Written Answers Nos. 429-447
429. Deputy Michelle Mulherin asked the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs the names of recipients in County Mayo of his Department's National Lottery Funding for each year since 2011; the amount of funding awarded to each recipient; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [36379/15]
View answerThe information requested by the Deputy is set out in the following table:
|
Organisation |
Year |
Amount |
|
Cong Community Centre Ltd |
2014 |
€5,000 |
|
Involve Youth Services (Ballina) |
2014 |
€ 800 |
|
7th Mayo Foxford Scout Group |
2014 |
€ 500 |
|
Clare Island Foróige Club |
2014 |
€ 400 |
|
Robeen Playschool |
2014 |
€5,000 |
|
Claremorris Social & Family Centre Ltd |
2013 |
€10,000 |
|
Pinelodge Project - Foróige |
2013 |
€2,000 |
|
Ballinrobe Community Playgroup |
2012 |
€15,000 |
|
Louisburgh Childcare Ltd |
2012 |
€25,000 |
|
Maple Youth Café |
2012 |
€5,000 |
|
Erris “No Name” Club, Belmullet, Co. Mayo |
2011 |
€40,000 |
|
Stepping Stones. St. Colman’s Community Playgroup, Claremorris, Co. Mayo |
2011 |
€14,000 |
430. Deputy Michelle Mulherin asked the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs the names of recipients in County Mayo of funding for Youth Cafes in each year since 2011; the amount of funding awarded to each recipient; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [36380/15]
View answerIn recent years capital funding has been made available to my Department for the development of youth café facilities. Some 100 new youth café facilities have received support under the scheme since 2011 when the Department was established. Recent research undertaken by my Department indicates that there are now more than 150 youth cafés throughout the country. In the main, these have been developed, over the years, by local communities with the support of different funding sources.
Youth Cafés offer young people a safe, alcohol and drug free space, for recreation, non-formal learning and youth activities and they make an important contribution to facilities for young people at local level. The development of youth café facilities is a priority for my Department should further capital funding become available in future years.
I am advised that four youth café projects in County Mayo have been allocated funding from my Department, as follows:
|
Year |
Names of recipients |
Amount |
|
2010/11 |
Ballina Family Resource Centre Limited - Ballina Youth Cafe |
€10,000 |
|
2012 |
Foxford Sports & Leisure Centre Limited - Youth Café Foxford |
€74,075 |
|
2013 |
Ballinrobe Family Resource Centre Limited |
€50,000 |
|
2013 |
Castlebar Youth Café |
€50,000 |
431. Deputy Ruth Coppinger asked the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs further to Parliamentary Question No. 710 of 22 September 2015, if he has received a report on the case of the child in the Dublin 15 area; and when he will be in a position to revert to this Deputy in this case [36524/15]
View answerThe Child and Family Agency has advised me that its Educational Welfare Service is working with psychiatric and other services to support the family in question.
432. Deputy Robert Troy asked the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs under Early Childhood Care and Education changes announced in Budget 2016, the number of children his Department estimates could lose out on some weeks of preschool out of the current 38 weeks provision, if at present they were expected to enrol preschool age at 3.2 and begin school age at 4 to 4.5, due to the requirement that children have to enrol in either January, September or April. [36540/15]
View answer433. Deputy Robert Troy asked the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs for an outline of all assumptions underlying his Department's analysis, including assumptions used on the number of children that start school aged four to five, compared to ages five to six; the way the estimate for the average 23 weeks of additional preschool that his Department has stated has been arrived at. [36541/15]
View answer434. Deputy Robert Troy asked the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs the way his Department has calculated that the expansion of eligibility for the Early Childhood Care and Education (ECCE) Scheme free preschool year to ages 3 to 5.5, in addition to the reinstatement of pre-2012 capitation rates, will cost in the region of €47 million, while the current programme costs approximately €175 million, and in replies to Parliamentary Questions (details supplied) issued by his Department he indicated that an expansion of the ECCE Scheme to a second year would cost in the region of €175 million; if the information provided in the replies to these Parliamentary Questions was an accurate response to the question; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [36542/15]
View answer435. Deputy Robert Troy asked the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs under the Early Childhood Care and Education Scheme changes announced in Budget 2016, the number of children that his Department estimates will benefit from additional weeks of preschool and the number of additional weeks they are expected to gain on average if they were born in the months 1 January to 31 March, 1 April to 31 August, and 1 September to 31 December; and if they begin school aged four to five years compared to if they begin school aged 5.1 to six years. [36543/15]
View answerI propose to take Questions Nos. 432 to 435, inclusive, together.
At present, the Early Childhood Care and Education (ECCE) programme covers children who have reached the age of 3 years and 2 months by 1st September of the relevant year. From September 2016, I am expanding the ECCE programme to allow children to access free pre-school from the time they are 3 years of age until they start primary school. There will be three intakes of eligible children during the pre-school year: children who reach the age of 3 between April and August can access the programme from September; children who reach the age of 3 between September and December can access the programme from January; and children who reach the age of 3 between January and March can access the programme from April.
The number of weeks of free pre-school a child will benefit from will depend on their birth date and on the age at which they start primary school. This number ranges from 38 weeks (for children born between April and August who start school at age 4) to 88 weeks (for children born between January and March who start school at age 5). This equates to an estimated 23 additional weeks on average. The estimated average was derived by taking the average number of weeks a child will benefit from (i.e. 61 weeks) and deducting current entitlement (i.e. 38 weeks).
Average number of pre-school weeks by month of birth and of enrolment in pre-school
|
Average no. of ECCE weeks |
Average no. of ECCE weeks |
||
|
Birth Month |
Enrolment Month |
Start school age 4 |
Start school age 5 |
|
Jan - Mar |
April |
50 |
88 |
|
Apr - Aug |
September |
38 |
76 |
|
Sep - Dec |
January |
61 |
61 |
My Department estimates that the number of children benefiting from the ECCE programme will increase from 67,000 to over 127,000 in a given year. This figure is based on population estimates (drawn from the Central Statistics), estimates on school starting age (drawn from the Department of Education and Skills), and the current rate of participation (i.e. 95% uptake).
The cost of this extended provision is estimated to be an additional €47 million in 2016. This includes the cost of restoring capitation rates to providers to pre-2012 levels from September 2016.
As this initiative will begin in September 2016, the total additional costs of this extended provision - estimated to be €112 million - will not be realised in full until 2017. This extended provision is estimated to result in 23 additional weeks of free pre-school for children on average. A full second year of pre-school (i.e. 38 additional weeks for all children) is estimated to cost in the region of €175 million.
436. Deputy Finian McGrath asked the Minister for Health if his officials met recently with representatives of the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs to discuss legal and technical issues with the Standardised Packaging of Tobacco Act and Regulations arising from the Act; if he will confirm if he was reassured that these legal and technical issues can be resolved in time for the Act to come into force in May 2016; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [36642/15]
View answerOfficials from my Department met with the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs in order to up-date him on the Public Health (Standardised Packaging of Tobacco) Act, 2015. As the Deputy is aware, the Act currently provides for a number of elements to be prescribed by the Minister for Health by way of regulations. While developing these regulations a number of other necessary and practical matters were identified as being required, some of which are in the interests of consumer information. These other matters include inter alia, text in a prescribed form to indicate the type and weight or number of tobacco products contained in the packet, the inclusion of a tab to allow consumers to reseal the pack and the inclusion of a calibration mark which may be necessary for the automated production of the packaging. Amendments will be made to the 2015 Act to provide for regulation making powers for these matters. It is proposed that these technical amendments will be included in the Health (Miscellaneous Provisions) No.2 Bill.
437. Deputy Fergus O'Dowd asked the Minister for Health the precautions that will be taken to prevent Legionella contamination in a hospital (details supplied) in County Louth; the position regarding the shower heads in the hospital; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [36149/15]
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 up the matter.
438. Deputy Brian Walsh asked the Minister for Health the number of operations or procedures cancelled, by hospital; by speciality, during each of the past five years. [36151/15]
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 up the matter.
439. Deputy Pádraig Mac Lochlainn asked the Minister for Health his plans, to construct a 100-bedroom care facility for the elderly in Letterkenny in County Donegal; that this facility will serve the elderly population across County Donegal [36155/15]
View answerPublic beds are a critical part of our overall residential bed capacity, particularly for high-dependency patients. Quality accommodation therefore is important in supporting the needs of those older people and people with a disability who require long term residential care.
In September Minister Varadkar and I announced a €3bn investment package for health services over six years. This included the provision of an additional €300m to support the upgrading of long-term residential facilities for older people and people with a disability.
The additional funding will, building upon the existing projects, allow for an enhanced programme to replace, upgrade and refurbish long term care facilities. This will significantly improve the standard of residential units and facilitate person-centred care. The Department will work with the HSE to prioritise the available funding and the position regarding individual facilities will only become clear after a careful process of prioritisation. Patient welfare will at all times remain an absolute priority.
440. Deputy Pádraig Mac Lochlainn asked the Minister for Health his plans to address the growing number of men in County Donegal who have to travel to County Galway to receive treatment for prostate cancer; if he will confirm that Letterkenny General Hospital will be provided with the requisite staff to serve these patients [36156/15]
View answerRapid access prostate cancer clinics have been established in the eight designated cancer centres to ensure that men who have symptoms of prostate cancer can be seen in a timely way and that they undergo comprehensive assessment with appropriate imaging and biopsies where necessary. The treatment of men subsequently diagnosed with prostate cancer is discussed at multidisciplinary team meetings and they may be offered a range of options including surveillance, surgery, prostate brachytherapy or external beam radiotherapy.
Donegal patients have been referred to the Rapid Access Prostate Clinic at University Hospital Galway since its establishment in 2009. Patients needing radical surgery for prostate cancer are admitted to Galway University Hospital and those considered suitable for brachytherapy are referred to either Galway or Dublin. Patients considered suitable for external beam radiotherapy are also treated in Galway or Dublin and from Autumn 2016 such patients will be referred to a new radiotherapy unit at Altnagelvin Hospital, Derry.
Patients for surveillance with respect to prostate or bladder cancer are seen at Letterkenny General Hospital.
441. Deputy Pádraig Mac Lochlainn asked the Minister for Health the number of children in County Donegal presently awaiting orthodontic treatment; and the length of time they have been on the waiting lists [36157/15]
View answerThe HSE provides orthodontic treatment to those who have been assessed and referred for treatment before their 16th birthday. It should be noted that the nature of orthodontic care means that immediate treatment is not always desirable. It is estimated that in up to 5% of cases it is necessary to wait for further growth to take place before treatment commences. Patients are assessed by the HSE Orthodontic Service under the modified Index of Treatment Need. Patients with the greatest level of need i.e. Grade 5 or Grade 4 are provided with treatment by the HSE. Information on waiting times is collated by the HSE by region and for the intervals as shown below. The waiting times for orthodontic treatment in the HSE West region, which includes Co Donegal, at the end of Quarter 2 2015 are as follows:
|
Waiting time from assessment to commencement of treatment |
1 - 6 months |
7 - 12 months |
13 - 24 months |
25-48 months |
Over 48 months |
TOTAL |
|
No. of Patients |
582 |
1,051 |
2,158 |
1,296 |
46 |
5,133 |
442. Deputy Pádraig Mac Lochlainn asked the Minister for Health if he is aware that Diabetes Type 1 patients in County Donegal have a 26-month waiting time to see a consultant; if he will ensure the appointment of a second permanent, full-time Edocrinologist team at Letterkenny General Hospital, to address this serious situation. [36158/15]
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 up the matter.
443. Deputy Pádraig Mac Lochlainn asked the Minister for Health if the practice by the Health Service Executive of depriving home support workers of their legal entitlements to premia payments is confined to Donegal Primary Community Continuing Care. [36159/15]
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.
444. Deputy Billy Kelleher asked the Minister for Health if the Alzheimer's Ward, Unit 1, in Saint Stephen's Hospital in Glanmire in County Cork is to be included for inspection by the Health Information and Quality Authority; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [36166/15]
View answerUnder the Health Act, 2007 statutory responsibility is given to the Chief Inspector of Social Services, in the Health Information and Quality Authority for registration and inspection of categories of designated centres, including nursing homes for older people. The Chief Inspector is independent in the exercise of his statutory function. It is a matter for the Chief Inspector to decide whether facilities meet the definition of a designated centre and are therefore subject to this regulatory regime.
Unit 1, Saint Stephen's Hospital is currently registered with HIQA. Registration details, together with published inspection reports are available at www.hiqa.ie.
445. Deputy Clare Daly asked the Minister for Health the steps he has taken to support the girls who have been diagnosed with Chronic Regional Pain Syndrome and Postural Orthostatic Tachycardia Syndrome (POTS) as a result of the Human Papilloma Virus vaccines; and if he has been in touch with the European Medicines Agency in relation to the Gardasil drug. [36167/15]
View answer510. Deputy Billy Kelleher asked the Minister for Health his views on concerns regarding the Gardasil vaccine; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [36520/15]
View answerI propose to take Questions Nos. 445 and 510 together.
The immunisation programme in Ireland is based on the advice of the National Immunisation Advisory Committee (NIAC). NIAC is a committee of the Royal College of Physicians of Ireland comprising of experts in a number of specialties including infectious diseases, paediatrics and public health. The committee's recommendations are informed by public health advice and international best practice.
Immunisation is regarded as one of the safest and most cost-effective of health care interventions. The HPV vaccine protects girls from developing cervical cancer when they are adults. The vaccine is available free of charge from the HSE for all girls in 1st year of secondary school. This is in accordance with the recommendation received from the NIAC which indicated that the HPV vaccine should be offered on an annual basis to all girls aged 12. The advice, based on public health considerations and supported by the cost-effectiveness analysis, is that HPV vaccines confer maximum benefit both individually and on a population basis if administered prior to HPV exposure. The vaccine protects against two high risk types of HPV (16 & 18) that cause 73% of all cervical cancers. Vaccinated women and girls will still be at risk from other high risk types of HPV that can cause cervical cancer and will therefore need to continue to have regular cervical smear tests.
In Ireland, the Health Products Regulatory Authority (HPRA) is the regulatory authority for medicines in Ireland. There are 2 licensed HPV vaccines available in Ireland (Gardasil® and Cervarix®). Gardasil® is the vaccine used by the HSE in the School Immunisation Programme. Gardasil® is a medicinal product which has been authorised for use across the European Union since September 2006 following a positive opinion from the Committee for Medicinal Products for Human Use (CHMP) at the European Medicines Agency (EMA).
While no medicine (including vaccines) is entirely without risk, the safety profile of Gardasil® has been continuously monitored since it was first authorised both nationally and at EU level. This is done by both monitoring of individual adverse reaction reports received by competent authorities across Europe (including the HPRA) and Periodic Safety Update Reports (PSURs) submitted by the Marketing Authorisation Holder (i.e. license holder) for the vaccine on a regular basis.
As part of its monitoring of the safety of medicines, the HPRA operates an adverse reaction reporting system, where healthcare professionals and patients are encouraged to report adverse reactions they consider may be associated with their treatment, through the range of options in place for reporting (https://www.hpra.ie/homepage/about-us/report-an-issue). All reports received are evaluated and considered in the context of the safety profile of the product concerned, with reports followed up as necessary for further information, that may assist in the assessment of the case.
As of the 9 October 2015, the Health Products Regulatory Authority (HPRA) has received 921 reports of suspected adverse reactions/events notified in association with the use of HPV vaccines (Gardasil® 918 and Cervarix® 3). The vast majority of reports received by the HPRA regarding both Gardasil® and Cervarix vaccines to date have been consistent with the expected pattern of adverse effects for the vaccines, as described in the product information.
The EMA has commenced a review of the human papilloma virus (HPV) vaccine "to further clarify aspects of their safety profile," although the agency points out that this review "does not question that the benefits of HPV vaccines outweigh their risks."
The HPRA is participating in the Pharmacovigilance and Risk Assessment Committee's (PRAC) review of HPV vaccines to clarify aspects of their safety profile. As for all licensed medicines, the safety of these vaccines is monitored by the PRAC (an EU level drug safety committee) where the HPRA is actively represented and contributes.
The current review will look at available data with a focus on rare reports of two conditions: complex regional pain syndrome (CRPS, a chronic pain condition affecting the limbs) and postural orthostatic tachycardia syndrome (POTS, a condition where the heart rate increases abnormally after sitting or standing up, causing symptoms such as dizziness and fainting, as well as headache, chest pain and weakness). Reports of these conditions in young women who have received a HPV vaccine have been previously considered during routine safety monitoring by the PRAC but a causal link between them and the vaccines was not established. Both conditions can occur in non-vaccinated individuals and it is considered important to further review if the number of cases reported with HPV vaccine is greater than would be expected. The outcome of the PRAC review is anticipated before the end of this year.
In addition the EMA is currently evaluating data from a new epidemiological study on the safety of human papilloma virus (HPV) vaccines, Gardasil® and Cervarix®. The study conducted jointly by the French medicines agency (ANSM) and the French national health insurance fund (CNAMTS) compared the incidence of autoimmune conditions in girls given HPV vaccines with the incidence in girls not given the vaccines.
The EMA have advised healthcare professionals that available data does not warrant any change to the use of these vaccines. Healthcare professionals should therefore continue using Gardasil® and Cervarix® in accordance with the current product information.
446. Deputy Róisín Shortall asked the Minister for Health if he is aware of a submission from the Alzheimer Society of Ireland regarding the need to support persons with dementia to live at home for as long as possible; and the Government policy and his plans in this regard. [36170/15]
View answerThe overarching policy of this Government is to support people to live in dignity and independence in their own homes and communities for as long as possible. It is estimated that there are approximately 41,000 people with dementia in Ireland. This number is expected to rise to between 141,000 and 147,000 by 2014. Given the increasing numbers of people with dementia, the Government committed to developing an Alzheimer's and other dementia's strategy to increase awareness, ensure early diagnosis and intervention and develop enhanced community based services. The Irish National Dementia Strategy was launched in December 2014.
The Department of Health and the HSE have agreed a joint initiative with the Atlantic Philanthropies to implement significant elements of the Strategy over the period 2014-2017. This National Dementia Implementation Programme will represent a combined investment of €27.5m, with Atlantic Philanthropies contributing €12m and the HSE contributing €15.5m.
This programme will promote a greater focus on timely diagnosis of dementia and on the value of early intervention, along with the long-term objective of making people in Ireland generally more aware and understanding of the needs of people with dementia, and of the contribution that those with dementia continue to make to our society.
Key elements of the initiative include:
-the roll-out of a programme of Intensive Home Supports and Home Care Packages for people with dementia;
-the provision of additional dementia-specific resources for GP's, who are the critical and initial point of contact with the health system for those with dementia. The resource material will include training materials and guidance on local services and contact points etc;
-measures to raise public awareness, address stigma and promote the inclusion and involvement in society of those with dementia.
A Monitoring Group, chaired by the Department of Health, has been established to assist with and advise on implementation of the National Dementia Strategy, including the National Dementia Strategy Implementation Programme. This Group includes health professionals, administrators, researchers and advocates. The Group also includes a person living with dementia and a representative of those who care for people with dementia. The most recent meeting of this Monitoring Group was held on 24th September 2015.
As the delivery of dementia services is a matter for the HSE, I have referred your question to the HSE 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.
447. Deputy Dessie Ellis asked the Minister for Health the authority that a general practice has to ban a patient who is in receipt of a medical card, from its services because the person made a complaint to Dublin City Council regarding the parking of cars of the staff of the general practice outside a person's premises as they were a traffic hazard and a danger to children on the road. [36171/15]
View answerAs this is a service issue, it has been 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 the executive.
