Tuesday, 26 Apr 2016

Written Answers No. 344-358

Medical Aids and Appliances Applications

Questions (344)

Michael Healy-Rae

Question:

344. Deputy Michael Healy-Rae asked the Minister for Health the position regarding an application for medical equipment by a person (details supplied) in County Kerry. [8455/16]

Written answers

Minister of State at the Department of Health

As the particular issue raised relates to an individual case, I have arranged for the question to be referred to the HSE for direct reply to you. 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.

Medical Aids and Appliances Applications

Questions (345)

Michael Healy-Rae

Question:

345. Deputy Michael Healy-Rae asked the Minister for Health the position regarding an application for a medical device by a person (details supplied); and if he will make a statement on the matter. [8456/16]

Written answers

Minister of State at the Department of Health

As the particular issue raised relates to an individual case, I have arranged for the question to be referred to the HSE for direct reply to you. 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.

Ambulance Service

Questions (346)

Mick Barry

Question:

346. Deputy Mick Barry asked the Minister for Health if he will request the Health Service Executive to reconsider its decision to transfer the Mallow intermediate care vehicle to Cork city; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [8462/16]

Written answers

Minister for Health

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.

Mental Health Services Funding

Questions (347, 348)

Noel Rock

Question:

347. Deputy Noel Rock asked the Minister for Health his views regarding the recent change in ring-fenced funding for the budget for mental health services; and if he will outline the budget for mental health services for the years 2009 to 2015 and the projected budget for 2016. [8476/16]

Noel Rock

Question:

348. Deputy Noel Rock asked the Minister for Health the purpose the ring-fenced €35 million in new ring-fenced mental health funding was intended for; if it was allocated to anything specifically; and his views on the impact the €12 million reduction will have. [8477/16]

Written answers

Minister of State at the Department of Health

I propose to take Questions Nos. 347 and 348 together.

Mental health funding for 2016 was set out in the 2016 HSE Service Plan. The plan was subsequently published.

Funding for mental health services will increase this year, no matter what developments take place during the year. Funding for mental health in 2016 will increase from the 2015 outturn of €785m, to a projected budget of €826m in the 2016 NSP, an increase of €41m or 5.2%, which includes the €35m ring fenced for mental health.

The last Government increased the ring-fenced mental health funding by a total of €160 million over 2012 - 16 inclusive. The €12 million in 2016 is being transferred temporarily to social care including home care packages for older people and step-down beds.

€35m additional funding has been ring fenced for mental health as part of an additional €97m that has been earmarked for new developments in the HSE's 2016 Service Plan. €58.5m of that is held by the Department of Health, comprising the €35m for mental health services, €13.5m for primary care, €8m for therapy services for young people and €2m for the nursing taskforce pilot implementation.

Some of these proposals for the €35m allocation for mental health involve the recruitment of extra staff for new service developments. As staff recruitment takes time, the Service Plan provides that time related savings of approximately €12m from this, as well as other funding from primary care, therapy services for young people and nursing task force pilot implementation would be used, on a once-off basis, to maintain services in home care and transitional care beds, and for vaccine procurement. As the initiatives planned for mental health and these other areas identified in the Service Plan are approved, arrangements will be made for the release of funding, having regard to the overall Service Plan.

In line with the provisions of the Service Plan which was agreed and published last December, additional funding for specific initiatives in mental health will be allocated as specific implementation plans are agreed. The Department of Health is examining detailed proposals from the HSE for the redevelopment monies.

The Budget for Mental Health Services for the years 2011 to 2016 are as follows:

2011	2012	2013	2014	2015	2016*
€712 million	€711 million	€737 million	€766 million	€791.8 million	€826.6 million

* includes 2016 €35m provision

With the establishment of the Mental Health Division in mid-2013, the Mental Health Division commenced a process of identifying and correctly reporting budgets and costs on a Care Group basis similar in other HSE service areas. In previous years the finances were reported by Integrated Service Area to support the integrated model of service delivery. HSE expenditure for Mental Health was in the region of €709m in 2013, €735 in 2014, and €785m in 2015 (outturn figure).

Long-Term Illness Scheme Coverage

Questions (349)

Finian McGrath

Question:

349. Deputy Finian McGrath asked the Minister for Health his views on correspondence (details supplied) regarding two policy commitments put forward by the Asthma Society; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [8482/16]

Written answers

Minister for Health (Deputy Leo Varadkar)

The Long Term Illness (LTI) Scheme was established under Section 59(3) of the Health Act, 1970 (as amended). Regulations were made in 1971, 1973 and 1975 specifying the 16 conditions covered by the LTI Scheme. There are no plans to extend the list of conditions covered by the LTI Scheme. As the deputy's question on the National Clinical Programme for Asthma is a service matter, 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.

Hospital Appointments Status

Questions (350)

Peter Fitzpatrick

Question:

350. Deputy Peter Fitzpatrick asked the Minister for Health the status of a hospital appointment for a person (details supplied) in County Louth; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [8487/16]

Written answers

Minister for Health

Under 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 HSE, 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.

Respite Care Services Provision

Questions (351)

Michael Healy-Rae

Question:

351. Deputy Michael Healy-Rae asked the Minister for Health the current position regarding a person (details supplied) who has applied for respite care; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [8494/16]

Written answers

Minister of State at the Department of Health

As 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.

Medical Card Applications

Questions (352)

Marc MacSharry

Question:

352. Deputy Marc MacSharry asked the Minister for Health the status of a medical card application for a person (details supplied); and if he will make a statement on the matter. [8509/16]

Written answers

Minister of State at the Department of Health

The 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 recently 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.

Hospital Appointments Status

Questions (353)

Marc MacSharry

Question:

353. Deputy Marc MacSharry asked the Minister for Health when a person (details supplied) in County Sligo will receive a medical appointment; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [8510/16]

Written answers

Minister for Health

The Deputy's question relates to service delivery matters and accordingly I have asked the HSE to respond directly to him.

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 with them.

Health Services

Questions (354)

Hildegarde Naughton

Question:

354. Deputy Hildegarde Naughton asked the Minister for Health when an appointment for an occupational therapy assessment will be arranged for a person (details supplied); and if he will make a statement on the matter. [8512/16]

Written answers

Minister of State at the Department of Health

As the issue raised by the Deputy relates to an individual case, this is a service matter for the Health Service Executive. I have asked the HSE to look into the particular matter raised and to reply directly 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.

International Conventions

Questions (355)

Thomas P. Broughan

Question:

355. Deputy Thomas P. Broughan asked the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade if he believes Israeli settlement building is a breach of Article 49 of the Geneva convention (details supplied); the way he will fulfil Irish obligations as a signatory of the Geneva conventions to address breaches of the convention; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [8011/16]

Written answers

Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade

Ireland and our EU partners have consistently made clear that the Israeli settlement project in the occupied Palestinian territory is illegal under the Geneva conventions. In line with our obligations under the Conventions, Ireland does not recognise or accept the right of Israel to settle its own people in Palestinian territory, nor do we support settlements or their expansion. On the contrary, Ireland has been a leading voice internationally and in particular in the EU in opposing settlements and urging stronger international actions on this critical issue. Ireland has been a principal advocate for a number of specific EU actions on settlements in recent years, which have been discussed here in the House. We will continue to do so.

Middle East Peace Process

Questions (356)

Thomas P. Broughan

Question:

356. Deputy Thomas P. Broughan asked the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade if, following the meeting of European leaders on 11 April 2016, he will discuss the escalation of demolitions by Israeli authorities of Palestinian homes and humanitarian aid in the West Bank; if he will provide a summary of this meeting; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [8012/16]

Written answers

Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade

Ireland has consistently highlighted and opposed, at EU level and elsewhere, the Israeli policies of land seizures, demolition of homes, eviction of families and destruction of humanitarian assistance in the West Bank. These policies are unjust, contrary to international law, deeply provocative, and destructive of the prospects for a peace agreement. Ireland, as well as the EU, the United States and others, have noted that these policies are fundamentally incompatible with a genuine commitment to seeking peace and an end to the conflict, and raise serious questions about the intentions of the Israeli Government. An official level Working Group in Brussels on 11 April heard assessments of these issues on the ground, in the context of both direct dialogue with Israel on these issues and internal EU consideration of our own response. Discussion on both of these aspects continues.

Overseas Development Aid Data

Questions (357)

Brendan Smith

Question:

357. Deputy Brendan Smith asked the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade the steps taken to rebuild Gaza following pledges made at a conference in Cairo in 2014; the aid committed by the Government to this project; the actual expenditure by the Government on this project to date; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [8023/16]

Written answers

Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade

Ireland is a longstanding supporter of the Palestinian people and, through the Irish Aid programme, we currently provide some €10 million annually in development and humanitarian assistance. The 2014 conflict in Gaza compounded an already serious humanitarian situation, with a high level of civilian casualties and large scale internal displacement. During my visit to Gaza last year, I saw first-hand the appalling destruction, and the particularly difficult impact on children, which has exacerbated already difficult living conditions. As an immediate response to the Gaza crisis, Ireland provided €500,000 in July 2014 to the Emergency Appeal of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA) to help provide urgently needed food, shelter and medical aid to thousands of families many of whom had had to flee their homes. At the International Gaza Reconstruction Conference, which I attended in October 2014, I pledged a further €2.5 million towards urgent immediate needs and long term recovery efforts. €2 million of this has been provided to UNRWA’s Gaza Emergency Appeal. The remaining €500,000 of Ireland’s pledge will be provided to UN partners this year.

The World Bank is taking the lead on monitoring pledges made at the International Gaza Reconstruction Conference and its most recent report of 19 April 2016 indicates that 40% of the funding pledged at the Conference has been disbursed. I am aware that the current rate of disbursement is less than expected, contributing to a pace of reconstruction much slower than needed. According to the report, only 9% of totally damaged houses and 45% partially damaged houses have so far been rebuilt, and 14,800 families continue to be displaced. The amount of construction material imported into Gaza continues to be lower than needed.

Ireland will fulfil its pledge in full this year and I would urge all countries to fulfil their pledges. It should be recalled, of course, that many of the pledges made, like Ireland’s, were to be phased over a period of time. Many States made clear that their willingness to donate was linked to progress in discussions to ensure that this type of conflict did not happen again. Unfortunately, there has been very little progress in this regard.

Ireland will continue to press, at EU level and elsewhere, to maintain focus on the humanitarian needs in Gaza and for an end to the blockade on the territory.

EU Migration Crisis

Questions (358)

Brendan Smith

Question:

358. Deputy Brendan Smith asked the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade further to Parliamentary Question No. 627 of 14 April 2016 (details supplied), the other efforts he and his European Union counterparts are undertaking to address the migrant crisis; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [8024/16]

Written answers

Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade

The migration crisis remains at the top of the EU agenda and has been for the past year. The focus of activity in recent months has been Turkey, since most migrants and refugees arriving in the EU since early 2015 have travelled via Turkey. However, the European Union’s efforts to resolve the migration crisis have gone well beyond Turkey, involving countries in the Middle East, North Africa and the Sahel as well as a number of initiatives designed to address the root causes of migration, and to help the plight of refugees. Late last year there were two important joint ministerial conferences initiated by the EU focusing on migration: the first in October on the Western Balkans route and the second addressing migration from Africa (Valletta) in November 2015. The Valletta Summit established a Trust Fund for addressing the root causes of migration in Africa, with €1.8bn from the European Development Fund and additional bilateral contributions. Ireland is contributing €3m to this Trust Fund.

More recently, the EU’s High Representative for Foreign Policy Federica Mogherini has been conducting a series of high level dialogues with a number of countries of origin and transit, including Ethiopia, Sudan and Nigeria. These have focused largely on readmission and return, and work on a number of tailor-made incentive packages continues.

Last June, the Foreign Affairs Council launched EUNAVFOR Med, a naval operation to disrupt the activities of people smugglers in the Mediterranean. Over the last six months, the operation has saved an estimated 13,000 lives and arrested 68 smugglers. Irish naval vessels alone have rescued over 8,500 people and plans are well advanced to send another vessel to continue that work later this year.

Earlier this month the European Parliament approved a Commission proposal to re-allocate €300 million from within the EU’s Security and Citizenship budget in 2016 to support and complement Member States’ efforts to address the immediate needs of refugees and migrants. At the conference Supporting Syria and the Region which was held in London on 4 February, the EU and the Member States pledged over €3 billion for the year 2016.

When all these strands are taken into consideration, it is clear that the EU has been very active and remains active in attempting to address the enormous humanitarian challenges posed my mass migration. Nor should it be forgotten that EU member states last year together took in more than a million migrants.