Written Answers Nos. 1903-1927
1903. Deputy David Cullinane asked the Minister for Health the amount spent on Covid-19 testing and tracing in 2021 to date; the amount budgeted for 2021; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [15844/21]
View answerAs this is a service matter, I have asked the Health Service Executive to respond to the deputy directly, as soon as possible.
1904. Deputy David Cullinane asked the Minister for Health the total Covid-19-related spend in 2020 by budget line item; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [15845/21]
View answerThe final budget allocation for spending on COVID-19 measures by the Department of Health through the HSE in 2020 was €2,511m (comprising €2,291m current and €220m capital).
The current allocation for COVID-19 measures in 2020 includes: €920m for personal protective equipment; €330m for private hospital capacity; €292m for COVID-19 testing & contact tracing; €190m for acute hospitals; €140m for GP services; €80m for the Temporary Payment Assistance Scheme for private nursing homes; €76m for payment of student nurses and medical interns; €45m for accommodation and isolation facilities; and €218m for other measures including community costs, disability services, hospices, the National Ambulance Service and other miscellaneous supports.
The capital allocation for COVID-19 measures in 2020 includes: €125m for buildings and related equipment; €45m for other equipment; €32m for ventilators and €18m for ICT.
The HSE are currently in the process of finalising their annual financial statements for 2020. Consequently the final expenditure data for 2020, which will incorporate expenditure on COVID-19 related measures, is not yet available.
1905. Deputy David Cullinane asked the Minister for Health the number of whole-time equivalent funded, filled and vacant positions in testing and tracing; the basis on which they are filled as a percentage of full-time; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [15847/21]
View answerAs this is a service matter, I have asked the Health Service Executive to respond to the deputy directly, as soon as possible.
1906. Deputy Emer Higgins asked the Minister for Health the number of children currently waiting for assessment for speech and language services in CHO7. [15857/21]
View answerAs this is a service matter, I have asked the Health Service Executive to respond to the deputy directly.
1907. Deputy Emer Higgins asked the Minister for Health the number of children who have received assessments for speech and language services and are currently waiting for intervention in CHO7. [15858/21]
View answer1908. Deputy Emer Higgins asked the Minister for Health the number of children who have received sporadic speech and language intervention but require further sessions in CHO7. [15859/21]
View answerI propose to take Questions Nos. 1907 and 1908 together.
As these are service matters, I have asked the Health Service Executive to respond to the deputy directly.
1909. Deputy Emer Higgins asked the Minister for Health if he will request the HSE to publish the modal age with regard to Covid-19 cases as part of the daily figures to enable further insights into Covid-19 transmission trends here. [15861/21]
View answerAs this is a service matter, I have asked the Health Service Executive to respond to the Deputy directly, as soon as possible.
1910. Deputy Thomas Pringle asked the Minister for Health when mandatory hotel quarantine for passengers arriving to Ireland from high-risk countries will be implemented; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [15866/21]
View answerMandatory hotel quarantine in designated facilities will come into practical effect at 04:00 on 26 March 2021. From that time, persons arriving into the State from designated states will be required to undergo quarantine in a designated facility.
Persons who are required to undergo quarantine in a designated facility are now able to book using an online portal which went live at 00:00 on Monday 23 March 2021 and official information about the mandatory quarantine programme has been made available on www.gov.ie/quarantine.
1911. Deputy Christopher O'Sullivan asked the Minister for Health the steps being taken to ensure immunocompromised persons and persons with chronic lung diseases are not refused regular treatments until they receive the Covid-19 vaccine; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [15868/21]
View answerAs this is a service matter, I have asked the Health Service Executive to respond to the Deputy directly, as soon as possible.
1912. Deputy Pearse Doherty asked the Minister for Health if childcare workers (details supplied) will be prioritised in the Covid-19 vaccine programme; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [15869/21]
View answerOn the 23rd of February 2021, I announced an update to Ireland’s COVID-19 Vaccine Allocation Strategy.
In comprising the initial Vaccine Allocation Strategy, the NIAC listed several conditions associated with increased risk of severe disease and death. In the intervening period, national and international evidence has become available which has enabled a more detailed analysis of underlying conditions that may increase the risk of developing severe disease or death.
The NIAC has now been able to more comprehensively identify those medical conditions and to distinguish between those which place a person at very high or high risk of severe disease if they contract the virus. Medical conditions and the magnitude of the risk they pose will continue to be monitored and periodically reviewed.
The NIAC continues to monitor data around this disease and indeed emerging data on effectiveness of vaccines on a rolling basis. Further details are available at the following link:
https//www.gov.ie/en/press-release/b44b2-minister-donnelly-announces-update-to-vaccine-allocation-strategy/:
The next cohort to be vaccinated (Cohort 4) are those aged 16-69 and at very high risk of severe illness and death. Vaccination of this group began in March.
The ongoing review process will continue to look at the other priority groups yet to be vaccinated, along with the competing needs of those working or living in high-risk situations, carers who deliver essential services to highly dependent individuals in the home setting, and those who are socially vulnerable/disadvantaged.
It is important to emphasise that vaccination is only one part of our response to the prevention of COVID-19 infection. People who are vaccinated need to continue with all the public health measures that have been proven to reduce the risk of infection, i.e., limiting our social contacts, physical distancing, wearing a mask, hand hygiene, cough etiquette and avoiding non-essential travel until a sufficiently large proportion of the population are immune.
1913. Deputy Pearse Doherty asked the Minister for Health when a person (details supplied) in County Donegal will receive respite services; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [15870/21]
View answerThe Government is committed to providing services and supports for people with disabilities which will empower them to live independent lives, provide greater independence in accessing the services they choose, and enhance their ability to tailor the supports required to meet their needs and plan their lives.
As this is a service matter, I have asked the Health Service Executive to respond to the Deputy directly, as soon as possible.
1914. Deputy Holly Cairns asked the Minister for Health the date to which his Department is working towards to introduce the Nursing Home Support Scheme (Amendment) Bill; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [15905/21]
View answerThe Nursing Homes Support Scheme, commonly referred to as the Fair Deal Scheme, has been in operation for over 10 years and there is broad agreement that the Scheme operates well and continues to provide appropriate financial assistance where it is required.
However, it is recognised that the Act, in its current form, does not place caps on the financial assessment of family owned and operated farms or businesses when calculating the means to pay for nursing home care. This places a potentially onerous burden on family successors and could challenge the future viability of these productive assets.
Therefore, the Department of Health has proposed a policy change to the Scheme, to cap contributions based on farm and business assets at three years where a family successor commits to working the productive asset. The stated policy objective of the legislation is to introduce additional safeguards in the Scheme to further protect the viability and sustainability of family farms and businesses that will be passed down to the next generation of the family to continue to work them as productive assets to provide for their livelihood.
This change was approved by Government and underwent pre-legislative scrutiny in the last Dáil. Progress on the development of the Bill was negatively impacted by the dissolution of the last Dáil and by the COVID-19 pandemic. The response to the pandemic has been and continues to be a national and public health priority. However, work on this legislation has continued to progress. I requested a waiver to conduct pre-legislative scrutiny from the Business Committee, given this was already undertaken in the previous Dáil, and this waiver was granted on 4th February 2021. I have met with the Attorney General to discuss this legislation, and there has been an ongoing and active engagement between the Department of Health and the Office of the Attorney General on the development of the legislation, which will be brought to the Houses of the Oireachtas at the earliest possible opportunity. It is on the priority list for publication in the Spring legislative session. The Bill will be enacted upon completion of all stages in the Oireachtas and signed into law by the President.
1916. Deputy Holly Cairns asked the Minister for Health the steps he is taking to ensure the waiving of intellectual property rights for Covid-19 products during the pandemic, in particular vaccines, as recommended by the World Health Organisation; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [15907/21]
View answerAs stated previously by the Tánaiste in recent responses to questions raised by Deputies Shortall and Collins, India and South Africa have presented a proposal to the World Trade Organisation (WTO) to allow all countries to choose to neither grant nor enforce any patents and other intellectual property rights related to COVID-19 drugs, vaccines and diagnostics for the duration of the pandemic. The proposers argue that this would allow countries to scale up the manufacture of such products.
International Trade is a competence of the EU under the Treaties and in exercising that competence, the European Commission engages fully with the Member States through a variety of Committees and Working Parties/Groups, including on Intellectual Property.
The EU’s current position on the proposed waiver is that the WTO international agreement on Trade Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (the TRIPS Agreement) allows countries the flexibility to respond to the concerns raised by India and South Africa. Specifically, the TRIPS agreement allows compulsory licensing which is when a government permits someone else to produce the patented product or process without the consent of the patent owner.
The EU continues to be committed to an open and comprehensive dialogue with all WTO members to explore how the multilateral rules-based trading system can best support universal and equitable access to COVID-19 vaccines and treatments.
The EU considers that the COVAX Facility, the international initiative to ensure global access to COVID vaccines, is the mechanism that is best placed to ensure that high-income countries finance the vaccines and support the developing countries to secure their share of global supply.
Ireland has consistently championed collaborative responses to the pandemic, with a focus on ensuring that the needs of the poorest and most vulnerable are served by our collective effort. As a member of the global health community, Ireland continues to play an active role in ensuring fair and equitable access to vaccines for all. This includes supporting the World Health Organization (WHO), the Global Vaccine Alliance and the Global Fund, to develop, produce and equitably distribute effective technologies in the COVID-19 global response.
1917. Deputy Holly Cairns asked the Minister for Health the steps he is taking to highlight the importance of cervical screening for persons under 25 years of age who are not yet screened but need to be aware of the significance of the screening process; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [15908/21]
View answerAs this is a service matter, it has been referred to the Health Service Executive for attention and direct reply to the Deputy.
1918. Deputy Holly Cairns asked the Minister for Health if a personal public service number, PPSN is required to access cervical screening services; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [15909/21]
View answerAs this is a service matter, it has been referred to the Health Service Executive for attention and direct reply to the Deputy.
1919. Deputy Holly Cairns asked the Minister for Health the number of persons that opted out of cervical screening services in each of the years 2015 to 2020, in tabular form; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [15910/21]
View answerAs this is a service matter, it has been referred to the Health Service Executive for attention and direct reply to the Deputy.
1920. Deputy Holly Cairns asked the Minister for Health the details of HSE psychologist posts since January 2014 in CHO4 that were competed for via local interview as opposed to the relevant national recruitment panel; the dates the posts were advertised; the exact locations of the services; the rationale in each instance for a local interview being used over the national recruitment panel process; the related recruitment rules on this process; the number of such competitions that were sanctioned by local or national human resources; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [15911/21]
View answerAs this is a service matter, I have asked the Health Service Executive to respond directly to the Deputy, as soon as possible.
1921. Deputy Holly Cairns asked the Minister for Health the role of the liaison officers appointed to work with the persons affected by the CervicalCheck scandal; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [15912/21]
View answer1922. Deputy Holly Cairns asked the Minister for Health if the document regarding liaison officers will be made available for persons affected by the CervicalCheck scandal; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [15913/21]
View answerI propose to take Questions Nos. 1921 and 1922 together.
The Government decided on May 11th 2018, to put in place a comprehensive package of primary care and social care supports packages for women (and their families) affected by the CervicalCheck issues.
These measures included the Health Service Executive (HSE) putting in place a Community Liaison Officer to support women and their families in the provision of the support packages.
My Department and HSE are committed to ongoing collaboration in addressing the needs of affected women and improving services for all women. For example, I recently secured Government support to extend for a further five-year period the administrative arrangements in place regarding medical cards which were issued by the HSE, on an administrative basis, to family members of affected women under the rollout of the overall supports package.
The matter of liaison officers is a service matter, as such, I have asked the Health Service Executive to respond to the deputy directly as soon as possible.
1923. Deputy Holly Cairns asked the Minister for Health the details of the retrospective audit that will be offered to persons affected by the CervicalCheck scandal; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [15914/21]
View answerAs this is a service matter, it has been referred to the Health Service Executive for attention and direct reply to the Deputy.
1924. Deputy Holly Cairns asked the Minister for Health the steps he is taking to involve persons and groups affected by failures of the State to provide proper healthcare such as a group (details supplied) in the development of the patient safety Bill; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [15915/21]
View answerThe Patient Safety (Notifiable Patient Safety Incidents) Bill 2019 provides the legislative framework for a number of important patient safety issues, including the mandatory open disclosure of a list of notifiable patient safety incidents and the notification of same externally to the Health Information and Quality Authority, Chief Inspector of Social Services and the Mental Health Commission, as appropriate, to contribute to national learning and system-wide improvements. This mandatory requirement for open disclosure will ensure that patients and their families receive appropriate timely information in relation to an incident that may have occurred in relation to their care.
The Patient Safety (Notifiable Patient Safety Incidents) Bill 2019 will also bring private hospitals within the remit of the Health Act 2007. The relevant provisions extend the remit of the Health Information and Quality Authority, allowing it to set standards for the operation of private hospitals, to monitor compliance with them and to undertake inspections and investigations as required. The Bill also contains provisions to support clinical audit within the health service.
The Bill was introduced into Dáil Éireann on the 12 December 2019 and passed Second Stage in the Dáil at that time. The Bill is a Programme for Government commitment and is now due before Dáil Committee stage, after which it will be progressed to Dáil Report Stage and through all Stages in the Seanad.
The Patient Safety (Notifiable Patient Safety Incidents) Bill 2019 is part of the broader programme of legislative and policy initiatives to improve the ability of the health service to anticipate, identify, and respond to patient safety issues, and to improve the quality and safety of health services for patients. Creating a culture of open disclosure and learning from the things that go wrong is the bedrock of making services safer.
The Department of Health is committed to ensuring and supporting the central role that patients play in working with the public health service to develop health policy and in designing and reforming health services. Patient representatives participate on a number of committees and working groups across the Department of Health, the HSE and health agencies, and make a significant contribution to the strategic decision-making work of those committees and groups, including members of the 221+ Group as part of the CervicalCheck Steering Committee.
In developing the Patient Safety (Notifiable Patient Safety Incidents) Bill 2019, which builds on the Civil Liability Amendment Act (2017), my Department has taken part in extensive stakeholder engagements, including with Dr Gabriel Scally and members of the 221+ Group. The intention behind these engagements is to ensure that the lessons learned from users of our health and social services inform the provisions of the Bill. This includes additional provisions made following consideration of recommendations made by Dr Gabriel Scally. These provisions place specific obligations on health services providers and health practitioners to ensure that all relevant information is provided to the patient and their family in the course of making an open disclosure of a notifiable incident.
1925. Deputy Holly Cairns asked the Minister for Health the steps he is taking to address the HSE decision to reduce the number of intern places being offered for the 2021 cohort of medical graduates (details supplied); and if he will make a statement on the matter. [15916/21]
View answerOver the past number of weeks, my Department and the HSE have been reviewing the option to increase the number of medical intern places for July 2021.
I have announced an increase of 120 medical intern posts for July 2021. The increase in the number of intern places will be supported with accompanying increases in postgraduate training places, to ensure these doctors can avail of the next step in the training pathway following completion of an internship.
The six Intern Training Networks, that organise and oversee intern training in Ireland, are responsible for the allocation of intern posts within their particular networks. The networks have now been informed of the additional intern posts for July 2021, and will allocate the additional posts appropriately.
1926. Deputy Holly Cairns asked the Minister for Health the steps he is taking to address the waiting lists for persons with endometriosis; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [15917/21]
View answerIt is recognised that waiting times for scheduled appointments and procedures have been impacted in the last year as a direct result of the COVID-19 pandemic.
The HSE is currently recommending that only critical time dependent elective procedures are undertaken at this time due to the on-going and significant increased demand for bed capacity related to Covid-19.
This decision was made arising from the rapid increase in Covid-19 admissions and to ensure patient safety and that all appropriate resources were made available for Covid-19 related activity and time-critical essential work.
Patient safety remains at the centre of all hospital activity and elective care scheduling. To ensure services are provided in a safe, clinically-aligned and prioritised way, hospitals are following HSE clinical guidelines and protocols. The HSE continues to optimise productivity through alternative work practices such as the use of alternative settings including private hospitals, community facilities and alternative outpatient settings.
The work of the HSE to improve access to elective care and reduce waiting times for patients is supported by the National Treatment Purchase Fund (NTPF). This includes increased use of private hospitals, funding weekend and evening work in public hospitals, funding “see and treat” services where minor procedures are provided at the same time as outpatient consultations, funding hybrid services where public and private hospitals contribute to the treatment of patients, virtual clinics and clinical validation. The NTPF has advised that to date in 2021, they have approved funding for Gynaecology Initiatives for the treatment of 1,726 Outpatient and 520 Inpatient/Day Case patients.
€240 million has been provided in Budget 2021 for an access to care fund, €210m of which has been allocated to the HSE and a further €30m to the National Treatment Purchase Fund. This will be used to fund additional capacity to address the shortfall arising as a result of measures taken in the context of Covid-19, as well as to address waiting lists.
