Written Answers Nos. 101-125
101. Deputy Niamh Smyth asked the Minister for Health the status of the group home for persons with physical and sensory disabilities in Carrickmacross, County Monaghan; when the HSE estimates process for 2021 will conclude; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [36123/20]
View answer115. Deputy Matt Carthy asked the Minister for Health if it will be ensured the group home for persons with physical and sensory disabilities at Drummond Otra, Carrickmacross, County Monaghan will be operational in January 2021. [41638/20]
View answerI propose to take Questions Nos. 101 and 115 together.
The Government is committed to ensuring the most effective interventions are provided for people with a disability to ensure the best outcomes.
The HSE currently provides funding to support over 8,100 residential places for people with a disability and actively engages with families to ensure that those with the greatest need are prioritised for a residential place.
In the Budget for 2021, an additional €100m has been made available for new disability developments, which will see the budget for specialist disability services exceeding over €2.2 billion next year. The increased allocation includes additional funding which will enable the HSE to provide and plan for more residential places and to further progress decongregation next year.
The National Service Plan for 2021, which is a detailed operational planning process, will outline the key commitments in relation to the delivery of services in the coming year. As the Plan has not been finalised, I cannot provide details of any commitments in relation to developments in particular locations at this stage in the process.
In relation to the specific development referred to by the Deputy, I am advised that the HSE is continuing to liaise with the families involved and is working with relevant agencies, including Respond, the housing agency, to explore all avenues to make this facility operational as soon as possible in the context of available resources.
102. Deputy Joan Collins asked the Minister for Health if the HSE and his Department have made their business case to the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform seeking consultant status and renumeration; and the operational model the HSE and his Department are proposing in view of the Crowe Horwath report 2018 following on from a previous report. [42510/20]
View answerConsultant status for public health specialists under a new public health framework was recommended in the Crowe Horwath Report on the Specialty published in December 2018. That Report followed on from MacCraith Report that recommended, inter alia, examination of the current and future role of health specialists in Ireland and the attractiveness of public health as a career option.
I, my Department and the HSE are committed to the early introduction of a new framework for public healthcare, as recommended and as also provided for in the Programme for Government. This will involve the establishment of a consultant-led public health model. The business case seeking consultant status and addressing the proposed model was submitted to the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform on 19th November and is receiving consideration.
103. Deputy Alan Kelly asked the Minister for Health the number of women and families that have appeared before the CervicalCheck tribunal since its commencement; the status of his engagements with a group (details supplied) relating to the CervicalCheck tribunal; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [42342/20]
View answerI commenced the relevant sections of the CervicalCheck Tribunal Act 2019 on 21 October 2020 and signed the order to appoint 27 October 2020 as the establishment day of the Tribunal.
Following a pause in establishment to allow for discussions with the 221+ Patient Representative Group in respect of the CervicalCheck Tribunal and CervicalCheck cases more generally, the nominated members were appointed to the Tribunal with effect from 1 December 2020 facilitating the Tribunal in beginning its important work.
It was originally intended that the Tribunal would be established in March, however it was delayed at that time due to COVID. A further delay arose in June due to issues with regard to Membership of the Tribunal. Further delaying the Tribunal would have resulted in an additional delay to the eligible women in having their claims processed, which was of serious concern to this Government.
To date, the Tribunal has not sat and no eligible women have appeared before it.
Significant engagement took place with the 221+ patient representative group on various issues with regard to the Tribunal and CervicalCheck cases more generally. I would welcome an opportunity to meet with the group further to make additional progress on these issues.
The Government is satisfied that the CervicalCheck Tribunal remains the most appropriate venue for CervicalCheck claims. It is, of course, entirely up to women affected as to whether or not they want to use it.
104. Deputy Pauline Tully asked the Minister for Health if front-line healthcare staff are to be redeployed again to Covid-19 testing; the reason more additional staff for Covid-19 testing are not recruited from those who applied to the Be on Call for Ireland campaign; the reason additional staff for Covid-19 testing are not redeployed from non-frontline healthcare staff; his views on whether physiotherapy, occupational therapy and speech and language therapy as essential; his views on the growing waiting lists in each of these areas; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [42371/20]
View answerWhen the effects of this pandemic began, the health service urgently needed healthcare professionals in roles dedicated to controlling this virus. At this time, it was necessary to redeploy existing staff to areas most urgently affected by the COVID-19 pandemic, such as testing and contact tracing.
A dedicated testing and tracing workforce is currently being recruited to allow for redeployed staff to return to their original posts. Significant progress is being made to recruit swabbing staff with 3,451 applications received and 503 appointed to date with an anticipated maximum of a further 130 by year end. Onboarding will continue each week until we have a dedicated workforce of 1,000 in swabbing.
With regards to candidates who applied for the ‘Be on Call for Ireland’ initiative, any candidate who remained subscribed to this initiative was notified by email of the Community Swabber recruitment campaign, and individuals could make a decision to apply for it, in line with eligibility criteria for Community Swabber. Candidates appointed from this recruitment initiative are now working in COVID-19 testing centres throughout the country.
At the beginning of the pandemic, there was a need to redeploy staff from across the public and civil sector to areas with urgent service demands. These workers were redeployed to roles in which they had the skillset required.
The work of Physiotherapists, Occupational Therapists, Speech & Language Therapists and other health and social professionals is essential. Indeed, I wish to take this opportunity to thank all those who work across these different disciplines for their invaluable contribution to the provision of both Covid and non-Covid care during this most difficult year.
The fact is that the COVID-19 pandemic has led to unprecedented interruption to normal healthcare activity in primary care, and this has impacted on waiting lists which is a concern shared by Deputies on all sides of the House. I am pleased to report that monthly activity across primary care therapy services is now far ahead of what it was in April as therapists and other professionals return to their core roles and service innovations such as digital or telehealth technologies help boost capacity.
105. Deputy Alan Kelly asked the Minister for Health when a terminal illness card will be provided for persons with less than two years to live will be delivered; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [42343/20]
View answerUnder the Health Act 1970, eligibility for a medical card is based primarily on means. The issue of granting medical cards based on having a particular disease or illness was previously examined in 2014 by the HSE Expert Panel on Medical Need and Medical Card Eligibility. The Group concluded that it was not feasible, desirable, nor ethically justifiable to list medical conditions in priority order for medical card eligibility. In following the Expert Group’s advice, a person’s means remains the main qualifier for a medical card.
The HSE has however a compassionate system in place for the provision of medical cards when it is informed that a patient is receiving end of life treatment – that is when patients’ unfortunately have a prognosis of less than 12 months. These applications do not require a means assessment nor are they reassessed. There are currently almost 1,800 such medical cards awarded. Separately, terminally ill patients who do not meet the end of life criteria may also qualify for a medical card under the general assessment processes. Every effort is made by the HSE, within the framework of the Health Act 1970, to support applicants in applying for a medical card and to take full account of the difficult circumstances, such as extra costs arising from an illness.
Furthermore, since 2015 medical cards are awarded without the need of a financial assessment to all children under 18 years of age with a diagnosis of cancer.
It should also be noted that the Programme for Government ‘Our Shared Future’ contains a commitment to extend discretionary medical cards to those with a terminal illness. A HSE Clinical Advisory Group (CAG) was established in December 2019 to review eligibility for medical cards in cases of terminal illness. The final Report of the CAG was recently submitted to my Department and has been published. The Report notes that there are practical and legal challenges with extending eligibility for medical cards for terminally ill patients within the framework of the current process.
However, I wish to assure the Deputy that I am committed to ensuring that terminally ill patients have access to the services they need. In that regard, my Department has devised a work programme which has been initiated and which will look to address the policy and legal findings of the Report and deliver on the Programme for Government commitment. This will include an examination of potential options on a legislative framework to extend eligibility in such cases, which will begin immediately. In parallel to the legislative work, officials will also consider proposals that would enable those with a terminal illness to access services without necessarily requiring a medical card.
106. Deputy Bernard J. Durkan asked the Minister for Health the extent to which the Sláintecare programme is being enacted; the progress to date in this regard; the targets achievable in the next 12 months; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [42501/20]
View answerNotwithstanding the ongoing challenge of COVID-19, considerable progress continues to be made on Sláintecare implementation. The principles of Sláintecare, such as the patient being paramount; timely, needs-based care; prevention and public health; and engagement with citizens and staff, were clearly demonstrated through the COVID-19 response.
Important lessons have been learnt from COVID-19 and applied to the ongoing implementation of Sláintecare throughout the service. In particular, the telehealth access to GP services for COVID-19 symptoms, the integration of services across acute and community, the focus on managing as much care as possible in the community and the rapid deployment of e-health solutions illustrate what is possible and the extent to which the pandemic response has helped to demonstrate in practice the Sláintecare vision.
Key programmes that have progressed during 2020 include commencing the implementation of improving population health-based planning and developing new models of care to deliver more effective and integrated care, especially in relation to:
- Innovative integration programmes that support people to live independently at home, promote self-empowerment, and have a focus on preventing illness, across 122 sites all around the country;
- 96 Sláintecare Community Healthcare Networks based on populations of 50,000 people, and Specialist Hubs for Older People;
- the agreement with General Practice to deliver a national Chronic Disease Management (CDM)Programme; and
- Patient Prescriptions e-Scripts between GPs and Pharmacies through the secure Healthmail system. Since mid-April, almost 900,000 prescription messages were sent through the platform with over 550,000 messages in the month of May alone, averaging almost 20,000 prescriptions per day.
The new context has provided opportunities for implementing Sláintecare at pace, and the very large investment in Sláintecare for 2021 will support this. Three priority programmes have been identified to drive Sláintecare implementation at pace, with a focus on the next three years:
1. Keeping people well at home or near home, out of hospital, living independent lives, by implementing agreed end to end care pathways between GPs, Community and Hospital services, through Community Healthcare Networks and Specialist Hubs and a variety of related projects. Healthy Ireland is a key enabler of this programme.
2. Helping achieve waiting list targets, through implementing the Capacity/Access Plan including devising a multiannual waiting list plan and commissioning ambulatory-elective centres in Dublin, Cork and Galway.
3. Devising a Citizen Care Masterplan for universal eligibility and multi-annual funding using a population-based planning, segmentation, needs and gap analysis approach, by Region, supported by five frameworks:1) clinical governance, 2) workforce planning, 3) capital planning, 4) eligibility/entitlement, 5) funding.
Budget 2021 allocated €1.353 billion specifically to Sláintecare-related initiatives, including €467 million for increased acute and community bed capacity, €425 million to provide enhanced community, social and primary care services and €318 million to improve access to care. In addition, the investment will provide for an increase of approximately 16,000 additional staff in the health service, 5 million more hours for home care, and allocations of €100 million for disability services, €50 million for mental health services, €153 million for eHealth and €20 million for Healthy Ireland.
The allocation demonstrates the strong commitment by Government to the Sláintecare vision and will enhance the permanent capacity of the health services, substantially increase the workforce, expanding the scale and range of service to be provided in the community and introduce targeted measures to improve access to care in 2021.
107. Deputy Gino Kenny asked the Minister for Health if he will provide full details of the first deal with the private hospitals in the fight against Covid-19; if there has been a value for money analysis of this deal; his plans to permanently increase the public healthcare capacity in order to not risk the overwhelming of the service in another wave of Covid-19 and do not have to buy services from the private hospitals; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [42364/20]
View answerIn anticipation of the projected surge in Covid-19 cases and the expected impact on the health care system a major part of the response was to urgently ramp up capacity for acute hospital care facilities. A critical element of the strategy was to put in place an arrangement with the private hospitals to use their facilities as part of the public system, to provide essential acute hospital services for the duration of the emergency. Following negotiations with the Private Hospitals Association an overarching agreement with the 18 private acute hospitals and the HSE was agreed at the end of March. In the interests of transparency, a copy of the Heads of Terms to the Agreement, which sets out the broad terms of the arrangement, was laid before the Oireachtas last April. It is not proposed to publish the details of arrangements with individual hospitals as that information is commercially sensitive and as such to publish it would be a breach of the Heads of Terms to the Agreement. The agreement provided that the HSE would secure 100% of the capacity of the private hospitals until the end of June. The final costs of the arrangement are still subject to verification. However, it is estimated that the costs arising from the agreement will be in the region of €305 million euros.
Under the agreement, payment to the private hospitals was on a cost only Open Book model whereby the hospitals were reimbursed only for the operating costs properly incurred during the period. The costs covered were limited to normal costs of operating the hospital. The hospitals will only receive their actual operating costs when these have been verified. The final cost will be verified by independent firms of accountants appointed by the HSE and the private hospitals and there is an arbitration mechanism in place in the event of any disagreement. At the time of the agreement it was determined that the cost only open book model was the most effective way of ensuring the arrangement was value for money for the State.
Following termination of the private hospital agreement in June, the Government mandated the HSE to seek to agree with the private hospitals a new arrangement which would provide the HSE with access to private hospital capacity to cover three areas:
- To secure a safety net arrangement against the potential of a further surge of Covid-19 cases;
- Capacity arising from the need to run the public hospitals in a Covid-19 environment; and
- To secure elective activity to assist with waiting lists.
Discussions are still ongoing between the HSE and private hospitals with regard to a safety net arrangement in the event of another surge in Covid-19 cases.
In addition, the HSE is in the final stage of a procurement process to secure access to additional acute services and diagnostics from private providers which is required to address some of the anticipated shortfall over the next two years. A panel will be put in place, following which each hospital will run mini competitions for the services they need. In the meantime, the Department has approved a HSE temporary arrangement for the treatment of patients in private hospitals.
In terms of broader hospital capacity the Programme for Government, Our Shared Future, commits to continuing investment in our health care services in line with the recommendations of the Health Service Capacity Review and the commitments in Project Ireland 2040.
This winter is expected to be particularly challenging due to the presence of Covid-19 and the uncertainty around the level of Covid-19 and non-Covid-19 healthcare demands. The Department of Health is working with the HSE to increase acute capacity in hospitals throughout the country to meet this and other health demands. Government allocated €236 million revenue and €40 million capital expenditure as part of Budget 2021 to fund additional acute beds on a permanent basis. This funding will provide, by the end of 2021, an additional 1,146 acute beds from the baseline at the start of 2020.
A proportion of these beds will be funded as part of the HSE’s Winter Plan 2020/21. The Winter Plan aims to provide additional health service capacity across a range of services. Initiatives comprise additional acute and community beds to increase acute capacity, help reduce admissions and facilitate egress.
This represents a significant step towards achieving the recommendations in the 2018 Health Service Capacity Review which found that an additional 2,100 inpatient acute beds were required, in a reform scenario, by 2031. The National Development Plan provides for the addition of the full 2,590 beds by 2027.
108. Deputy Darren O'Rourke asked the Minister for Health the status of the sharing of passenger data between Northern Ireland and here and for those arriving onto the island of Ireland for the purpose of contact tracing and enforcement of restricted movement requirements; if he has agreed a process in relation to the matter with his counterpart in the Stormont Executive; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [41642/20]
View answerIn October, the Irish Government adopted the EU “traffic lights” approach to intra EU travel and has taken decisions on what public health measures will apply to international arrivals. All passengers continue to be legally required to complete a COVID-19 Passenger Locator Form.
With regards to sharing passenger locator data with counterparts in Northern Ireland, I am supportive of work towards finding an appropriate legal and data protection structure to facilitate this and officials from my Department are engaged with NI counterparts on the matter. I have also discussed this bilaterally with Minister Swann.
North South cooperation on international travel is continuing. Notably, the two jurisdictions recently cooperated on engagements with passenger arrivals from Denmark in the context of the outbreak on mink farms in that country.
109. Deputy Darren O'Rourke asked the Minister for Health the status of the restrictions in maternity hospitals for partners of expecting mothers who cannot attend scans with them; his views on whether these restrictions need to be eased; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [41643/20]
View answerAs this is a service matter, I have asked the Health Service Executive to respond to the Deputy directly, as soon as possible.
110. Deputy Paul McAuliffe asked the Minister for Health the progress to date and the sectors involved in the planning of the distribution of a Covid-19 vaccine; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [42336/20]
View answerThe Government is committed to the timely implementation of a COVID-19 immunisation programme, as soon as one or more vaccines in the EU portfolio are approved for use. In this regard a High-Level Taskforce was established to support and oversee the development and implementation of the programme.
The Taskforce membership is made up of senior personnel from my Department, the Health Service Executive, the Health Products Regulatory Authority, the Office of the Government Chief Information Officer, the Office of Government Procurement, IDA Ireland, the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment and the Department of the Taoiseach, as well as expertise in the areas of public health, supply chain logistics, cold chain logistics, and programme management.
The Taskforce is supporting my Department and the HSE in developing national COVID-19 vaccination strategy and implementation plan which is due to be submitted by Friday, 11 December. I will then bring the plan to Government for consideration and subject to the outcome of this discussion, it is the intention that the Vaccination Strategy and Implementation Plan will be published.
111. Deputy Joe Flaherty asked the Minister for Health when an important therapy post at Longford disability services which cannot be filled will be addressed (details supplied). [42214/20]
View answerThe Programme for Government, Our Shared Future, recognises the need to improve services for both children and adults with disabilities through better implementation and by working together across Government in a better way.
The Government commits to prioritising early diagnosis and access to services for children and ensuring that the most effective interventions are provided for each child, to guarantee the best outcomes.
As this is a service matter, I have asked the Health Service Executive to respond to the deputy directly, as soon as possible.
112. Deputy Alan Farrell asked the Minister for Health his plans for further developing the Healthy Ireland plan with a view to the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [42011/20]
View answerHealthy Ireland, A Framework for Improved Health and Wellbeing 2013-2025, is the national framework for action to improve the health and wellbeing of Ireland. The Framework is now past the mid-way point for the implementation.
Since publication in 2013, there has been significant progress in implementation. This has included:
- A focus on building an enabling environment for cross-sectoral and collaborative action, supported by a stakeholder engagement and communications strategy.
- Significant cross government and intersectoral partnerships and working has been created by the Framework.
- A suite of national policies and plans to address risk factors such as obesity, tobacco and physical inactivity have been published, and policy direction across areas such as cancer, maternity care, drugs and mental health has been informed and influenced by Healthy Ireland.
Notwithstanding the progress to date, there is an urgent need to scale and expand the activity across all strands of the work from Government to local level. To support effective implementation, and to capitalise on further opportunities to involve more sectors in implementation.
In late 2019 the Health and Wellbeing Unit in my Department commenced the development of a Strategic Action Plan for the next phase of the Healthy Ireland Framework. Despite the challenges caused by Covid-19, which has caused some delays to the original timeline for this process, significant progress on the development of the Strategic Action Plan for Healthy Ireland has been made. To date the process has already completed a rapid review of previous progress, extensive stakeholder engagement, a desktop review of other jurisdictions for best practice, and a review of goals for alignment with the Sustainable Development Goals and the Programme for Government.
Presently a set of emerging priorities is being considered in partnership with other Government Departments and internally in the Department of Health. The Healthy Ireland Strategic Action Plan is expected to be finalised in early 2021, for agreement across Government and subsequent publication.
The Government Plan for Living with COVID-19: Resilience and Recovery 2020-2021 highlighted the important role that individual and community resilience is playing in contributing to our ongoing response to COVID-19. Since its initiation seven years ago, Healthy Ireland has progressed the implementation of an all-of-Government approach to improving and supporting the health and wellbeing of the people of Ireland. Through strong partnerships with a multitude of bodies, Healthy Ireland provides direction and focus to support individuals, communities, local authorities and national organisations to engage in initiatives and activities that support health and wellbeing. With its existing links to Local Authorities and local community activation, the Healthy Ireland Fund provides the mechanism to allocate resources to support the community resilience campaign at local level.
At the heart of the Keep Well campaign is helping people - individuals & communities - to keep up their resilience & wellbeing through an especially challenging winter and through to spring. People are being encouraged to plan some “self-care” every day or week to get them through the winter and are being supported with information and resources to help them to do so. The campaign is focused on five major themes:
- Keeping active - keeping active and being outdoors, even during the winter, is important to help physical and mental health and wellbeing.
- Staying connected - staying connected with people, addressing isolation, supporting volunteerism and initiatives that support person-to-person connection is important to our wellbeing.
- Switching off and being creative - switching off and being creative or learning something new, getting back to nature and finding ways to relax can help our general wellbeing.
- Eating well - by nourishing your body and mind we can develop a better connection between the food we eat and how we feel and positively impact our physical and mental wellbeing.
- Minding your mood – equipping people with information on where to go if they need support. This will also be linked with the local community helpline to ensure that people can access the support they need.
A series of initiatives is being rolled out under these themes, continuing into spring 2021. It is our intent that the partnerships that have been forged in responding to the challenge of Covid-19 across Government and society will be maintained in the future work towards the vision of a Healthy Ireland.
113. Deputy Richard Boyd Barrett asked the Minister for Health his plans for recruitment across the public health regions to ensure they can chase down the SARS Cov2 virus, to learn all there is to learn from this work and to help protect the population from Covid-19 and from future pandemics; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [42365/20]
View answer151. Deputy David Cullinane asked the Minister for Health his plans to reverse underinvestment in public health departments; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [42340/20]
View answerI propose to take Questions Nos. 113 and 151 together.
Public Health plays a key strategic and leadership role in promoting health and protecting the population from threats to health, such as Covid-19. Public Health operationalises population level pandemic response plans and coordinates activities across multiple stakeholders including emergency and acute hospital services.
This government is committed to investment in our public health workforce. Prior to the Covid-19 pandemic, there were 254 people working full-time across Ireland’s public health workforce. At the end of September, I announced ambitious plans to double this workforce by hiring more public health doctors, nurses, scientists and support staff. Recruitment for these positions commenced immediately and is progressing well.
The HSE’s Pandemic Workforce Plan also includes the recruitment of 400 temporary staff to Public Health Departments across the country in order to strengthen our response to the current pandemic.
The permanent resourcing committed in the workforce plan is an investment in the future service delivery model for Public Health, as envisaged in the 2018 Crowe Horwath Report.
114. Deputy Paul McAuliffe asked the Minister for Health the supports available to student nurses; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [42431/20]
View answer152. Deputy Chris Andrews asked the Minister for Health the steps he will take to address the pay and work conditions of student nurses and midwives; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [42434/20]
View answer171. Deputy Maurice Quinlivan asked the Minister for Health his plans to review the decision not to pay student nurses for the work they are carrying out in hospitals across the State; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [42493/20]
View answer185. Deputy Pearse Doherty asked the Minister for Health the action that will be taken to improve the financial support and conditions in place for student nurses and midwives; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [42490/20]
View answerI propose to take Questions Nos. 114, 152, 171 and 185 together.
I recognise the importance of student nurses and midwives completing their essential clinical placements in a safe environment and also recognise the potential hardship that might arise for students on placement due to COVID 19 such as, maintaining part time employment, increased travel and additional accommodation costs.
The supernumerary status of clinical placements is critical for learning in complex environments. Supernumerary status means that the student is in the clinical area but additional to the staffing numbers required for that area. Students train under supervision and alongside qualified staff who have undertaken additional preceptorship training to support them in the clinical area. Students do not have responsibility for patient case loads while on supernumerary placements. While students may participate in the delivery of care, the supernumerary status ensures supported learning, essential for students in gaining the range of skills and experience needed for qualification.
Financial supports for non-intern student nurses and midwives are governed by Circular 9/2004, that provides:
- an accommodation allowance up to €50.79 per week to be paid where it is necessary for a student to obtain accommodation away from their normal place of residence;
- a refund of travel expenses.
Both are paid as refunds on production of receipts.
Concerning 4th year nursing and midwifery students, the HSE continues to fund the internship employment of these students who are on rostered work placements. This includes those due to commence rostered work placement in January 2021. These 4th year student nurses and midwives on rostered work placement are paid at the approved rate, that is €22,229 on an annual basis for psychiatric nursing specialism and €21,749 for all other nursing disciplines. This rate of pay is determined by HSE circular 005/2016 and is updated in accordance with the consolidated pay scales issued on 01st October, 2020 by my Department. Other healthcare students do unpaid clinical placements in order to qualify. 4th year student nurses on rostered internship placement are the only healthcare students who are paid a salary.
Last week, I wrote to the Nursing Unions and advised of the supports made available in 2020 for student nurses and student midwives. These include:
- Access to PUP payment for those student nurses and midwives who may have lost part time employment due to COVID-19. This is a specific exemption for nurses and midwives for which I have secured Government approval;
- Enhanced Illness benefit for those students who work part time but have fallen ill with COVID-19;
- Other welfare schemes to assist with financial hardship due to illness, subject to qualifying criteria (Supplementary Welfare Allowance, Urgent Needs Payment);
- Access for eligible students to the National Access Plan (Contingency Fund) and Student Assistance Fund.
- €250 top-up for those in receipt of the SUSI grant or €250 contribution to fees for eligible students.
A review of student allowances has been completed by my Department and after consideration of the findings, I have instructed that the current travel and accommodation allowance rates be subject to a focused re-examination, in the form of a time limited process which shall be subject to an independent appraisal and concluded no later than 5th January 2021. My Department is engaging with the representative organisations on this matter.
116. Deputy Alan Kelly asked the Minister for Health the number of persons that have been recruited by the HSE since he launched the winter plan; the total increase in HSE employment that this represents in net terms; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [42346/20]
View answerThe Winter Plan was launched by the Health Service Executive on 24th September. The number of staff employed by the Health Service Executive is identified through the staff census, which is collected monthly, with October being the most recently available data.
From the end of September to the end of October, there has been a net increase of 92 WTE. However, it is important to note that the monthly change has been impacted by the changes in nursing and midwifery students moving from their current grade to the grade of Staff Nurse or Midwife, upon graduation. There is a delay between when student nurses and midwives leave the census as one grade and return as a different grade. This move takes place between September and year end.
In total, 1,030 student nurses and midwives will take up permanent contracts as Staff Nurses and Midwives by the end of this year. Excluding the WTE associated with pre-registration student nurses and midwives, there was a growth of 429 WTE in October.
In addition to this, there is recruitment taking place that is not reflected in current census figures. In October, 240 community swabbers were recruited. However, they are not currently captured in census figures due to a time delay. In addition, 322 contact tracers were recruited in October, but these staff are not included in the census as they are hired and employed through third party agencies.
117. Deputy Mick Barry asked the Minister for Health the discussions and contacts that he has had with section 39 workers and their representatives; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [42430/20]
View answerAn agreement reached at the Workplace Relations Commission (WRC) in October 2018 provided for pay restoration in relation to 50 pilot organisations in the first instance. Pay restoration for these bodies commenced in April 2019 with further payments due in October 2020 and October 2021 as appropriate.
The agreement recognised that some of the remaining Section 39 organisations were also likely to have pay restoration issues and a process to address these issues commenced in 2019 under the auspices of the WRC.
I can confirm that a positive and constructive WRC engagement took place between the parties on 9 December 2020. I am hopeful that a final agreement will be reached between the parties.
118. Deputy Jennifer Murnane O'Connor asked the Minister for Health his plans to increase the number of paediatric rheumatologists in Ireland; the number of children waiting on a paediatric rheumatologist referral and the current waiting time; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [42327/20]
View answerI sincerely regret that children can experience a long waiting time for Rheumatology treatment, and I am conscious of the burden that this places on them and their families.
Children’s Health Ireland (CHI) has advised my Department that during the initial phases of COVID-19, all face to face hospital outpatient reviews and most of the planned diagnostic tests, including MRI, were deferred in response to the pandemic. CHI at Crumlin have recommenced the majority of outpatient and diagnostic services, albeit at reduced numbers, due to public health guidelines on social distancing. Currently, Consultant Rheumatologists are seeing a number of patients in the outpatient suite including urgent patients and those who were deferred during the early phases of COVID-19.
CHI has further advised that there is an active recruitment campaign for an additional Rheumatology Consultant underway. This addition to the medical staff will allow for an increased number of patients to be seen, diagnosed and treatment initiated, as part of the comprehensive Rheumatology service.
In relation to the number of children awaiting a first Rheumatology Outpatient appointment at CHI, the table attached shows the National Treatment Purchase Fund (NTPF) published waiting list figures at the end of October 2020 by time band.
119. Deputy John Lahart asked the Minister for Health if the position with regard to the attendance of partners during labour and birth has changed; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [36597/20]
View answerAs this is a service matter, I have asked the Health Service Executive to respond to the Deputy directly, as soon as possible.
120. Deputy Alan Kelly asked the Minister for Health the status of the roll-out of the Covid-19 vaccine immunisation programme; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [42344/20]
View answerThe Government is committed to the timely implementation of a COVID-19 immunisation programme, as soon as one or more vaccines in the EU portfolio are approved for use. In this regard a High-Level Taskforce was established to support and oversee the development and implementation of the programme.
The Taskforce is supporting my Department and the HSE in developing national COVID-19 vaccination strategy and implementation plan due to be submitted by Friday, 11 December. I will then bring the plan to Government for consideration and subject to the outcome of this discussion, it is the intention that the Vaccination Strategy and Implementation Plan will be published.
121. Deputy Denis Naughten asked the Minister for Health the steps he is taking to minimise the liability to the State under the proposed indemnity for Covid-19 vaccines; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [42240/20]
View answerIreland is currently involved in an EU Procurement Exercise being operated by the European Commission on behalf of member states to procure a portfolio of suitable, safe and effective vaccines, in sufficient quantities, to combat COVID-19.
As part of the exercise, Ireland has already opted into an Advance Purchase Agreement (APA) with AstraZeneca (partnering with Oxford University); Janssen (Johnson & Johnson); BioNTech / Pfizer; CureVac and Moderna.
The content of the Advance Purchase Agreements, including with regard to liability / indemnity, are negotiated with vaccine suppliers by the European Commission and its negotiation team acting on behalf of Member States. Member States may decide to opt in / opt out, but do not have scope to recast the provisions of any APA. Responsibility for claims management will be assigned to the State Claims Agency.
123. Deputy Jennifer Murnane O'Connor asked the Minister for Health if his Department plans to provide support to the traumatic brain injury Dublin City University research project; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [42328/20]
View answer124. Deputy Rose Conway-Walsh asked the Minister for Health the status of the planned primary care centre in Bangor Erris, County Mayo; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [42440/20]
View answerAs the HSE has responsibility for the provision, along with the maintenance and operation of Primary Care Centres and other Primary Care facilities, the Executive has been asked to reply directly to the Deputy.
125. Deputy Emer Higgins asked the Minister for Health the progress of the women’s health taskforce which is aiming to improve women’s health outcomes and experiences of healthcare in terms of health promotion and public health; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [41876/20]
View answerI am pleased to highlight that progressing women’s health continues to be a priority for the Department of Health and for this government. A strong commitment was made to promote Women’s Health in the Programme for Government and the Budget 2021 delivered on this commitment by providing significant investment across women’s health. This includes
- funding of €12m to ensure a renewed impetus to the implementation of the National Maternity Strategy and the new model of maternity care, and to improve gynaecology services.
- funding of €10m to strengthen screening services including Breast Check and Cervical Check,
- and building on the work of the Women’s Health Taskforce, a €5m Women’s Health Fund to improve women’s health outcomes and experiences of healthcare.
The Women’s Health Taskforce was established in September 2019 to improve both health outcomes and experiences of healthcare for women and girls. In its first year, the Taskforce has listened to, engaged with and worked with more than 1,000 individuals, and organisations representing women and girls across the country. Based on this consultation, and review of the evidence, the Taskforce has developed proposals to improve supports for gynaecological health, engagement with physical activity and supports for menopause which were chosen as initial priority areas.
In 2021, the €5m Women’s Health Fund will deliver a programme of actions arising from this work, along with additional priority areas, including improving mental health supports for women and girls. A national awareness and education campaign will also be delivered to provide a trusted source of information and help normalise discussions about women’s health.
The members of the Taskforce meet regularly, with its eighth meeting held in December and with regular updates provided through a dedicated webpage on the Department of Health’s website at gov.ie/en/campaigns/-Womens-Health/
