Written Answers Nos. 161-177
162. Deputy Sorca Clarke asked the Minister for Health if the recent lifting on restrictions in the UK will have an impact on quarantine requirements for persons travelling to or from the UK from Ireland. [37737/21]
View answerAt present, passengers arriving from the Great Britain are required to complete a passenger locator form, to provide a negative pre-departure PCR test and to complete a period of quarantine at the address specified in their passenger locator form.
New travel measures are intended to be introduced from 19th July subject to prevailing public health situation. Government is responding proactively to balancing the risks associated with increased travel with the re-opening of society and non-essential overseas travel.
These travel measures are kept under continuous review based on public health advice and the international epidemiological situation.
163. Deputy Joan Collins asked the Minister for Health when he will introduce legislation for a recommended standard Covid-19 ventilation system for all indoor activities. [37589/21]
View answerI wish to inform the Deputy that there are no plans at present to bring legislation for a recommended standard COVID-19 ventilation system for all indoor activities.
Building ventilation has remained one element of broader infection prevention and control (IPC) response over the course of the COVID-19 pandemic. The appreciation of the role of ventilation has evolved in the context of developing experience and evidence; guidance, training and measures implemented reflects this learning. Links to published guidance are provided below for the Deputy’s information.
The NPHET for COVID-19 regards ventilation as an important IPC measure and a NPHET subgroup, called the Expert Group on the Role of Ventilation in Reducing Transmission of COVID-19, was accordingly established in the early part of 2021 to provide scientific advice on ventilation and other control measures to reduce the risk of long-range (airborne) transmission of SARS-CoV-2.
The Group has a wide range of multi-disciplinary expertise in indoor air quality and related areas including, aerosol science, architecture, engineering, regulation, occupational hygiene, exposure science, virology, microbiology, and public health medicine.
It was agreed that the work of the Expert Review Group and its reports would be taken forward by the Senior Officials Group on COVID-19. Since then, it has informed Departments’ and Agencies’ work in respect of sectoral guidance and public information regarding ventilation.
The Expert Group submitted two reports while reporting to the NPHET at the Department of Health, which were duly considered by the HPSC and HSE-AMRIC in the context of updating its guidance. These reports, along with relevant agendas and meeting minutes are available on the gov.ie website: https://www.gov.ie/en/publication/aa43c-expert-group-on-the-role-of-ventilation-in-reducing-transmission-of-covid-19/#reports
It is the responsibility of individual Government departments to provide sector-specific COVID-19 advice on ventilation as per their respective remits. In this regard, the Deputy’s attention is drawn to some of the published guidance across a number of sectors, cited below.
Healthcare sector (HSE-AMRIC guidance):
- “Acute Hospital Infection Prevention and Control Precautions for Possible or Confirmed COVID-19 in a Pandemic Setting V.2.3 09.06.2021” www.hpsc.ie/a-z/respiratory/coronavirus/novelcoronavirus/guidance/infectionpreventionandcontrolguidance/InfectionPreventionandControlPrecautionsforAcuteSettings.pdf
- “Interim Guidance on Infection Prevention and Control for the Health Service Executive 2021 V1.3. 11.01.2021” www.hpsc.ie/a-z/respiratory/coronavirus/novelcoronavirus/guidance/infectionpreventionandcontrolguidance/hseinfectionpreventionandcontrolguidanceandframework/Interim%20HSE%20Guidance%20on%20IPC.pdf
- More generally, the Health Protection Surveillance Centre (HPSC) has published Guidance on Non-Healthcare Building Ventilation during COVID-19. The Guidance provides broad recommendations, based on the literature, for commercial and public buildings: www.hpsc.ie/a-z/respiratory/coronavirus/novelcoronavirus/guidance/infectionpreventionandcontrolguidance/buildingsandfacilitiesguidance/
Education sector:
- www.hpsc.ie/a-z/respiratory/coronavirus/novelcoronavirus/guidance/educationguidance/Guidance%20on%20non%20HCbuilding%20ventilation%20during%20COVID-19.pdf
-www.gov.ie/en/publication/ad236-guidance-on-ventilation-in-schools/
Workplaces, Businesses (including hospitality), Retails Settings, and Shopping Centres:
- A revised Work Safely Protocol (previously the Return to Work Protocol) was published on 14th May 2021 as a collaborative effort between employers and employees, which was led by the Departments of Enterprise, Trade and Employment and Health, with the support of the Health and Safety Authority (HSA) and with significant input by public health from the Health Service Executive (HSE). The revised Protocol incorporates the current advice on the Public Health measures needed to reduce the spread of COVID-19 in the community and workplaces including enhanced detail on ventilation www.gov.ie/en/publication/bb7fd-work-safely-protocol/
- www.nsai.ie/images/uploads/general/NSAI-COVID19-Retail-Guidelines-13012021.pdf
- www.nsai.ie/images/uploads/general/NSAI-COVID19-Shopping-Centre-Guidelines-13012021.pdf
- Fáilte Ireland: Overview Guidelines to Reopening -failtecdn.azureedge.net/failteireland/Overview-Guidelines-to-Re-opening.pdf
- Fáilte Ireland: Guidelines for Reopening Restaurants and Cafes failtecdn.azureedge.net/failteireland/Guidelines-for-Re-opening-Restaurants-and-Cafes.pdf
- Fáilte Ireland: Guidelines for Reopening Hotels and Guesthouses - failtecdn.azureedge.net/failteireland/Guidelines-for-Re-opening-Hotels-and-Guesthouses.pdf
There is also additional guidance on Gov.ie and on the HSE website which outlines the importance of ventilation in households, this can be found here:
- www.gov.ie/en/publication/472f64-covid-19-coronavirus-guidance-and-advice/
- www2.hse.ie/conditions/coronavirus/how-coronavirus-is-spread.html
164. Deputy Cathal Crowe asked the Minister for Health if there is on-site capacity at University Maternity Hospital Limerick for bloods to be tested on a 24/7 basis. [28429/21]
View answerAs this Parliamentary Question relates to an operational issue, it is a matter for the HSE. However, members of the Oireachtas are advised that the HSE is currently unable to access the information to answer Parliamentary Questions due to the recent cyber-attack, which has required a temporary shut-down of HSE IT systems. The disruption to service is on-going, and the HSE is working hard to restore its IT capacity and resume normal services. Members of the Oireachtas will be advised as soon as the HSE is again in a position to provide responses to PQs and are encouraged to resubmit their Parliamentary Questions at that point.
165. Deputy Emer Higgins asked the Minister for Health if he will report on the actions that are being taken to address the current waiting times for children’s services in CHO7 such as speech and language therapy, occupational therapy, physiotherapy and psychology services; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [28643/21]
View answerBoth I and the HSE acknowledge the challenges in meeting the demand for children’s disability services and is acutely conscious of how this impacts on children and their families.
A number of service improvements are being introduced that, when implemented, will help improve access to services for children with disabilities and developmental delays. The overall programme of improvement is the ongoing roll out of Progressing Disability Services for Children and Young People. This requires the reorganisation of all current HSE and HSE funded children’s disability services into geographically-based Children's Disability Network Teams.
The Progressing Disabilities Programme is doing this by forming partnerships between all the disability organisations in an area and pooling their staff with expertise in the different types of disabilities to form the Network Teams. These teams will provide for all children with significant disability, regardless of their diagnosis, where they live or where they go to school.
The HSE is establishing a total of 91 Children’s Disability Networks across each of the nine CHOs comprised of specialist inter-disciplinary Children’s Disability Network Teams to work with children with complex disability needs. This reconfiguration of services under the Progressing Disability Services for Children & Young People programme is in line with Health Service Reform and the implementation of Community Healthcare Networks under Sláintecare.
In addition, 100 new posts have been allocated under the HSE National Service Plan 2021. Funding for these posts will facilitate each area to determine the discipline and grade required to address the gaps in their Children’s Disability Network Teams. The 2021 allocation of posts is being assigned to the CHO areas in two tranches of 50 posts.
I trust this clarifies the position for the Deputy.
166. Deputy Christopher O'Sullivan asked the Minister for Health if it will be ensured that full services are maintained for all service users of an organisation (details supplied) and a commitment made to the provision of the same suite of services being made available to all the users who utilised this service prior to the pandemic; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [37582/21]
View answerAs this Parliamentary Question relates to an operational issue, it is a matter for the HSE. However, members of the Oireachtas are advised that the HSE is currently unable to access the information to answer Parliamentary Questions due to the recent cyber-attack, which has required a temporary shut-down of HSE IT systems. The disruption to service is on-going, and the HSE is working hard to restore its IT capacity and resume normal services. Members of the Oireachtas will be advised as soon as the HSE is again in a position to provide responses to PQs and are encouraged to resubmit their Parliamentary Questions at that point.
167. Deputy Holly Cairns asked the Minister for Health his plans to ensure that all maternity hospitals put in place safe procedures for nominated support partners to attend for all stages of labour including the induction of labour and early labour. [37738/21]
View answerAs this Parliamentary Question relates to an operational issue, it is a matter for the HSE. However, members of the Oireachtas are advised that the HSE is currently unable to access the information to answer Parliamentary Questions due to the recent cyber-attack, which has required a temporary shut-down of HSE IT systems. The disruption to service is on-going, and the HSE is working hard to restore its IT capacity and resume normal services. Members of the Oireachtas will be advised as soon as the HSE is again in a position to provide responses to PQs and are encouraged to resubmit their Parliamentary Questions at that point.
168. Deputy Brian Stanley asked the Minister for Health the provisions in place for medical card patients who cannot access urgent dental treatment due to the refusal of dentists in counties Laois and Offaly to work under the dental treatment services scheme. [27792/21]
View answerAs this Parliamentary Question relates to an operational issue, it is a matter for the HSE. However, members of the Oireachtas are advised that the HSE is currently unable to access the information to answer Parliamentary Questions due to the recent cyber-attack, which has required a temporary shut-down of HSE IT systems. The disruption to service is on-going, and the HSE is working hard to restore its IT capacity and resume normal services.
Members of the Oireachtas will be advised as soon as the HSE is again in a position to provide responses to PQs and are encouraged to resubmit their Parliamentary Questions at that point.
169. Deputy Darren O'Rourke asked the Minister for Health the way in which pay parity claims of medical scientists are being progressed; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [19939/21]
View answerUnder the current Public Service Agreement, Building Momentum, Sectoral Bargaining has been identified as the mechanism to deal with any outstanding claims.
Section 2.1 of Building Momentum states that ''a Sectoral Bargaining Fund will be established to be allocated within sectors under this Agreement. The purpose of the Sectoral Bargaining Fund process is to deal with outstanding adjudications, commitments, recommendations, awards and claims within the terms of the Fund and within the Exchequer funding limit in place. All public servants covered by the Agreement will be encompassed by this process''. Grade or sector based pay claims and outstanding adjudications and awards will have to be resolved within this process.
The HSE and Department are engaging with the representative bodies in the Health sector regarding the implementation of the Sectoral Bargaining provisions set out in Building Momentum.
170. Deputy Cormac Devlin asked the Minister for Health the status of the Covid-19 vaccination roll-out programme. [37506/21]
View answerThe vaccination programme continues to make significant progress with over 4.55 million vaccines administered as of 7 July. Over 2.6 million have now received a first vaccine dose with more than 1.9 million fully vaccinated.
The vaccine rollout continues at pace despite the HSE cyber-attack, albeit with some impact on data reporting systems.
There are now 42 Vaccination Centre sites operating nationally, following the opening of additional sites in Carndonagh, Co. Donegal, and the Munster Technical University campus in Cork. Approximately 1.9m people who registered on the public portal have now received a vaccine at one of the HSE operated Vaccination Centres since they commenced operation. The HSE online portal opened for those aged 30-34 on Wednesday 7 July.
The week commencing 5 July saw pharmacies begin to administer vaccines to those aged 18-34 years of age on an opt-in basis. From the week commencing 12 July, a further option will open on the HSE registration portal to allow those people aged 18-34 who choose to opt into an early vaccination to register their interest for an AstraZeneca or Janssen vaccine.
The success of the vaccination programme has led to a marked reduction in levels of hospitalisation and has been a key enabler in the significant reopening of Irish society.
172. Deputy Holly Cairns asked the Taoiseach the details of the social impact assessments carried out by his Department and public bodies and agencies under his remit since 1 January 2016. [37301/21]
View answerThe Cabinet Handbook requires that Memorandums for the Government should indicate clearly the impacts of the proposal under a number of headings, including employment; gender equality; poverty or social exclusion; people with disabilities; and rural communities. In addition, when conducting a Regulatory Impact Analysis, the impact of the legislative proposal, including the costs and benefits of each option, must be considered under various headings including the impact on the socially excluded or vulnerable groups.
My Department has led the co-ordination of the Government's response to COVID-19 throughout the pandemic.
As part of this, my Department prepared three Reports on the Social Implications of COVID-19 in Ireland, which were published on Gov.ie.
Throughout the pandemic, Government decision-making on public health measures has been informed by public health, economic and social considerations with inputs from across Government to understand and assess both the impacts of the pandemic and the impacts of the restrictions imposed to manage it.
173. Deputy Mary Lou McDonald asked the Taoiseach when he will publish his diary for quarter 2 of 2021 on the website of his Department. [37374/21]
View answerMy diary for quarter 2 of 2021 has been published and is available on my Department's website.
174. Deputy Barry Cowen asked the Taoiseach if the Central Statistics Office has documented the number of non-Irish nationals usually resident in Ireland; and if so, the latest figures available for same in decreasing order in tabular form. [37502/21]
View answerThe most detailed statistics on non-Irish nationalities published by the CSO are from the Census of Population. Relevant reports from Census 2016 include Profile 7 - Migration and Diversity, published in September 2017, and the report on Non-Irish Nationalities Living in Ireland, published in September 2018. These reports contain statistics on the number of non-Irish nationals usually resident in Ireland and present on Census night, together with breakdowns by characteristics such as gender, age group, county of residence, educational attainment, principal economic status, religion, ethnicity, broad industrial group and socio-economic group. In April 2016, there were 535,475 non-Irish nationals usually resident in Ireland, a 1.6 per cent decrease compared with the 2011 figure (544,357). Just 12 countries, each with over 10,000 residents in Ireland, accounted for 73.6 per cent of all non-Irish nationals in 2016; these nationalities are set out in the following table.
Usually Resident Population by Nationality, Census 2016 – Irish and non-Irish nationalities with over 10,000 residents
|
Nationalities |
Number of Persons Usually Resident and Present on Census Night |
|
All nationalities |
4,689,921 |
|
Irish |
4,082,513 |
|
Polish |
122,515 |
|
UK |
103,113 |
|
Lithuanian |
36,552 |
|
Romanian |
29,186 |
|
Latvian |
19,933 |
|
Brazilian |
13,640 |
|
Spanish |
12,112 |
|
Italian |
11,732 |
|
French |
11,661 |
|
German |
11,531 |
|
Indian |
11,465 |
|
American (US) |
10,519 |
The CSO also publishes an annual estimate of the usually resident population, in its Population and Migration Estimates release. This release contains a very broad nationality breakdown. The latest figures are for April 2020 and the following table shows the estimated population, from April 2016 to April 2020, together with the very broad breakdown by nationality.
Estimated Population classified by Nationality, April 2016 to April 2020
|
- |
20161 |
2017 |
2018 |
2019 |
2020 |
|
Nationality |
(thousand) |
||||
|
Irish |
4,189.1 |
4,225.9 |
4,263.5 |
4,298.8 |
4,333.0 |
|
Non-Irish |
550.4 |
566.6 |
593.6 |
622.7 |
644.4 |
|
of which: |
|||||
|
United Kingdom |
105.7 |
107.7 |
110.8 |
114.5 |
116.9 |
|
EU14 excluding Irish2 |
64.9 |
69.0 |
73.7 |
81.8 |
85.8 |
|
EU15 to EU27 states3 |
249.4 |
250.3 |
255.0 |
257.7 |
258.2 |
|
Non-EU nationalities |
130.4 |
139.6 |
154.1 |
168.7 |
183.5 |
|
Total Persons |
4,739.6 |
4,792.5 |
4,857.0 |
4,921.5 |
4,977.4 |
1 The figures for 2016 differ from corresponding Census 2016 numbers because: a) persons who did not state their nationality in the Census have been distributed pro rata; and b) some 49,000 usually resident persons who were temporarily absent from the country on census night are included in the annual estimate of usually resident population.
2 EU14 excluding Irish: The EU countries before enlargement on 1 May 2004, excluding Ireland and UK.
3 EU15 to EU27 states: The ten countries that joined the EU on 1 May 2004, along with Bulgaria, Romania and Croatia.
175. Deputy Peadar Tóibín asked the Taoiseach the number of legal cases brought against his Department in each of the past five years and to date in 2021; and if he will provide details on the nature of these cases. [37818/21]
View answerThe Department has identified three legal cases which have been brought against my Department during the period in question. All three involve proceedings brought in relation to decisions made by my Department on foot of requests received under the Access to Information on the Environment Regulations. For completeness, the Department has sought confirmation from the Office of the Chief State Solicitor that there have been no other cases taken in that period and will forward any additional information to the Deputy in due course.
176. Deputy Michael Healy-Rae asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment when the remaining funding for the online retail scheme will be assigned (details supplied); and if he will make a statement on the matter. [37205/21]
View answerTrading online is a very important route for retail businesses to grow and improve and will be an central element in the recovery and transformation of the retail sector in Ireland over the longer term.
The COVID-19 Online Retail Scheme - a competitive scheme, administered on my Department's behalf by Enterprise Ireland - is to support companies in the indigenous retail sector who have already started an online journey, to further enhance and strengthen their online presence, which will have the most immediate impact enabling them to respond to both domestic and international consumer demand with a competitive online offer.
My Department proposed the COVID-19 Online Retail Scheme in response to the COVID-19 crisis and the urgent need for retail companies to achieve a step change in online capability. Applicant companies must be an indigenous retailer, employing 10 or more people, have an existing online presence (eg website or social media), and have a retail outlet through which they derive the majority of their revenue.
On 4 May this year, I launched the latest round of the COVID-19 Online Retail Scheme to help Irish businesses to upgrade their websites and improve their competitiveness in online retail. The call for applications closed on the 25 May. Under this call for applications, 173 retail businesses in Ireland were approved a total of €6.3 million in funding. To date, 503 retailers have been approved €18.2m in funding under the COVID-19 Online retail Scheme. I am committed to supporting the needs of the retail sector, through the Retail Forum, which I chair, in developing their online capability and enhancing their competitiveness. It is my intention to open a further round of applications for funding later this year.
For retailers starting on the digital journey, Enterprise Ireland have put together a Starter Guide outlining the broad range of considerations to be addressed. A copy of the guide can be found on https://www.enterprise-ireland.com/en/funding-supports/Online-Retail/Online-Retail-Scheme/
For retail businesses that fall outside the criteria of the COVID-19 Online Retail Scheme, there are many other financial and non-financial supports available. These include services offered through the Local Enterprise Offices (LEOs).
The Trading Online Voucher Scheme, administered by the LEOs, offers financial assistance of up to €2,500 with co-funding of 50% from the business along with training and advice to help businesses trade online.
Businesses that have already received a Trading Online Voucher can now apply for a second voucher, where upgrades are required. Funding can be used towards adding payment facilities or booking systems to websites or developing new apps for customers. The voucher can also be used towards subscriptions to low-cost online retail platform solutions, to help companies quickly establish a retailing presence online.
The vouchers are targeted at businesses with the following profile:
- Limited or no e-commerce presence;
- 10 or less employees;
- Turnover less than €2m;
- Applicant business must be trading for at least 6 Months**;
- Business must be located in the area covered by the LEO to whom they make their application i.e. LEOs cannot accept applications from businesses located outside their jurisdiction.
**applicant business must provide clear proof of trading for a minimum of 6 months to their Local Enterprise Office
The wide range of supports to help businesses impacted by the COVID-19 crisis can be found on the Department’s website https://enterprise.gov.ie/en/What-We-Do/Supports-for-SMEs/COVID-19-supports/
177. Deputy Holly Cairns asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment the details of the social impact assessments carried out by his Department and public bodies and agencies under his remit since 1 January 2016; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [37291/21]
View answerA Social Impact Assessment framework was developed in 2016 by the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform to examine the impact of budgetary policy decisions on public service users. My Department has not completed any social impact assessments under this framework during the period in question.
