Written Answers Nos. 480-492
480. Deputy Billy Kelleher asked the Minister for Health the public and voluntary hospitals that carry out bone scans and the number of persons waiting for this scan for up to three, three plus to six, six plus to nine, nine plus to 12 and 12 plus months, at each of these hospitals, as of 10 December 2015 or the nearest available date, in tabular form. [46351/15]
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.
481. Deputy Billy Kelleher asked the Minister for Health the public and voluntary hospitals that carry out angiograms and the number of persons waiting for this for up to three, three plus to six, six plus to nine, nine plus to 12 and 12 plus months, at each of these hospitals, as of 10 December 2015 or the nearest available date, in tabular form. [46352/15]
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.
482. Deputy Billy Kelleher asked the Minister for Health the public and voluntary hospitals that carry out electroencephalograms, EEG, and the number of persons waiting for this for up to three, three plus to six, six plus to nine, nine plus to 12 and 12 plus months, at each of these hospitals, as of 10 December 2015 or the nearest available date, in tabular form. [46353/15]
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.
483. Deputy Billy Kelleher asked the Minister for Health the public and voluntary hospitals that carry out endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography, ERCP, and the number of persons waiting for this for up to three, three plus to six, six plus to nine, nine plus to 12 and 12 plus months, at each of these hospitals, as of 10 December 2015 or the nearest available date, in tabular form. [46354/15]
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.
484. Deputy Paul J. Connaughton asked the Minister for Health when a person (details supplied) in County Galway will have dental surgery; the waiting times for dental surgery at University Hospital Galway; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [46357/15]
View answerUnder the Health Act 2004, the Health Service Executive (HSE) is required to manage and deliver, or arrange to be delivered on its behalf, health and personal social services. Section 6 of the HSE Governance Act 2013 bars the Minister for Health from directing the HSE to provide a treatment or a personal service to any individual or to confer eligibility on any individual.
The 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.
485. Deputy Finian McGrath asked the Minister for Health further to Parliamentary Question No. 121 of 2 December 2015, his views on correspondence (details supplied) regarding placements; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [46371/15]
View answerThe HSE has assured me that planning for the needs of young people with disabilities who will leave school in 2016 has already commenced and will take into account the lessons learnt from the 2015 process.
A meeting of the HSE’s National Project Group, which took place in November, has agreed the process for 2016. The approach will be to identify the needs of school-leavers earlier and where service developments are required to meet these needs, the HSE aims to make decisions at an earlier stage in the year so as facilitate a September commencement date for the young people concerned. The HSE has now initiated the process of identifying all those that will require a placement in 2016 and the physical capacity within existing services to accommodate these young people. In addition, as part of the 2016 process, the HSE will also carry out strategic planning for 2017 and 2018.
486. Deputy Finian McGrath asked the Minister for Health his views on correspondence (details supplied) regarding personal assistants; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [46372/15]
View answerAs the Deputy's question relates 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.
487. Deputy Finian McGrath asked the Minister for Health the status of a matter (details supplied) regarding young adults with intellectual disabilities who are school leavers; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [46373/15]
View answerGovernment policy is to enable young people with disabilities to develop the skills they will need to live independent lives to the greatest extent possible and to receive the supports they need in order to achieve this. Every year, young people with disabilities finish their second level education and progress to the next stage in their lives. For most, the hope is that they will progress directly to further education, vocational training or employment. Responsibility for the provision of services and supports in these areas lies with the Government Departments and agencies that have responsibility for providing these services to the whole population.
Some young people who have more complex support needs will require life-skills training or day supports provided by the Health Service Executive (HSE). The HSE, through its Occupational Guidance Service, works with schools, service providers, young people with disabilities and their families to identify training needs and explore suitable options.
One of the most significant projects currently being progressed by the HSE is the implementation of the person-centred approach to day services outlined in New Directions - Report on the National Working Group for the Review of HSE funded Adult Day Services. The New Directions policy proposes that health-funded day services for adults with disabilities should be based on the principles of person-centredness, community inclusion, active citizenship and high quality service provision. The HSE is committed to providing services in a more individualised and person-centred way to people availing of day services including school-leavers and those graduating from Rehabilitative (Lifeskills) training, whose service should in future take the form of individualised and personally chosen outcome-focused supports.
Each Local Health Office area in the Health Service Executive (HSE) has a dedicated Disability Manager to coordinate the delivery of services to people with disabilities. It is open to the individual and his family to discuss his options on leaving school with the Disability Manager for their area who can be contacted at: Fujitsu House, Unit 100, 4th Floor, Lakeshore Drive, Airside, Swords; phone number 01 8953725.
488. Deputy Dara Calleary asked the Minister for Health the cost of implementing a living wage of €11.50 for all employees directly employed by or in agencies funded by his Department; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [46408/15]
View answerThere would be only very minimal if any additional cost in respect of staff of my Department as the lowest gross annual salary would be at or about the equivalent of the €11.50 per hour referred to in your question.
Information in respect of bodies under the aegis of my Department is being collated and will be forwarded to you as soon as possible. I have asked the HSE to respond to you 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.
489. Deputy Clare Daly asked the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade if he has consulted with the Department of Defence regarding the implications of the deployment of Irish troops to Mali, given the potential impact of such a deployment at this time on the perception of Ireland's neutrality abroad; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [45531/15]
View answerOn 16 November, in the wake of the horrific attacks in Paris, President Hollande stated that France was invoking Article 42.7 of the Treaty on European Union. The article states that “If a Member State is the victim of armed aggression on its territory, the other Member States shall have towards it an obligation of aid and assistance by all the means in their power, in accordance with Article 51 of the United Nations Charter. This shall not prejudice the specific character of the security and defence policy of certain Member States.”
The French Ambassador to Ireland subsequently met with senior officials from my Department and senior officials from a number of other Departments, including the Department of Defence, for initial discussions as to how Ireland might provide practical assistance to France. These Departments are considering how best Ireland can respond, taking account of France’s needs, and our resources and expertise. No decision has been taken regarding the nature of our assistance and I do not wish to pre-judge the outcome of ongoing discussions.
The possibility of taking on UN-authorised peacekeeping duties to which France is currently committed, including in Mali, has been mentioned as one possible option. The purpose of any such deployment would be to ensuring the continued effectiveness of UN-authorised peacekeeping missions in the event of a French withdrawal.
Assistance which we provide will be consistent with Irish law and with our longstanding policy of military neutrality.
490. Deputy Denis Naughten asked the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade the progress on establishing a reciprocal E3 visa with the United States of America; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [45032/15]
View answerAchieving relief for undocumented Irish migrants in the US remains a priority for the Government in our contacts with the United States. Through our Embassy in Washington and our Consulates throughout the U.S., we continue to work closely with high level Government contacts and with many other individuals and groups across Irish America and beyond. The aim of these contacts is to achieve relief for undocumented Irish migrants in the US and to improve channels for legal migration between Ireland and America.
The objective of achieving an E3 visa agreement between Ireland and the United States remains a key element of Ireland’s overall position on U.S. immigration reform and one which we regularly emphasise both in contacts with US interlocutors at Ministerial level and through the immigration reform activities of our Embassy in Washington, DC.
As I advised Deputy Naughten when I last updated him on this matter in November, I visited New York and Washington DC last September to meet with the US administration, members of Congress and Irish community leaders. On foot of these meetings, a Bill has been tabled by Congressman Jim Sensenbrenner in the US House of Representatives. The Bill is aimed at providing access to several thousand E3 visas for Irish citizens.
I warmly welcome this positive step towards meeting the desire of many Irish people to live and work in the US for a time, but would also point out that there is much work to be done in both Houses of Congress before this Bill might become law. I am also aware that while this particular measure would help with our objective of securing improved legal migration channels, it would not address the concerns of undocumented citizens currently in the US. These remain a key priority and continue to be the subject of our ongoing contacts with the US authorities. In addition, the Government has provided financial support of €1,535,911 in 2015 to assist the work of Irish immigration centres who, inter alia, offer advice and support to our undocumented citizens.
The Government as a whole, including my Department in Dublin and our Embassy in Washington, is continuing to engage with Congressman Sensenbrenner and other Congressional contacts, across both sides of the political aisle, to encourage progress on the E3 visa Bill proposed by the Congressman through the legislative process.
491. Deputy Bernard J. Durkan asked the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade if he continues to liaise with the authorities in Egypt on the early release of an Irish citizen (details supplied) awaiting trial there; if he continues to pursue all avenues to bringing about a satisfactory conclusion from this person's point of view; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [45671/15]
View answer492. Deputy Bernard J. Durkan asked the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade the steps he has taken and continues to take to liaise with the authorities in Egypt to bring about the early release of an Irish citizen (details supplied) detained there for a number of years; if the manner and method of detention are in accordance with international law; the action likely to follow in this regard; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [45672/15]
View answer512. Deputy Bernard J. Durkan asked the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade the extent to which he continues to pursue with the authorities in Egypt the ongoing detention and postponement of the trial of an Irish citizen (details supplied); if he will seek assurances from the Egyptian authorities that due process in accordance with international law will be followed; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [45717/15]
View answerI propose to take Questions Nos. 491, 492 and 512 together.
My Department has a clear strategy in this case which is focused on achieving a positive outcome at the earliest time possible for this citizen. That strategy is based on two key objectives: first, to see this citizen released by the Egyptian authorities so that he can return to his family and his studies in Ireland and, second, to provide consular support for his welfare while he remains in detention.
In furtherance of these objectives, I have intensively engaged with the Egyptian authorities, including the Egyptian Minister for Foreign Affairs and Egypt’s Ambassador to Ireland, and with EU and international partners, including High Representative of the European Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, Ms. Federica Mogherini. The Taoiseach also raised the case in person on two occasions with Egyptian President al-Sisi. The information we receive from all of these contacts is carefully considered and used in reviewing our approach to this case on a constant basis.
Significant resources in Cairo and in Dublin continue to be deployed in the provision of consular assistance to both the citizen and their family. I would also note that Embassy officials visited this citizen in detention for the forty-eighth time on 23 November.
Irrespective of any views regarding the fairness or appropriateness of any arrest abroad, the reality is that where an Irish citizen is charged with an offence under the law of a foreign country, it is the foreign law that applies and it is the relevant foreign court which decides matters such as bail and release. While the Irish Government is entitled to expect that its citizens will receive a trial similar to that in Ireland, this is not always the case in practice. The Government has made several representations to the Egyptian Government about this citizen’s time spent in detention without conviction, and has supported applications for release on bail in accordance with Egyptian law.
My Department continues to review its approach and retains the flexibility to adjust it as and when that may be required, but the Government’s approach is guided at all times by the two key objectives set out.
