland based in Tallaght, Dublin 24; if he will note that this is despite the Teen-Line Ireland helpline receiving 2,500 calls from teenagers in distress since the beginning of 2014; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [12455/14]

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Written answers

I propose to take Questions Nos. 204 and 241 together.

The Health Service Executive is the statutory body with responsibility for delivering Health and Personal Social Services in the State. The particular issues raised by the Deputies are service matters for the Health Service Executive. Accordingly I have arranged for the questions to be referred to the Health Service Executive for direct reply to the Deputies.

Proposed Legislation

Questions (205)

Clare Daly

Question:

205. Deputy Clare Daly asked the Minister for Health if he will clarify the consultation process between his Department and the general public in relation to the advance health care directives and the new capacity legislation. [12284/14]

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Written answers

On Tuesday 4 February 2014, the Government approved the publication of the draft General Scheme of the advance healthcare directive provisions for the purposes of a public consultation. The consultation process ran from Tuesday 4 February until Friday 7 March 2014. As of Monday 10 February the Department had received a total of 55 submissions to the consultation. The Department wished to have views on the draft General Scheme and welcomed the comments of individuals, institutions, agencies, organisations, and groups on the issue. The Department placed advertisements in the national press on Thursday 6 February requesting written submissions to the consultation and a press release relating to the consultation was also circulated to media outlets. A number of stakeholder organisations representing a range of different fields (e.g. medicine, law, health advocacy, disability, mental health, and older people and aging) were contacted directly and invited to make a submission to the consultation.

The Department established a dedicated webpage for this consultation process (http://www.dohc.ie/consultations/open/AHDs/). This webpage provided an overview of the consultation process, including a copy of the draft General Scheme of the advance healthcare directive provisions and a discussion document which summarised the draft General Scheme and outlined some structured questions to help interested parties focus their submissions. Submissions could be returned by post, to the Bioethics Unit in the Department, or via email to the dedicated email address set up for the consultation: advancedirectives@health.gov.ie. The Department will publish a summary of the submissions received as part of this public consultation on its website in the coming months.

In addition, during the period of the consultation process, the Irish Hospice Foundation’s Forum on End of Life in Ireland held a public meeting in relation to the draft General Scheme on Thursday 27 February. The Department’s Chief Bioethics Officer gave a presentation at this event and provided an overview of the draft legislative provisions for advance healthcare directives. Following the consultation process the advance healthcare directive provisions are to be incorporated into the Assisted Decision-Making (Capacity) Bill at Committee Stage, in line with a Government decision from 2013. It is envisaged that the Bill will be brought to Committee Stage in the coming months.

HSE Funding

Questions (206)

Marcella Corcoran Kennedy

Question:

206. Deputy Marcella Corcoran Kennedy asked the Minister for Health his plans to continue to provide services to the 727 members of Positive Action now that the Health Service Executive will no longer fund the support group. [12286/14]

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Written answers

The HSE has assured me that they will continue to provide every Health (Amendment) Act (HAA) cardholder with the best possible support and assistance in accessing their healthcare services to which they have a statutory entitlement under the terms of the Health (Amendment) Act l996. I understand this has been communicated to the Board of Directors of Positive Action on a number of occasions. This support and assistance is provided by the HSE on an on-going basis through the hepatitis C liaison officer structures and through the wide range of service providers who work on behalf of the HSE to ensure the needs of the patients infected with hepatitis C are met in an appropriate way.

Disability Support Services

Questions (207, 208, 209)

David Stanton

Question:

207. Deputy David Stanton asked the Minister for Health regarding assessments of need and service statements of the Disability Act 2005, the number of complaints under section 14(1)(b) received by the Health Service Executive since the commencement of the Act for children under six years; the number of these which have been upheld; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [12297/14]

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David Stanton

Question:

208. Deputy David Stanton asked the Minister for Health with regard to complaints under section 14(1)(b) of the Disability Act 2005, if he will provide a breakdown of the number of complaints received by each Health Service Executive area in each year since the commencement of the Act for children under six years; the number of same which were upheld in each HSE area; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [12298/14]

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David Stanton

Question:

209. Deputy David Stanton asked the Minister for Health with regard to assessments of need and service statements under the Disability Act 2005; the number of assessments carried out to date and the number of service statements issued since the commencement of the Act for children under six years; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [12299/14]

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Written answers

I propose to take Questions Nos. 207 to 209, inclusive, together.

As these questions concerning Part 2 of the Disability Act 2005 relate to detailed operational matters, my Department has asked the Health Service Executive to reply directly to the Deputy on the matters raised.

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