Written Answers Nos. 552-566
552. Deputy Billy Kelleher asked the Minister for Health to set out the number of staff at national director level, assistant national director level, general manager level and grade VIII level in the Health Service Executive on 1 July 2012, 2013, 2014 and 2015. [30017/15]
View answerI have asked the HSE to respond to the Deputy directly on the matter. 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.
553. Deputy Denis Naughten asked the Minister for Health to set out the total cost of public advertising, statutory and non-statutory, funded by his Department in 2013 and in 2014; the corresponding figure for agencies under the control of his Department; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [30027/15]
View answerThe specific information requested by the Deputy in respect of my Department is being compiled and I will reply directly to the Deputy as soon as possible.
Expenditure by other bodies under the aegis of the Department is an operational matter for the body concerned and the Deputy should contact the relevant Director/CEO/Registrar directly. I have requested the HSE to respond directly to the Deputy in respect of relevant expenditure. 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.
554. Deputy Denis Naughten asked the Minister for Health to set out the cost in 2013 and 2014 of printing reports by his Department and agencies under the control of his Department; the corresponding figure for annual reports; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [30042/15]
View answerThe specific information requested by the Deputy in respect of my Department is being compiled and I will reply directly to the Deputy as soon as possible.
Expenditure by other bodies under the aegis of the Department is an operational matter for the body concerned and the Deputy should contact the relevant Director/CEO/Registrar directly. I have requested the HSE to respond directly to the Deputy in respect of relevant expenditure. 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.
555. Deputy Denis Naughten asked the Minister for Health to set down the cost in 2013 and 2014 of issuing hard copy payslips to staff or retired staff by his Department and agencies under the control of his Department; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [30057/15]
View answerThe majority of staff in my Department (97.5%) receive their payslips on-line. Payslips are posted to 5 weekly paid staff and 4 fortnightly paid staff as they have no access to the on-line payslip available on the Department's internal computer network. During the year, on request, payslips may also be posted to those availing of the Shorter Working Year. The estimated annual cost in 2013 and 2014 was approximately €300.
Operational matters relating to Commercial and Non-Commercial Agencies under the aegis of my Department are a matter for the relevant Director / CEO / Registrar, and as such, the Deputy may wish to contact these agencies himself.
With regard to HSE staff, I have asked the HSE to respond to the Deputy directly. 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.
556. Deputy Lucinda Creighton asked the Minister for Health if he will outline and itemise all expenditure undertaken by his Department on private travel for his and-or for his private office, on legal fees, consultancy fees and hotel accommodation during the 12-month period to 30 June 2015; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [30072/15]
View answerThe Department undertook no expenditure on private travel for me or staff in my private office. Expenditure undertaken by the Department on hotel accommodation for me or staff in my private office in respect of official business is set out in the following table. I will revert to the Deputy with additional information for the months of April May and June. The information requested by the Deputy regarding legal fees is being compiled and I will reply directly to the Deputy as soon as possible. The Department's total expenditure in the A7 subhead consultancy for 2014 is as per the following table. It is the policy in my Department only to engage the services of external consultants where it is felt to be appropriate and cost-effective, taking account of Government decisions and policy on the matter. Information for the period from January 2015 to 30 June 2015 is being compiled and I will reply directly to the Deputy as soon as possible.
|
YEAR 2014 |
Total 1,554,511 |
|
A7 Subhead |
Expenditure € |
|
Milliman Ltd. |
48,612 |
|
Ernst & Young |
39,545 |
|
Ms Adebanke Oluborobe |
19,600 |
|
Prospectus Strategy Consultants |
24,143 |
|
PA Consulting |
701,764 |
|
Dr. Mary O'Riordan |
62,501 |
|
NUIG |
23,935 |
|
DCU |
20,096 |
|
UCC |
12,422 |
|
Ms Marissa O'Grady |
6,867 |
|
Research Matters Ltd. |
91,624 |
|
Purchasing Solutions Ltd |
4,429 |
|
Prof. David Hammond |
6,889 |
|
Irish Hospice Foundation engaged consultants |
40,000 |
|
Deloitte & Touche |
36,900 |
|
Prospectus Strategy Consultants |
72,294 |
|
Crowe Horwarth |
39,177 |
|
Prospectus Strategy Consultants |
6,209 |
|
Dr Barry Gibson |
10,005 |
|
Trutz Haase |
11,563 |
|
Mr Paul Batchelor, OCC Ltd |
7,996 |
|
Target Health Ltd. Dr Anne Hope |
12,915 |
|
Research Matters Ltd. |
30,110 |
|
ESRI/SWITCH |
212,000 |
|
Metis Consulting Ltd. |
12,915 |
|
Period of travel |
Amount |
Description |
|
From 29/01/2015 to 30/01/2015 |
€140.00 |
Clarion Hotel, Limerick visiting University Hospital Limerick |
|
From 08/02/2015 to 11/02/2015 |
€601.95 |
Standard Rooms in Hotel D, Strasbourg |
|
From 14/03/2015 to 22/03/2015 |
€1,821.05 |
Presidente Intercontinental Hotel, Mexico City |
557. Deputy Tom Fleming asked the Minister for Health if he will examine and expedite an application for a medical card by a person (details supplied) in County Kerry; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [30081/15]
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.
558. Deputy Terence Flanagan asked the Minister for Health if he will commit to allocating more funding to the St. Francis Hospice in Dublin (details supplied); and if he will make a statement on the matter. [30092/15]
View answerAs this is a service matter it has been referred to the Health Service Executive for direct reply. 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.
559. Deputy Mary Lou McDonald asked the Minister for Health to outline the position regarding an application for dental braces for a child (details supplied) in Dublin 1; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [30100/15]
View answerAs 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.
560. Deputy Lucinda Creighton asked the Minister for Health if he is responsible for all board appointments where such power to appoint persons to State boards is vested in him by statute; if any politically appointed State employee outside of his Department is involved in decision-making concerning such appointments, in particular, if, during the lifetime of the Government, a named person (details supplied) has had any influence over any appointments made by him; if he or officials from his Department have corresponded with that person regarding the composition of and appointments to State boards to which he has statutory power to make appointments; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [30112/15]
View answerIn line with Government Decision S180/20/10/1617 of 2014, relating to the advertising for expressions of interest in vacancies on State Boards, and Department of Public Expenditure and Reform Guidelines, my Department in conjunction with the new Public Appointments Service website portal, Stateboards.ie, currently advertises for board vacancies as they arise, where I, as Minister for Health, have nominating rights under relevant legislation. In some cases I may decide to re-appoint a board member for a second term, which is in keeping with the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform's Guidelines. I also appoint members on the nomination of various bodies in accordance with the relevant legislation. I have no function in these nominations other than the actual appointments. The advertising process began in 2012 in my Department.
In response to a recent FOI request from the Deputy regarding correspondence with the person named in this Parliamentary Question, my Department, following an examination of all files since February 2012, did not find any record relating to the composition of, or appointments to, State Boards under the aegis of the Minister for Health.
561. Deputy Denis Naughten asked the Minister for Health to set out the total current and capital funding allocated to his Department; the underspend or overspend in 2015 to date under each category based on his Department's spending profile; the funding made available within and external to his Department's functions to support innovation; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [30127/15]
View answerThe net provision for the Health Vote (Vote 38) in 2015 is €12.221 billion, comprising €11.839 billion current and €382 million capital expenditure. This funding is for the salaries and expenses of the Office of the Minister for Health and certain other services administered by that Office, including grants to the Health Service Executive and grants to research, consultative and advisory bodies.
At end June Vote 38 is €32 million over profile, €28 million current and €4 million capital. The main overspends are in relation to expenditure on acute hospitals, demand-led schemes and legal settlements.
562. Deputy Denis Naughten asked the Minister for Health if his Department or agencies under the authority of his Department have performed an assessment of the potential savings to be accrued, if current paper-based application processes by members of the public were replaced with a fully online application system; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [30142/15]
View answerMy Department does not routinely operate application processes.
I have asked the Health Service Executive to respond to the Deputy directly in respect of the application processes that it operates. If you have not received a reply from the HSE within 15 days please contact my Private Office and they will follow up the matter with them.
563. Deputy Brendan Smith asked the Minister for Health if he will confirm whether the short form registration will be adequate to meet the registration requirements of CORU - Regulating Health and Social Care Professionals, the members of whom are long-term employees of the Health Service Executive, as outlined by him in a reply to written representations relating to registration requirements; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [30149/15]
View answerI am assuming that this question relates to Garda vetting and police clearance of applicants for registration by CORU.
I am advised that CORU requires applicants to provide supporting documentation that have been set out in the by-laws made by the registration boards following extensive public consultation across the professions. As part of the registration process applicants are required to show they are fit and proper persons to engage in the practice of the profession. For this reason Garda vetting of all applicants and police clearance for applicants who lived outside of Ireland for more than a year is required. Most applicants will have already provided police clearance to their employer and in these cases a certified copy of the existing police clearance from the employer's Human Resources file would suffice.
564. Deputy Martin Heydon asked the Minister for Health if he will provide an update on a building project (details supplied) in County Kildare; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [30153/15]
View answerThere will always be more projects than can be funded by the Exchequer. As with all capital projects, the further development of the national CNU programme which includes St Vincent's Hospital Athy, must be considered within the context of the overall capital envelope available to the health service. There is limited funding available for new projects over the next multi-annual period 2015-2019 given the level of commitments and the costs to completion already in place. In addition, the HSE cannot exceed or plan to exceed its approved commitment thresholds. The HSE is concentrating on applying the limited funding available for capital works in the most effective way possible to meet residential need now and in the future. Therefore in this regard St Vincent's is being progressed to planning stage only. At this very early stage in the process and in advance of the award of planning it would be premature to make provisions relating to the operation of the facility during construction other than to say the HSE would take appropriate measures to minimise the impact of construction on the existing service.
565. Deputy Michelle Mulherin asked the Minister for Health to outline his plans for existing maternity services at Mayo General Hospital; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [30154/15]
View answerAs 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.
566. Deputy Brendan Smith asked the Minister for Health to outline the proposals to provide additional financial resources for disability services in Counties Cavan and Monaghan given the urgent need to provide enhanced services; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [30155/15]
View answerThe Government is committed to protecting frontline health and personal social services needs for people with disabilities. The Government currently provides funding of approximately €1.5 billion to the Disability Services Programme through the Health Service Executive's National Service Plan for 2015.
In 2015, the HSE is seeking to maximise the provision of services within available resources and to maintaining a consistent level to that provided in 2014, by providing the following specialist disability services:
- residential services to around 9,000 people with a disability;
- day services to over 22,000 people with intellectual and physical disabilities;
- respite residential support of 190,000 overnights for people with intellectual and physical disabilities;
- 3.9 million hours of Personal Assistant / Home Support Hours.
Additional funding of €6 million has been allocated in the HSE National Service Plan in 2015 to provide day places for an estimated 1,400 young people finishing school and rehabilitative (life-skills) training. €4m in additional funding has also been allocated in the Plan to deliver an increase in the services for children with disabilities and reduce waiting lists under the Progressing Disability Services for Children and Young People (0-18s) Programme.
As the specific issues raised in the Deputy's question relate to service matters, I have arranged for the question to be referred to the Health Service Executive (HSE) for direct reply to the Deputy. If the Deputy has not received a reply from the HSE within 15 working days, he can contact my Private Office and they will follow the matter up with the HSE.
