Written Answers Nos. 146-165
147. Deputy Bernard J. Durkan asked the Minister for Health the extent of investment in modern technology within the health service over the past six years to date; his plans for investment in this area with particular reference to enhancing the efficiency of services in all hospitals throughout the country to ensure a seamless service is provided to patients; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [31168/16]
View answerI presume the Deputy is referring to Information and Communications Technology (ICT) in his question. The potential that technology offers to improve patient safety and to enhance the delivery of health services in Ireland is recognised by the Government. The following table shows the outturn for ICT since 2011 in capital and revenue expenditure. Current expenditure in relation to ICT developments is focused on a wide range of systems including infrastructural support projects, patient administration systems as well as new critical developments such as the national laboratory information systems (LIMS), the Maternal and New Born Clinical Management System, the Medical Oncology Management Systems and a new financial management system.
|
HSE ICT |
2011 |
2012 |
2013 |
2014 |
2015 |
2016 Projected |
|
Capital |
€15m |
€22m |
€39m |
€39m |
€53m |
€55m |
|
Revenue |
€86m |
€86m |
€87m |
€95m |
€100m |
€103m |
My Department has undertaken a number of initiatives to enable improvement in the use and application of eHealth and ICT technology in healthcare. In 2013, the Government published an eHealth Strategy for Ireland which set out a digital path for health services improvements. The main objective of the eHealth strategy is to ensure a national approach to ICT and eHealth initiatives. As part of that strategy, an Office of the Chef Information Officer has been established along with the entity ‘eHealth Ireland’ within the HSE structure to progress the eHealth agenda. The strategy sets out a number of enablers to progress eHealth including the setting up of an eHealth Advisory Committee for the HSE, an Irish eHealth ecosystem and the development of a system of health identifiers underpinned by the Health Identifiers Act, 2014. This Act gives the legal basis for the development and the deployment of identifiers that will cover patients, health care organisations and professionals in the health service. The development and the deployment of the Individual Health Identifier will be a significant patient safety initiative along with being a key enabler for eHealth deployments.
The HSE recently developed a business case for an Electronic Health Record (EHR) for Ireland which is a plan for a consistent and sustained investment over a number of years in technology across the continuum of healthcare in the acute, primary and community sectors. The aim of this plan is to ensure that the right information about the right patient is available wherever required, in a safe and secure environment. It is envisaged, if the plan proceeds, that the New Children’s Hospital will be the initial site for implementation of an EHR in an acute setting thus providing a paper ‘lite’ digital hospital. In developing a national electronic health record we must build on the progress to date in ICT deployment but also the lessons learnt from other jurisdictions in developing an optimum solution for Ireland. This programme, if progressed, will require a substantial investment in ICT and it also offers the opportunity for re-configuration of services with the potential of a safer, patient centred and more integrated approach along with significant efficiencies. My Department is currently assessing the EHR programme and engaging with stakeholders on how to further progress this programme of work.
148. Deputy Paul Kehoe asked the Minister for Health his plans for addressing the serious health risks attached to the use of energy drinks; if the dangers or side effects have been brought to the attention of the HSE or his Department; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [31181/16]
View answerEnergy drinks refer to non-alcoholic drinks containing high levels of caffeine and other nutrients which are perceived or actual stimulants like ginseng. Many contain high levels of added sugars. Because high caffeine drinks are not recommended for certain population groups, specific EU labelling requirements apply for beverages exceeding 150mg/l of caffeine. The labelling must specify that they have a high caffeine content, are not recommended for children, pregnant or breast-feeding women and must also state the caffeine content expressed per mg/100ml.
At the request of the Department of Health, Safefood published a review of energy drinks in Ireland in 2016. The review recommended an information awareness campaign for younger adults and a code of practice for retailers to avoid sales to children.
My department is working with the food industry, retailers and advertisers on a code of practice in relation to advertising, promotion and product placement of food and beverages.
149. Deputy Tony McLoughlin asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine if the Statute of Limitations 1957 prohibits, in any way, his Department's ability to retake or penalise any agriculture overpayments which have taken place past a certain period; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [31026/16]
View answerThe Statute of Limitations 1957, as amended, imposes limits on my Department's ability to recoup overpayments. The Act does not prohibit proceedings being initiated but provides a defence in certain circumstances.
150. Deputy Anne Rabbitte asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine when approval of funds will be released to a person (details supplied) under the TAMS II young farmer capital investment scheme. [31079/16]
View answerThe person named submitted an application as a Registered Farm Partnership for grant-aid under the Young Farmers' Capital Investment Scheme on 22 June 2016, Tranche 3. The application has passed all administrative checks and it will now be put through the ranking and selection process. Once an application is selected under this process it is then checked for technical issues in the local office before approval issues.
151. Deputy Anne Rabbitte asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the reason there was a variance in payments to a person (details supplied) in view of the fact entitlements paid in 2015 were to be based on 2013. [31082/16]
View answerIn 2013 payment for the person named was based on 2.89 entitlements with a unit value of €309.64 giving rise to a total payment of €894.86 under the Single Payment Scheme. Under the 2013 Single Payment Scheme two sets of entitlements were leased out from the person named to third parties.
Under the Basic Payment Scheme, the number of entitlements to be allocated to an eligible person participating in the scheme is based on the lesser of the eligible hectares declared by them in either 2013 or 2015. However as a 2015 Private Contract Clause was submitted for 28.75 entitlements that were leased out in 2013, these were included in the calculation of the number of entitlements to be allocated to the person named. In this regard 31.64 Basic Payment Scheme entitlements were established.
The total value of all the entitlements owned by the person named in 2014 amounting to €5,533.68 which includes leased out entitlements was used in the calculation of new Basic Payment Scheme entitlements.
This resulted in 31.64 entitlements being established under the 2015 Basic Payment Scheme with a total value, including greening, of €5,395.62. 28.75 of these entitlements with a value of €4,902.79 including greening were leased out to a third party under the 2015 Private Contract Clause. Payment of €492.83 has issued in full to the person named on 1 December, 2015.
152. Deputy Eamon Scanlon asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine if a person (details supplied) can be considered at this stage for the knowledge transfer and innovation scheme in County Sligo as places remain unfilled. [31095/16]
View answerI understand that this question refers to the Knowledge Transfer Programme. In the eight week period to 14th July, 2016 Knowledge Transfer Facilitators were required to register applications details for farmer participants in their approved Knowledge Transfer Groups. As no application was registered for the person named during this registration period, he cannot be admitted to the scheme.
The Knowledge Transfer Programme targets 27,000 farmers over the duration of the Rural development Programme 2014-2020.
153. Deputy Michael Fitzmaurice asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the reason a person (details supplied) who applied under the TAMS programme has not received correspondence on their application; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [31123/16]
View answerThe person named submitted an application for grant-aid under the Dairy Equipment Scheme on 20 June 2016, Tranche 3. The application has passed all administrative checks and it will now be put through a ranking and selection process. If selected the application will be then checked for technical issues in the local office before approval issues. If not selected in this particular tranche and eligible the application will roll over to the next tranche.
154. Deputy Michael Healy-Rae asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the status of an application for a GLAS 2015 payment in respect of a person (details supplied); and if he will make a statement on the matter. [31166/16]
View answerAn application under Tranche 1 of GLAS was received in my Department on the 15 May 2015 and the person named was approved into the GLAS 1 with effect from 1 October 2015.
Under the EU Regulations governing the Scheme and other area-based payment schemes, a comprehensive administrative check, including cross-checks with the Land Parcel Identification System, must be completed before any payment can issue.
During the GLAS pre-payment validation checks in respect of the 2015 scheme year an issue was identified in relation to a parcel on which the Chough action was selected. Department Officials are currently reviewing this issue with a view to resolving it and processing the 2015 payment as soon as possible.
155. Deputy Tony McLoughlin asked the Minister for Communications, Climate Action and Environment the legislation that was introduced to take effect of the agreement with regard to the 12-month delay on introducing the pay-by-weight waste collection system; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [30997/16]
View answer156. Deputy Tony McLoughlin asked the Minister for Communications, Climate Action and Environment if his attention has been drawn to the fact that a waste collection company (details supplied) which operates in County Sligo is charging its customers by the weight of their waste bins, even after the 12-month period for delaying its introduction was introduced; if this is allowed; the way in which this can be addressed going forward; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [31038/16]
View answer157. Deputy Tony McLoughlin asked the Minister for Communications, Climate Action and Environment his plans to ensure that a mechanism will be put in place by waste companies to identify to customers that their bins are the weight that they are being charged for, as there are fears that the weight of bins will be overstated and there will be no proof to counter this claim; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [31039/16]
View answerI propose to take Questions Nos. 155 to 157, inclusive, together.
The charges applied by waste management companies are a matter between those companies and their customers, subject to compliance with all applicable environmental and other relevant legislation, including contract and consumer legislation.
As the waste industry began releasing its proposed prices under pay-by-weight in June, 2016, the Government relayed its concern to the industry regarding the reported escalation of waste bills for customers of certain companies. On foot of this, my Department engaged with representatives of the waste industry to agree a way forward that results in customers paying no more for the same level of service than they were paying in June 2016 for waste collection over the 12 months to 1 July 2017. Legislation (S.I. No. 346 of 2016 ) was signed on 30 June, 2016 to remove mandatory pay-by-weight charging for household waste collection. However, it is still open to a company to charge on a pay-by-weight basis and if they are charging the same fee for the same level of service then this does not run contrary to the agreement. Indeed, many companies already had a pay-by-weight element to their charging structure before the agreement was reached and their customers are quite happy with this approach.
The responsibility for ensuring the accuracy of the weighing instruments for the purposes of charging for waste collection on a weight basis rests with the National Standards Authority of Ireland’s (NSAI’s) Legal Metrology inspectors. The NSAI has provided information on its role in this regard, which is available to download at: https://www.nsai.ie/Pay-By-Weight-bin-charges-system.aspx
158. Deputy Thomas Byrne asked the Minister for Communications, Climate Action and Environment if upgrade works on the national broadband scheme will take place in Stackallen, County Meath. [31023/16]
View answer159. Deputy Thomas Byrne asked the Minister for Communications, Climate Action and Environment if upgrade works on the national broadband scheme will take place in Smithstown, Julianstown, County Meath. [31025/16]
View answerI propose to take Questions Nos. 158 and 159 together.
The National Broadband Plan (NBP) aims to deliver high speed services to every city, town, village and individual premises in Ireland. The Programme for Government commits to the delivery of the NBP as a matter of priority. This is being achieved through private investment by commercial telecommunications companies and through a State intervention in areas where commercial investment is not forthcoming.
The procurement process aims to identify an entity or entities to build, roll-out, operate and deliver high speed broadband of at least 30 Mbps download and 6 Mbps upload speeds to all premises within the intervention area. Last week, I announced that the three bidders in the procurement process have indicated that they are proposing a predominantly fibre-to-the-home solution for rural Ireland under the National Broadband Plan intervention. Householders and businesses may potentially get speeds not just of 30Mbps but up to 1Gbps with businesses potentially availing of symmetrical upload and download speeds. This is a solution that will endure for 25 years and beyond and put Ireland to the forefront internationally in terms of connectivity.
The High Speed Broadband Map, which is available at www.broadband.gov.ie shows the extent of the State Intervention area:
- The areas marked BLUE represent those areas where commercial providers are either currently delivering or have previously indicated plans to deliver high speed broadband services.
- The areas marked AMBER on the High Speed Broadband Map represent the target areas for the State Intervention which are the subject of the current procurement process.
The map provides information on a county by county basis with a breakdown of coverage across the townlands in every county including Co Meath. Individuals can check whether their premises is in a BLUE or an AMBER area by scrolling through the map online or entering their Eircode. The Department also has a dedicated mailbox and anyone with a query in relation to the Map should email the Department, quoting their Eircode, to broadband@dcenr.gov.ie.
The townlands of Stackallen, Smithstown and Julianstown are included in the AMBER area and are therefore included in the procurement process. Over 750,000 premises are within the State intervention area. This includes over 31,000 premises in County Meath.
The Department is now in a formal procurement process to select a company or companies that will roll-out a new high speed broadband network to the over 750,000 premises in Ireland, covering 100,000km of road network and 96% of the land area of Ireland. Since bidders were invited to participate in dialogue with the Department, there have been approximately 150 hours of meetings, with considerable more interaction to follow over the coming months. The procurement process is being intensively managed to ensure an outcome that delivers a future-proofed network that serves homes and businesses across Ireland, for at least 25 years and deals conclusively with connectivity issues in rural areas, and areas such as Stakallen, Smithstown and Julianstown.
160. Deputy Billy Kelleher asked the Minister for Communications, Climate Action and Environment further to Parliamentary Question No. 540 of 11 October 2016, if he will provide a list of companies that have signed up to this agreement as it appears that not all companies are complying to this agreement and families of disabled persons are now concerned over the unknown cost of disposing of incontinence wear, despite them already paying their refuse bill for the year and many of these families are on a low or social protection income; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [31075/16]
View answerAs set out in the reply to parliamentary question number 540 of 11 October 2016, the waste management industry had committed to providing a full weight allowance for the disposal of non-infancy incontinence wear to patients supplied with such products by the HSE if a pay by weight per kilogramme charging system was introduced for household waste collection on 1 July 2016.
As the waste industry began releasing its proposed prices under pay-by-weight in June 2016, the Government relayed its concern to the industry regarding the reported escalation of waste bills for customers of certain companies and it was not implemented. However, my Department engaged with representatives of the waste industry to agree a way forward that results in all customers paying no more for the same level of service than they were currently paying for waste collection over the 12 month period to 1 July 2017. The Irish Waste Management Association, Greyhound and CityBin were directly involved in the discussions which led to the agreement.
The charges applied by waste management companies are a matter between those companies and their customers, subject to compliance with all applicable environmental and other relevant legislation, including contract and consumer legislation. In this regard, if a person has concerns regarding changes being made to any contract, advice may be sought from the Competition and Consumer Protection Agency, who can be contacted on 01 402 5500.
161. Deputy Brendan Griffin asked the Minister for Communications, Climate Action and Environment his views on a matter (details supplied) regarding broadband; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [31127/16]
View answerThe Government’s National Broadband Plan (NBP) aims to ensure that every citizen and business has access to a high quality, high speed broadband service. This will be achieved through a combination of commercial investments and a State led intervention in areas where commercial services will not be provided.
The Broadband Intervention strategy for Ireland is available at http://www.dcenr.gov.ie/communications/en-ie/Pages/Publication/Ireland's-Broadband-Intervention-Strategy-update.aspx
This sets out a detailed service specification including a requirement that the State-funded network must be capable of delivering high-quality, high speed broadband of at least 30mbps download and 6mbps upload to all citizens; be capable of providing for higher performance in the future so as to keep pace with consumer demand; ensure the availability of high quality wholesale services to allow retail competition to develop.
The Plan envisages public investment in the capital costs of building the necessary infrastructure to support high-quality affordable broadband services similar to those already available in cities and towns. This network will be made available to service providers on a wholesale basis and it is the intention that the wholesale prices charged within the intervention area will be no more than the average published wholesale prices that prevail in other comparable, more competitive areas of the country or the European Union or, in the absence of such published prices, prices already set or approved by the Regulator, ComReg.
The Department is now in a formal procurement process to select a company or companies who will roll-out a new high speed broadband network to over 750,000 premises in Ireland, covering 100,000km of road network and 96% of the land area of Ireland.
162. Deputy Mattie McGrath asked the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport if all rights and opportunities in terms of access to disabled parking for carers and so on will be extended to those who have been diagnosed with autism, or who are on the autistic spectrum, considering that in the Disability Act it is classed as a sensory disability; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [30998/16]
View answerIt is not currently my intention to extend the Disabled Parking Permit scheme to the carers of those who have been diagnosed with autism or who are on the autistic spectrum.
The Road Traffic (Traffic and Parking) Regulations 1997, as amended, provide for the operation of disabled person's parking permits (also known as European Parking Cards) in Ireland. The Permit complies with EU Recommendation 98/376/EC. For the purposes of an EU parking permit, a disabled person is defined as "a person with a permanent condition or disability that severely restricts their ability to walk".
In July 2010, my Department published a Review of the Disabled Parking Scheme which was conducted by the Department in co-operation with the issuing authorities, the Disabled Drivers Association of Ireland (DDAI) and the Irish Wheelchair Association (IWA). One of the conclusions of the Review was that criteria for eligibility for the Scheme should be refocused from the type of disability to actual level of mobility impairment. The medical criteria for issue of the EU parking permit are strict and only persons whose mobility is severely and permanently restricted qualify.
I will however keep the criteria for those eligible under continuous review.
163. Deputy Colm Brophy asked the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport if he will expedite the approval for the next stage of a project (details supplied) in Dublin; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [30994/16]
View answerThe Local Authority Swimming Pool Programme (LASPP) provides for grant aid to local authorities towards the capital costs of new swimming pools or the refurbishment of existing pools. There are four stages in the development of a project under the Local Authority Swimming Pool Programme, namely Preliminary Report, Contract Documents, Tender and Construction.
In January of this year, my Department contacted local authorities and sought expressions of interest in a limited round of swimming pool allocations. There were three expressions of interest received for new pools, two of which were valid and both in Dublin. Having assessed existing commitments and the funding available, it was was decided to include the proposal from South Dublin County Council (SDCC) for a new swimming pool in Lucan in the LASPP.
My Department wrote to SDCC in April 2016 advising the Council to undertake the Preliminary Report stage which includes the Feasibility Study, Appointment of Consultants for Preliminary Proposals and Design Brief. Documentation in this regard was received from SDCC in July and is currently under examination by my Department's technical advisor and my officials. In this regard, I have asked that this project would be prioritised in order to progress it to the next stage in the programme, i.e. the Contract Documents stage, as soon as possible.
164. Deputy Louise O'Reilly asked the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport if there are funds available to assist communities in healthy living initiatives, supports and infrastructure in view of the fact that there is a renewed focus on tackling the issue of obesity in general and in particular childhood obesity; if he can work with a community in an area (details supplied) where an important community facility is at risk of closure; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [31045/16]
View answerThe Sports Capital Programme is operated by my Department and provides grants to assist in the development of sports facilities and the provision of sports equipment. Grants are available to sports clubs, voluntary and community groups. I understand the facility referred to by the Deputy has previously received €240,000 in grants under the Programme.
It should be noted that the Sports Capital Programme does not assist with the current day to day funding of clubs.
As was confirmed in the 2017 Estimates Statement, a new round of the Sports Capital Programme will open for applications in January with the announcement of allocations expected later in 2017. It will be open to any organisation with a suitable project to apply for funding.
165. Deputy Eugene Murphy asked the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport if he will carry out a safety review of the N5, a national primary route from Tarmonbarry to Ballaghaderreen, which has numerous accident black spots and is a vital link to the west, particularly in view of a fatal road traffic collision near Scramogue on the N5 recently; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [31067/16]
View answerAs Minister for Transport, Tourism & Sport, I have responsibility for overall policy and funding in relation to the national roads programme. The planning, design and implementation of individual road projects (including the N5) is a matter for the Transport Infrastructure Ireland (formerly known as the NRA) under the Roads Acts 1993-2015 in conjunction with the local authorities concerned.
Within its capital budget, the assessment and prioritisation of individual projects is a matter in the first instance for TII in accordance with Section 19 of the Roads Act. In addition TII has systems in place to analyse collision data and review safety on all of the national road network.
Noting the above position, I have referred the Deputy’s question to TII for direct reply. Please advise my private office if you don’t receive a reply within 10 working days.
The referred reply under Standing Order 42A was forwarded to the Deputy.
