Written Answers Nos. 2803-2825
2803. Deputy John Brady asked the Minister for Health the number of persons who are currently awaiting an assessment of need in Wicklow CHO6; the number that have been waiting less than three, three to six, six to 12 and more than 12 months in tabular form; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [39228/21]
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.
2804. Deputy John Brady asked the Minister for Health the number of persons who are currently awaiting an assessment of need in west Wicklow CHO7; the number that have been waiting less than three, three to six, six to 12 and more than 12 months in tabular form in tabular form; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [39229/21]
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.
2805. Deputy John Brady asked the Minister for Health the number of persons who are currently awaiting an assessment with the school age team in Wicklow CHO6; the number that have been waiting less than three, three to six, six to 12 and more than 12 months in tabular form in tabular form; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [39230/21]
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.
2806. Deputy John Brady asked the Minister for Health the number of persons who are currently awaiting an assessment with the school age team in west Wicklow CHO7; the number that have been waiting less than three, three to six, six to 12 and more than 12 months in tabular form in tabular form; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [39231/21]
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.
2807. Deputy John Brady asked the Minister for Health the number of persons who are on the waiting list for an appointment for early intervention services for speech and language therapy, occupational therapy and psychology in Wicklow CHO6 by waiting list timeframes less than three, three to six, six to 12 and more than 12 months in tabular form in tabular form; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [39232/21]
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.
2808. Deputy John Brady asked the Minister for Health the number of persons who are on the waiting list for an appointment for early intervention services for speech and language therapy, occupational therapy and psychology in CHO7 west Wicklow broken down by waiting list timeframes less than three, three to six, six to 12 and more than 12 months in tabular form; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [39233/21]
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.
2809. Deputy John Brady asked the Minister for Health the number of adults awaiting occupational therapy in CHO6 Wicklow and CHO7 West Wicklow; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [39234/21]
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.
2810. Deputy John Brady asked the Minister for Health the number of children and adults on the dental appointment waiting list in County Wicklow; the average waiting times for appointments; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [39235/21]
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.
2811. Deputy John Brady asked the Minister for Health the number of children and adults on the orthodontic waiting lists in County Wicklow; the average waiting times for appointments; the number waiting more than six months; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [39236/21]
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.
2812. Deputy John Brady asked the Minister for Health the number of persons waiting on the CAMHS waiting list in County Wicklow; the average waiting time; the number waiting more than six months; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [39237/21]
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.
2813. Deputy John Brady asked the Minister for Health the number of persons that are awaiting homecare support in County Wicklow; the number of hours allocated in 2019, 2020 and to date in 2021 in County Wicklow; the average number of hours granted to each successful applicant; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [39238/21]
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.
2814. Deputy John Brady asked the Minister for Health the number of persons on the waiting list for ophthalmology in County Wicklow; the average waiting time for appointment in tabular form; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [39239/21]
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.
2815. Deputy Thomas Gould asked the Minister for Health the timeline for the implementation of CAR-T therapy here. [39240/21]
View answerCAR-T is a novel treatment for patients with cancer. It is a patient-specific, individualised cell therapy that consists of genetically modifying the patient’s own T lymphocytes. Two CAR-T therapies were licensed as medicines by the EU in 2018 and a further one was licensed in late 2020.
Although licensed as a medicine by the EMA, there are technical processes required to support the use of CAR-T therapy which are more multifaceted than standard drug administration. These involve a complex supply chain, laboratory accreditation and other specific supports to be in place in addition to the drug reimbursement approval. As a result, CAR-T can only be carried out at designated, accredited centres that have been assessed and accredited from a quality control and a process management perspective. The administration of CAR-T must occur in hospitals with the appropriate infrastructure and trained staff.
In preparation for a CAR-T service in Ireland the NCCP has:
- formally designated the National Stem Cell Transplantation unit at St James’s Hospital (SJH) and the Haematopoietic Stem Cell Transplant Unit in Children's Health Ireland at Crumlin as the initial sites to deliver this service for adult and paediatric patients on the island of Ireland;
- supported SJH and CHI at Crumlin in progressing the technical/service readiness elements required;
- agreed a service specification and a patient pathway for adult and paediatric patients whereby all patients to be considered for CAR-T must be discussed at the appropriate multidisciplinary team (MDT) meeting in the designated CAR-T centre. This agreed pathway will ensure that there is a clear clinical governance structure in place for these services; and
- agreed the basis of a national CAR-T Review Group whose role will be to consider all patients who have been referred for discussion at the designated CAR-T centre MDT meeting and to prioritise patients for treatment based on assessment of information regarding patient fitness, disease severity and available capacity.
Service planning discussions are ongoing involving the NCCP, service providers and pharmaceutical companies to move forward on a CAR-T service in Ireland. It is hoped that the service will be operational for both adult and paediatric patients by end 2021.
2817. Deputy Violet-Anne Wynne asked the Minister for Health if he will provide a progress update for the public inquiry into the historical licensing and use of the anti-epileptic drug sodium valproate epilimf in Ireland announced in November 2020; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [39242/21]
View answerDetails of the proposed inquiry into the historical licensing and use of sodium valproate in Ireland are currently being considered by officials within the Department of Health.
2818. Deputy Richard Bruton asked the Minister for Health if a protocol has been developed to ensure the full restoration of adult disability services given some clients are still on reduced services. [39139/21]
View answerYour office confirmed with my officials at the Department of Health that this question relates specifically to adult day services.
Day services re-opened at 39% capacity at service locations throughout August and early September of 2020, and by end of January 2021 this had increased to 51%. The combination of supports in the location, outreach supports, and remote supports provides an overall quantum of support to service users of over 60% at the end of January. The increase in day service capacity was supported by additional funding of €30 million provided in Budget 2021 to increase capacity in buildings and provide extra staff. This funding provided an increase in day services by an average of one day a week for 14,940 people against September 2020 service levels.
For the duration of the COVID-19 emergency day service capacity is reduced, this is due to the physical limitations of the buildings available, the lack of mainstream community activities, and the continued restrictions imposed by social distancing guidance. Many people with disabilities have underlying health conditions, and as the threat of COVID-19 remains, unfortunately so too does the need for these restrictions.
The vaccination process for staff and service users is well underway across day services, and all service providers should now be delivering a minimum of 60% of pre-COVID levels of location-based supports. For those in residential services, currently their day service supports are largely being provided in their residence, however some service users have returned to their day service location, and it is now expected that all residential service users that received their day service at a location pre-COVID should begin to resume location-based day service supports.
The HSE is in the process of establishing the vaccination status of all staff and service users in day services. Once established, the HSE will engage with Infection Prevention and Control (IPC) on what further easing of restrictions can appropriately be applied to day services. Those attending day services have been vaccinated as part of cohort 4, people aged 16-69 years and at very high risk of severe COVID-19 disease. The administration of the second vaccine dose for this cohort began in the week beginning May 10th and is expected to be complete by early July.
The IPC guidance are kept under constant review and updates will be provided in the months ahead on further restoration of day services.
2819. Deputy Cian O'Callaghan asked the Minister for Health if his attention has been drawn to the ongoing delays in birth registrations; the steps he is taking to address this; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [39257/21]
View answerI wish to advise the Deputy that birth registration is a matter for the Department of Social Protection.
2820. Deputy Duncan Smith asked the Minister for Health the number of vaccination booths per hundred thousand population within each community health organisation; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [39288/21]
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.
2821. Deputy Robert Troy asked the Minister for Health his views on reports the vaccine is linked to fertility problems (details supplied). [39292/21]
View answerIreland’s COVID-19 vaccination programme strategy is to distribute all available vaccines as quickly as is operationally possible, prioritising those who are most vulnerable to COVID-19. The programme is based on the principles of safety, effectiveness and fairness, with the objective of reducing severe illness, hospitalisations and deaths from COVID-19 infection.
The immunisation programme in Ireland is based on the advice of the National Immunisation Advisory Committee (NIAC). The Committee's recommendations are based on the prevalence of the relevant disease in Ireland and international best practices in relation to immunisation. It makes recommendations on vaccination policy to my Department. The NIAC review all data relating to COVID-19 vaccines on a rolling basis.
The current guidelines state:
There is no evidence that any COVID-19 vaccine affects fertility or the foetus. No unexpected pregnancy or infant outcomes have been observed related to COVID-19 vaccination during pregnancy. Long term follow-up of vaccine recipients and their children is ongoing.
You can read the guidelines at: www.hse.ie/eng/health/immunisation/hcpinfo/guidelines/covid19.pdf
2822. Deputy Fergus O'Dowd asked the Minister for Health if a response will issue in relation to a matter raised by a person (details supplied) in correspondence in relation to the EU Digital COVID Certificate; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [39293/21]
View answer3012. Deputy Seán Haughey asked the Minister for Health if he will arrange for a new EU Digital COVID Certificate to be issued to a person (details supplied) given that their initial certificate had their name spelled wrong; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [39989/21]
View answerI propose to take Questions Nos. 2822 and 3012 together.
Every effort has been made to ensure the data on EU Digital COVID Certificates is correct and complete. For citizens who have a concern about the detail on their Digital COVID Certificate, they can call the helpline on 1800 807 008 to have the details corrected.
2825. Deputy Cian O'Callaghan asked the Minister for Health when a person (details supplied) who began working as a health worker after the healthcare worker vaccine portal closed will receive their vaccine appointment; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [39296/21]
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.
