Written Answers Nos. 375-389
376. Deputy Seán Ó Fearghaíl asked the Minister for Health if he will intervene in the case of a child (details supplied) in County Kildare who engages in self-injurious behaviour and for whom an assessment of needs has been completed some considerable time ago; if he will ensure that the Health Service Executive provides the required speech, language and other therapies recommended; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [45305/14]
View answerAs the particular issue raised by the Deputy relates to an individual case, this is a service matter for the Health Service Executive. Accordingly, I have arranged for the question to be referred to the HSE for direct reply to the Deputy. If you have not received a reply from the HSE within 15 working days please contact my Private Office and they will follow up the matter with them.
377. Deputy Seán Ó Fearghaíl asked the Minister for Health the situation that exists regarding disability services for children and young persons in County Kildare since network disability teams where established in May 2014, if he will indicate the increase or otherwise in the number of children receiving active attention; if he will further indicate the staffing levels in place in each team; the vacancies that exist within teams; the measurements being sought to fill these vacancies; the timeframe with which a full compliment of staff and services will be available for each team; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [45306/14]
View answerAs the Deputy's question relates to service matters, I have arranged for the question to be referred to the Health Service Executive for direct reply to the Deputy. If you have not received a reply from the HSE within 15 working days please contact my Private Office and they will follow up the matter with them.
380. Deputy Charlie McConalogue asked the Minister for Health when a decision will be made on a medical card application in respect of persons (details supplied) in County Donegal; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [45357/14]
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. If the Deputy has not received a reply from the HSE within 15 working days, please contact my Private Office who will follow up the matter with them.
381. Deputy Finian McGrath asked the Minister for Health the position regarding a hospital appointment and operation in respect of a person (details supplied) in Dublin 5; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [45369/14]
View answerThe National Waiting List Management Policy, A standardised approach to managing scheduled care treatment for in-patient, day case and planned procedures, January 2014, 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, which has been adopted by the Health Service Executive, sets out the processes that hospitals are to implement to manage waiting lists.
In relation to the particular query raised, as this is a service matter, I have asked the HSE to respond to you directly. If you have not received a reply from the HSE within 15 working days please contact my Private Office and my officials will follow the matter up with them.
382. Deputy Finian McGrath asked the Minister for Health the position regarding a hospital appointment and operation in respect of a person (details supplied) in Dublin 5; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [45370/14]
View answerThe National Waiting List Management Policy, A standardised approach to managing scheduled care treatment for in-patient, day case and planned procedures, January 2014, 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, which has been adopted by the Health Service Executive, sets out the processes that hospitals are to implement to manage waiting lists.
In relation to the particular query raised, as this is a service matter, I have asked the HSE to respond to you directly. If you have not received a reply from the HSE within 15 working days please contact my Private Office and my officials will follow the matter up with them.
383. Deputy Aengus Ó Snodaigh asked the Minister for Health the reason for the delay in a person (details supplied) in County Offaly having prolapsed disc surgery performed in the Mater hospital, Dublin; and if they will be provided with a date for the surgery as soon as possible due to the high level of pain they are in. [45377/14]
View answerThe National Waiting List Management Policy, A standardised approach to managing scheduled care treatment for in-patient, day case and planned procedures, January 2014, 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, which has been adopted by the Health Service Executive, sets out the processes that hospitals are to implement to manage waiting lists.
As this is a service matter, I have asked the HSE to respond to you directly. If you have not received a reply from the HSE within 15 working days please contact my Private Office and my officials will follow the matter up.
384. Deputy Billy Kelleher asked the Minister for Health with regard to the rebate of prescription charges to persons with medical cards under the long-term illness scheme, the maximum rebate available per person; the total number of applications for rebates that have been made; the number of rebates that have been paid; the number of approved rebates that have yet to be repaid; the number of applications that have not yet been decided on; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [45398/14]
View answerUnder the Health (Pricing and Supply of Medical Goods) Act 2013, the Health Service Executive (HSE) has statutory responsibility for the administration of the primary care schemes, including the Long Term Illness Scheme, therefore the matter has been referred to the HSE for attention and direct reply to the Deputy.
If you have not received a reply from the HSE within 15 working days please contact my Private Office and they will follow up the matter with them.
385. Deputy Joe Costello asked the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade the value of products imported into Ireland from Israel benefitting from the preferential tariff under the EU-Israel Association Agreement in 2011, 2012 and 2013; the sectors that have qualified for the preferential tariff under the EU-Israel Association Agreement in 2011, 2012 and 2013; the value of products imported into Ireland that were produced in the Israeli settlements located within the territories brought under Israeli administration since June 1967 that are not entitled to benefit from the preferential tariff treatment under the EU-Israel Association Agreement in 2011, 2012 and 2013; if there is a system in place for checking that products imported either directly or indirectly into Ireland from Israel under the EU-Israel Association Agreement are products from within Israel's pre-1967 borders as opposed to its post-1967 borders; if Ireland checks, and if so with what regularity; if goods imported directly or indirectly into Ireland from Israel under the EU-Israel Association Agreement are actually produced within Israel's pre-1967 borders as opposed to its post-1967 borders; the value of goods imported into Ireland from those parts of Palestine not under the control of Israel in the years 2011, 2012 and 2013; the measures taken to ensure that the exact origin of products are accurately described; the value of products imported from the West Bank and Gaza to Ireland in 2011, 2012 and 2013; the considerations that have been given to excluding settlement products from the Irish market including from public procurement; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [44914/14]
View answerThe question of excluding settlement products from the market has been discussed many times in the Oireachtas. Ireland is a member of a trading union, and external trade policy is a competence of the European Union. It is not therefore possible to exclude settlement products from the Irish market alone. Ireland has stated previously that it could support the exclusion of settlement products from the EU market, but there is no possibility at present of such a policy receiving sufficient support within the Council.
The principal current sanction against settlement products is that they are not eligible for the lower tariffs on import to the EU which are applied to goods from Israel and from many other states. The European Commission has established certain administrative measures to distinguish settlement goods from those originating in Israel, based on post codes. The onus is on the importer to demonstrate that the goods being imported are entitled to the lower rate.
As with imports from any area where differing tariffs are applied, the possibility exists of exporters or importers deliberately seeking to confuse eligibility so as to benefit from lower tariffs. This is a standard problem for police and revenue authorities to combat in the usual way.
Existing place of origin rules in the EU do not require place of origin marking on all goods. Where such origin is marked, however, on either a statutory or voluntary basis, it requires that such marking be accurate, in other words that goods produced in settlements should not be labelled as coming from somewhere else, including Israel. Moves are being considered to issue guidelines to make this distinction more clear to importers and retailers, but it is already a principle in EU law.
Trade statistics are compiled by the Central Statistics Office and those in respect of imports from Israel and/or the Occupied Palestinian Territory are on public access on that Office’s website.
386. Deputy Finian McGrath asked the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade if he will provide an up to date figure on the number of undocumented Irish in the USA; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [44809/14]
View answerWhile it is difficult to estimate the exact number of undocumented Irish citizens in the US, Irish immigration centres, community groups and the relevant US authorities, estimate the number at around 50,000. They are individuals who are in breach of US immigration law but have no means of regularising their status. Most have deep ties in the US, where they have been otherwise compliant with the law, including paying their taxes. They wish the US government to develop a mechanism which would allow them to acquire a documented right to continue their lives in the US, to participate fully in the life of their adopted communities and to travel in and out of the country.
387. Deputy Brendan Smith asked the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade if he is satisfied with the progress being made to find a lasting solution to the conflict in the Middle East; the actions he has taken to contribute to that lasting peace; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [44821/14]
View answerConsiderable efforts have been made in recent years, most notably the work of US Secretary of State Kerry, to work towards a lasting solution to the conflict in the Middle East. But in current circumstances, with no negotiations taking place between the parties and a deteriorating situation on the ground, and in the aftermath of the disastrous conflict in Gaza earlier this year, no-one could consider that satisfactory progress is being made.
It is only reasonable to acknowledge that a number of serious crises in the wider Middle East and elsewhere have also made great demands on the attention and resources of the international community in recent years.
But it remains our view that the EU and the wider international community need to work and press harder for the achievement of a solution to the long running Israeli-Arab dispute.
Ireland has worked and will continue to work, at EU and UN level and in our bilateral relations, to encourage that necessary focus. Above all, however, a solution to the conflict needs leadership of vision and courage from the leaders of the parties directly concerned, leadership which has in some quarters been sadly lacking.
388. Deputy Brendan Smith asked the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade if his attention has been drawn to the current Israeli policy of detaining Palestinian children in prisons; if he condemns this policy; if he will raise this matter at the EU Foreign Affairs Council; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [44822/14]
View answerReports of the systemic mistreatment of Palestinian children in the Occupied West Bank and East Jerusalem are of deep concern and an issue on which Ireland has been active for some time.
In October 2013, during the universal periodic review of Israel’s human rights record, Ireland expressed this concern and urged Israel to fully implement the recommendations of the February 2013 UNICEF report, entitled “Children in Israeli Military Detention”. We recommended that Israel end urgently night arrests of Palestinian children, the admissibility in evidence in military courts of written confessions in Hebrew signed by Palestinian children, the use of solitary confinement and the denial of access to family members or to legal representation.
Similar concerns have been expressed by the UN Secretary General, e.g. in his report on human rights in the Occupied Palestinian Territory including East Jerusalem dated 22 August 2013. This issue was also addressed in recent observations issued by the expert-level UN Human Rights Committee which expressed concern at reports of ‘widespread, systematic and institutionalised ill-treatment of Palestinian children’ in detention facilities.
Bilaterally, our concerns regarding the detention of Palestinian minors have been raised as part of our ongoing dialogue with the Israeli authorities on the overall situation in the Occupied Palestinian Territory and Israel’s treatment of the Palestinian population, both with the Israeli Embassy here and through our own Embassy in Tel Aviv.
The overall human rights situation in Israel and the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including the treatment of children in detention, remains a matter of concern for my Department and will continue to be raised in the relevant multilateral fora, and to feature in the EU’s broader concerns about human rights in the area.
Similar concerns would exist in relation to the detention of children in many other states in the region.
389. Deputy Brendan Smith asked the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade his views that Israel and Palestine are fulfilling the ceasefire agreement currently in place; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [44823/14]
View answerThe ceasefire in Gaza which came into effect on 26 August achieved the overriding objective of bringing an end to the massive violence and loss of life caused by the fighting. Since Ireland is not privy to the terms of the ceasefire, we are not in a position to comment on the extent to which the ceasefire agreement is being fulfilled, although the general judgement is that it has been observed by both sides.
However, I have always made clear that a cessation of fire, while urgent and essential, is not of itself sufficient to address the problems of Gaza. Ireland’s view is that political discussions need to continue, to tackle the two recurring aspects of the problem – the unacceptable continuation of attacks into Israel from Gaza, and the arbitrary closure policy and restrictions imposed on Gaza by Israel, most of which have no security justification.
While we welcome that talks aimed at achieving a more sustainable ceasefire are planned, under Egyptian stewardship, real progress in putting such a sustainable ceasefire in place is still awaited. The disastrous cycle of violence which we witnessed this summer is destined to recur sooner rather than later if there is no political will or serious efforts undertaken to resolve the problems that lie behind it.
