Written Answers Nos. 227-238
227. Deputy Éamon Ó Cuív asked the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs if children attending new community child care services are eligible for the child care subvention, subject to the normal terms; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [15840/14]
View answerThe Community Childcare Subvention (CCS) programme which is implemented by my Department provides funding to community childcare not-for-profit services to enable them to provide quality childcare at reduced rates to disadvantaged and low income working parents. The programme is also accessible to parents who have relatively average incomes on the basis of their entitlement to hold a GP visit card.
Community childcare services must be in contract with my Department in order to participate in the CCS programme. However, because of the current budgetary situation no new applications for entry into the CCS programme by service providers are being considered at this time.
228. Deputy Éamon Ó Cuív asked the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs if there are any capital grants available to community child care facilities to improve their premises and add extra spaces and capacity to them; the details of such assistance; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [15841/14]
View answerCapital funding in the region of €420 million was provided to community and commercial childcare providers in the period 2000 to 2008 for the refurbishment and development of childcare facilities under the Equal Opportunities Childcare Programme (EOCP) and the National Childcare Investment Programme (NCIP). Because of the economic difficulties it has not been possible to provide any substantial capital funding to support developments in the childcare sector since 2009.
I did secure capital funding totalling €6m in Budget 2012 to provide for the refurbishment of services in which substantial Government capital and support funding had already been invested. I was also successful in securing €2.75m in capital funding in Budget 2013 to support the ongoing improvement of established childcare services participating in one or more of the childcare support programmes implemented by my Department.
While I hope to be in a position to allocate further capital funding to childcare providers for the refurbishment of childcare facilities, I do not expect that this funding will be sufficient to provide for any large scale developments.
229. Deputy Bernard J. Durkan asked the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs if her Department has received requests from Kildare Youth Services for extra funding to meet the needs of Leixlip Youth Project in view of the heavy demands at the current time; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [15910/14]
View answerMy Department administers a range of funding schemes and programmes to support the provision of youth services to young people throughout the country including those from disadvantaged communities. Targeted supports for disadvantaged, marginalised and at risk young people are provided through the Special Projects for Youth Scheme, the Young Peoples Facilities and Services Fund, Rounds 1 and 2, Local Drugs Task Force Projects and certain other programmes including the Local Youth Club Grant Scheme and Youth Information Centres. The funding schemes support national and local youth work provision to some 400,000 young people and involve approximately, 1,400 youth work staff in 477 projects and 40,000 volunteers working in youth work services and communities throughout the country. In 2014, current funding of €49.78m has been provided to my Department for these schemes.
In 2014, funding of €488,200 has been allocated for projects and services under Kildare Youth Service, which operates under Youth Work Ireland. This includes funding of €86,264 for the Leixlip Youth Project. In addition, Kildare Youth Hub, Kildare Town has recently received approval for a capital grant of €50,000 towards the cost of developing a new youth café facility.
Representations on behalf of Kildare Youth Service have been made to my Department. Officials from my Department have met with Youth Work Ireland and Kildare Youth Service to discuss their work and plans.
My Department, along with all government departments, is required to deliver substantial savings on all funding programmes in line with the Comprehensive Review of Expenditure (CRE). My Department, in determining the annual allocations for youth programmes, while having regard to the CRE, has sought to ensure that, as far as is possible, the focus is maintained on the front line youth services particularly those for the most vulnerable young people. This year, I secured an additional €1m in the 2014 Budget to offset the impact of the CRE on the youth services. As a result the overall reduction in 2014 budgets for the youth services at 3.75 % was significantly less than had been indicated in the CRE.
I am aware of the challenges that the budgetary constraints raise for the youth services throughout the country and its impact on projects such as the Leixlip Youth Project. I, and officials of my Department have met and will continue to meet with many youth organisations and groups to try and see how we can work together to ensure the most effective and efficient use of the resources available in order to continue to support the provision of quality and responsive youth services for young people.
230. Deputy Michael Healy-Rae asked the Minister for Health his views on correspondence (details supplied) regarding plain packaging; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [15899/14]
View answerAs the Deputy will be aware, I received Government approval on 19th November 2013 to proceed with drafting the Public Health (Standardised Packaging of Tobacco) Bill 2013. Standardised packaging, also known as generic packaging, means that all forms of branding – trademarks, logos, colours and graphics – would be removed, except for the brand and variant names, which would be presented in a uniform typeface for all brands on the market. All packs would be in a plain neutral colour, except for the mandatory health warnings and the tax stamp. The objective is to make all tobacco packs look less attractive to consumers and to make health warnings more prominent.
Article 8.1 of the World Trade Organisation Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights agreement states that members may, in formulating or amending their laws and regulations, adopt measures necessary to protect public health, provided such measures are consistent with the provisions of the agreement. The introduction of standardised packaging forms the latest strand of a comprehensive range of tobacco control legislation already in place in Ireland aimed at decreasing tobacco consumption in this country.
231. Deputy Michael Healy-Rae asked the Minister for Health his views on correspondence (details supplied); and if he will make a statement on the matter. [15900/14]
View answerThe report to which the Deputy refers was carried out jointly by the Office for Harmonization in the Internal Market (OHIM) in the EU and the European Patent Office and is the first ever EU-wide study of the impact of Intellectual Property Rights on the European economy in terms of GDP, employment, wages and trade. According to the study, Ireland rates first in terms of GDP share in all IPR-intensive industries in the EU, first for GDP share of copyright-intensive industries and, first for GDP share of trade mark-intensive industries. Ireland performs well also in relation to other rankings and as the Deputy noted, Ireland has the highest percentage of IP-intensive employment from industries based outside the European Union. This can be attributed to the level of high quality foreign direct investment that we have successfully attracted to Ireland.
I assume that the Deputy’s question is in response to the proposal to introduce standardised packaging for tobacco products. As the Deputy will be aware, I received Government approval on 19th November 2013 to proceed with drafting the Public Health (Standardised Packaging of Tobacco) Bill 2013. However, this is not a proposal to remove intellectual property rights from the tobacco industry as the Deputy suggests.
Standardised packaging, also known as plain or generic packaging, means that all forms of branding – trademarks, logos, colours and graphics – would be removed from retail tobacco packaging, except for the brand and variant names, which would be presented in a uniform typeface for all brands on the market. All packs would be in a plain neutral colour, except for the mandatory health warnings and the tax stamp. Standardised packaging would remove a key remaining means for the tobacco industry to promote its products to billions of the world’s smokers and future smokers.
The Deputy may be aware that as of 14th March 2014, the EU Council formally approved the Tobacco Products Directive, which will revise the law regulating tobacco products on the EU market. The Directive governs the manufacture, presentation and sale of tobacco and related products, and was officially adopted by the Council following its formal approval by the European Parliament in February. This new Directive will improve the functioning of the internal market for tobacco and related products, while ensuring a high level of health protection for European citizens.
While the revised Directive does not go so far as to introduce standardised packaging on an EU-wide basis, it expressly allows Member States to introduce further requirements in relation to standardised packaging. The proposed standardised packaging legislation will be a proportionate and non-discriminatory measure, justified on grounds of the protection of public health and which, contrary to the Deputy's assertion, will not remove IP rights.
Ireland has a robust legal framework in place to protect IP, a fact that is well recognised globally. This Government continues to focus on ensuring that Ireland’s intellectual property regime compares favourably with best international practice. In particular, actions arising from the Action Plan for Jobs target enhancements to Ireland’s IP regime to ensure that the regime allows for innovation which in turn contributes to job creation. The intention is to further reinforce Ireland’s reputation as a country where strong IP rights play a crucial role and strengthen Ireland’s already established reputation as a good place in which to do business.
232. Deputy Brendan Griffin asked the Minister for Health if an appointment for a sleep deprived electroencephalogram scan will be provided to a person (details supplied) in County Kerry; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [15688/14]
View answerIn relation to the particular patient query raised by the Deputy, as this is a service matter, I have asked the Health Service Executive to respond to him directly.
233. Deputy Brian Stanley asked the Minister for Health when a person (details supplied) in County Laois will be called for surgery. [15690/14]
View answerIn relation to the particular patient query raised by the Deputy, as this is a service matter, I have asked the Health Service Executive to respond to him directly.
234. Deputy Paul J. Connaughton asked the Minister for Health his plans for the upgrading of the health centre in Portumna, County Galway; the plans that exist for a new primary care centre in Portumna; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [15692/14]
View answerThe development of primary care is central to the Government's objective to deliver a high quality, integrated and cost effective health care system.
In 2012 the HSE completed a prioritisation exercise for all primary care centre locations. In addition to the locations' ranks as a result of the prioritisation exercise, the mechanism and timescale for delivery of primary care infrastructure is dependent on a number of factors including GP participation. GP commitment to sharing accommodation with HSE staff and delivering health care services from these facilities is important for primary care centre delivery.
The primary care infrastructure model offers a good fit for public private financing. Significant progress has been achieved using the operational lease mechanism and the HSE continues to work with the private sector to deliver primary care centres by this means. Regardless of the delivery mechanism, all potential primary care centres are also subject to suitable locations being offered/provided/available and to successful planning processes. Delivery of primary care infrastructure is a dynamic exercise, constantly evolving to take account of changing circumstances including the feasibility of implementation.
As with all capital projects the primary care infrastructure programme including this location must be considered within the overall capital envelope available to the health service. There will always be more projects than can be funded by the Exchequer. There is limited funding available for new projects over the period 2014-2018 given the level of commitments and the costs to completion already in place.
235. Deputy Billy Timmins asked the Minister for Health the position regarding a medical card application in respect of a person (details supplied); and if he will make a statement on the matter. [15695/14]
View answerThe 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 issued to Oireachtas members.
236. Deputy Olivia Mitchell asked the Minister for Health if he will provide an update on the Health Service Executive’s Progressing Disability Service for Children and Young People programme in Dublin South; when the new network disability teams will be in operation; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [15702/14]
View answer237. Deputy Olivia Mitchell asked the Minister for Health if he will provide in tabular form the number of children attending ASD units in Dublin South who are not receiving clinical services; the number of children attending ASD units in Dublin south on waiting lists for clinical services; the estimated waiting time for access to clinical services in Dublin South; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [15703/14]
View answer238. Deputy Olivia Mitchell asked the Minister for Health his plans to address the matter of children attending ASD units in Dublin South who are not receiving clinical therapies such as psychology, occupational therapy, physiotherapy and speech and language supports, due to long waiting lists for services in the area; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [15704/14]
View answerI propose to take Questions Nos. 236 to 238, inclusive, together.
The HSE has recognised the need to increase the level of consistency and standardisation in the way services for children with disabilities, including those with Autistic Spectrum Disorder (ASD), are delivered. It is currently engaged in a reconfiguration of existing therapy resources to multidisciplinary geographic based teams for children as part of the National Programme on Progressing Disability Services for Children and Young People (0-18 years).
The aim of the Progressing Disability Services for Children and Young People Programme is to achieve a national, unified approach to delivering disability health services so that there is a clear pathway to services for all children, regardless of where they live, what school they go to or the nature of their disability. An additional €4m has been specifically allocated in 2014 to drive implementation of the Programme. This equates to approximately 80 therapy posts.
Almost 60 geographic-based multi-disciplinary teams have been established to date under the Programme as part of the reconfigured service model. It is hoped that a further 30 teams will be reconfigured this year, bringing the overall total to approximately 90 teams by the end of 2014. These figures reflect all children's disability teams that provide early intervention and school age services to children aged up to eighteen years. The transition to this new model is taking place on a phased basis and, importantly, includes consultation and engagement with stakeholders, such as service users and their families.
Within this context I have asked the HSE to respond to the Deputy on the re-configuration of children’s disability services in South Dublin and on the detailed operational data that she has sought.
