Written Answers Nos. 3010-3032
3010. Deputy Bernard J. Durkan asked the Minister for Health the extent to which actions are in hand to minimise the recent cyber-attack on the most sensitive of services provided by the HSE including oncology, cardiovascular, endoscopy, paediatric, neurology and emergency mental health services; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [39962/21]
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.
The cyber-attack in May severely disabled a number of systems and necessitated the complete shutdown of the HSE’s network. Work has been progressing ever since to recover systems (decryption and eradication of malware) with the focus on restoring the systems most critical to patient care in the first instance, enabling end-user devices and restoring interoperability between systems and sites to effect service delivery. Over the last weeks many of these systems have been recovered and services have recommenced. At present, while there are still a number of areas of ongoing concern, most systems are operational and services are returning to normal activity. The HSE is now working to catch up on patients / service users that were delayed, with priority being given to time-sensitive and urgent cases. However, the combined impact of the cyber-attack and the COVID surge of January/February 2021 has had the effect of increasing access delays for some services and the HSE is responding with contingency measures as far as possible to minimise the impact for patients.
3011. Deputy Bernard J. Durkan asked the Minister for Health when the appropriate action will be taken to ensure the provision of full-scale orthodontic treatment for children; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [39963/21]
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.
3013. Deputy Seán Haughey asked the Minister for Health if he will arrange for an EU Digital COVID Certificate to be issued to a person (details supplied); and if he will make a statement on the matter. [39990/21]
View answerAs the Minister for Health, I am supporting the work of my Department in collaborating with relevant Departments under the leadership of the Department of Taoiseach to assist in the on-going implementation of the EU Digital COVID Certificates.
Certificates based on vaccination and recovery are now being issued. Citizens who have not received their Digital COVID Certificate and require it urgently to travel in the coming days can call the helpline on 1800 807 008. Certificates based on negative PCR and antigen tests for travel within the EU can be obtained from private testing services signed up to the Digital Covid Test Certificate Service.
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 your Digital COVID Certificate, they can call the helpline on 1800 807 008 to have the details corrected.
The Digital COVID Certificate Regulation is intended to facilitate people’s fundamental right to move and reside freely and help to support the lifting of restrictions currently in place in a coordinated manner within the EU.
3014. Deputy Paul Murphy asked the Minister for Health if his attention has been drawn to a series of matters (details supplied) in relation to the series of checks being done by the HSE environmental health department on soup runs. [39993/21]
View answer3288. Deputy Richard Boyd Barrett asked the Minister for Health if he will work with a cafe (details supplied) to ensure that its entirely voluntary operations of receiving donations of food and distributing the food to homeless persons can continue; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [41265/21]
View answerI propose to take Questions Nos. 3014 and 3288 together.
All food businesses must comply with the requirements of food law that are relevant to the business they operate. Regulation (EC) No. 178 of 2002 provides the general framework for the operation of food safety law, and defines a food business as “any undertaking, whether for profit or not and whether public or private, carrying out any of the activities related to any stage of production, processing and distribution of food.” Therefore, operators distributing food to the homeless are food businesses for the purposes of food safety law.
Food business operators are required by law to notify the HSE (or other FSAI Official Agencies as appropriate) of their intention to carry on a food business. The frequency of inspection of food businesses is based on the risk to public health, with risk being assessed on a number of criteria including the types of foods being produced, processed, and distributed, and the vulnerability of the consumers.
The primary responsibility of the HSE Environmental Health Service (EHS) is the protection of public health. It works under a Service Contract for the Food Safety Authority of Ireland to ensure the relevant food legislation is applied as necessary. This work is essential to ensure that food made available for people to eat is safe. Persons accessing homeless services are among the most vulnerable in our community and may be immunocompromised. There is, therefore, risk of serious illness as a result of any potential food borne infection.
The EHS supervises over 45,000 food businesses and endeavours to work with food business operators to encourage an understanding of the legal requirements and to support compliance with the minimum food safety standards regarding structure, operation, safety management systems and staff training and to ensure compliance with food law where non-compliances are found upon inspection.
The HSE has advised that it does not share any inspection details or outcomes with third parties and cannot comment specifically on any particular food business or inspection. The HSE can confirm however, that the Environmental Health Service has neither served, nor threatened to serve, a Closure Order on any voluntary street-based service distributing food to the homeless.
Further information on setting up a food business is available at www.fsai.ie/food_businesses/starting_business.html
3015. Deputy Cian O'Callaghan asked the Minister for Health if hospital porters working overtime face reductions and arrears in relation to their lump sums and pension entitlements; the steps he is taking to address this; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [39995/21]
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.
3016. Deputy Thomas Pringle asked the Minister for Health the reason a service (details supplied) is still running on a reduced capacity which is causing severe difficulties for the service users and their families; when the service will be brought back to full capacity; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [39996/21]
View answerDay 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.
3017. Deputy Seán Canney asked the Minister for Health if, once restrictions are lifted in July 2021, sporting events organised by non-NGB recognised organisations can go ahead, for example, rally sprints, baton twirling, running and cycling; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [39998/21]
View answerAs the Deputy will be aware, on 29 June, Government announced the next phase of reopening the economy and society in line with Recovery and Resilience: The Path Ahead.
While significant progress is being made in relation to the roll-out of our vaccination programme and the position had been broadly stable over the earlier part of June, the prevalence of the more transmissible Delta variant is rapidly increasing in Ireland and this poses a significant risk, in particular to those who are not yet fully vaccinated. For this reason, a number of higher risk indoor activities will not recommence as planned on 5 July, pending the implementation of a system to verify vaccination or immunity status.
With regard to organised outdoor events, a maximum of 200 attendees can attend the majority of venues. A limit of 500 people is in place for venues with capacity greater than 5,000 with appropriate protective measures in place - including social distancing requirements. At present outdoor training in pods of a maximum of 15 people is permitted and outdoor sports matches are permitted, with attendance in line with the regulations for organised outdoor events.
Gyms, swimming pools, leisure centres are permitted to open for individual training only and swim lessons and classes can take place. Other indoor sporting activities including matches, group/team training and exercise/dance classes are not permitted.
Significant and sustained progress has been made on suppressing the virus over recent months due to the huge effort of people across the country. By working together, we have saved lives and limited the impact of the disease on society in Ireland. To protect the gains of recent months we must continue to practice basic preventative behaviours and to follow public health guidelines.
3018. Deputy Marian Harkin asked the Minister for Health the specific section of which specific legislation in which it was provided that Ireland should conduct a free Covid-19 vaccination programme to every adult and child in Ireland and thereby authorise payment from State funds to purchase such medical treatments for the programme; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [40000/21]
View answerThe World Health Organisation declared that the outbreak of the novel coronavirus constituted a Public Health Emergency of International Concern in January 2020. In response to this unprecedented public health concern, the Government has sought to ensure the safe, effective and efficient administration of Covid-19 vaccine to all residents of Ireland who wish to receive it and for whom it is deemed clinically safe.
The Government established the High-Level Task Force (HLTF) on Covid-19 Vaccination on 10 November 2020. The HLTF acts to support my Department and the HSE to deliver a Covid-19 immunisation programme as a critical public health intervention in the prevention and control of Covid-19.
In collaboration with my Department and the HSE, the HLTF developed the National Covid-19 Vaccination Strategy, and this was approved by Government on 15 December 2020. The Strategy’s objective has been to ensure the effective and efficient delivery of vaccines to the population.
The Covid-19 Vaccination Allocation Strategy was developed in conjunction with the National Covid-19 Vaccine Strategy. The Allocation Strategy was developed by the National Immunisation Advisory Committee’s (NIAC) and outlined a provisional list of groups for vaccination and was approved by Government on 8 December 2020. The Allocation Strategy has been kept under review in the intervening period and amended as new evidence emerged.
3019. Deputy Bríd Smith asked the Minister for Health if he will clarify procedures and processes around parental guardian consent in administering contraceptives in care home settings with a view to controlling monthly menstruation in a young autistic person (details supplied); if a parent, guardian should have the final say in whether this should proceed; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [40002/21]
View answerAs Minister for Health, I take very seriously the importance of ensuring consent for an intervention, receipt or use of a service. The HSE has a National Consent Policy to guide staff and the need for consent, and the application of the general principles in this policy, extends to all interventions conducted by or on behalf of the HSE on service users in all locations. As this matter refers to an individual case, I have referred the matter to the HSE.
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.
3020. Deputy Emer Higgins asked the Minister for Health if he will produce daily updates on the EU Digital COVID Certificate roll-out. [40005/21]
View answerAs the Minister for Health, I am supporting the work of my Department in collaborating with relevant Departments under the leadership of the Department of Taoiseach to assist in the on-going implementation of the EU Digital COVID Certificates.
Updates on the roll-out of the EU Digital Covid Certificate can be found on the Gov.ie website at the following link:
www.gov.ie/en/publication/3a698-eu-digital-covid-certificate/
3021. Deputy Violet-Anne Wynne asked the Minister for Health if his attention has been drawn to the proposed closure of the HSE building in Ennistymon, Prague House, as it has been deemed condemned; if his attention has been further drawn to the report condemning the building; if so, if he will relay this information; and if a copy of this report will be made available to the staff. [40007/21]
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.
3022. Deputy Violet-Anne Wynne asked the Minister for Health if the decision to close Prague House followed protocol of notice given the staff were notified on 20 July 2021 that they would be relocated effective immediately; the recommended notice for a closure and relocation of a HSE building or service normally; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [40008/21]
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.
3023. Deputy Violet-Anne Wynne asked the Minister for Health the reason Prague House is being shut down with no consultation with the community, the relevant trade union and the elected representatives in County Clare. [40009/21]
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.
3024. Deputy Violet-Anne Wynne asked the Minister for Health the reason the mental health service in north west County Clare is going to be closed with reference to his previous commitment to ensure that such services are not cut during the Covid-19 pandemic; if there was engagement between his Department and the HSE on the matter; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [40010/21]
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.
3025. Deputy Violet-Anne Wynne asked the Minister for Health the rationale behind closing a critical and much needed mental health service in County Clare when the current services are not able to meet the demand for services; if he will commit to providing additional beds and residential places to counteract those lost through the closure of Prague House; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [40011/21]
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.
3027. Deputy Catherine Connolly asked the Minister for Health his plans to include the summer camp sector in the events sector scheme; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [40015/21]
View answerI wish to advise the Deputy that any plans to include the summer camp sector in the Events Sector Covid Support Scheme is a matter for the Department of Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport and Media.
3028. Deputy Paul Kehoe asked the Minister for Health the agencies and State organisations under his Department that are receiving State funding that do not have to declare salaries of employees under the 2016 code of governance; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [40038/21]
View answerAll bodies under the aegis of my Department are required to confirm compliance annually with the Code of Practice for Governance of State Bodies 2016. Within the Code are detailed Business and Financial Reporting Requirements.
These set out that:
a) State bodies should disclose in their financial statements the aggregate amount of total compensation paid to employees including employee numbers in whole time equivalent format.
b) The aggregate total compensation paid to employees should be split between salary, overtime and allowances.
c) A separate note on CEO salary and benefits (and termination payment if relevant) should also be included. d) A separate note on termination benefits to all staff should be included. CEO termination benefits should be kept separate, as set out above.
In addition to disclosing the aggregate pay bill and total number of employees, under the Code, Commercial State bodies should publish details of the number of employees whose total employee benefits (excluding employer pension costs) for the reporting period fell within each band of €25,000 from €50,000 upwards and an overall figure for total employer pension contributions in their annual report and/or financial statements.
In addition to disclosing the aggregate pay bill and total number of employees, non-commercial State bodies should under the Code publish details of the number of employees whose total employee benefits (excluding employer pension costs) for the reporting period fell within each pay band of €10,000 from €60,000 upwards and an overall figure for total employer pension contributions in their annual report and/or financial statements.
3029. Deputy Chris Andrews asked the Minister for Health when the HSE guidelines for its staff will be updated to allow for foreign travel. [40055/21]
View answerThe DPER Guidance for public sector employers and employees in respect of HR issues during Covid that applies to all public sector employees are currently being reviewed by DPER in respect of this matter.
I understand that a revised version will issue in the coming period.
3030. Deputy Seán Canney asked the Minister for Health the status of the provision of psychology services in the Headford and Lackagh primary care service, County Galway; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [40058/21]
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.
3032. Deputy Richard Bruton asked the Minister for Health if the backlog on the issue of death certificates due to Covid-19 is being cleared; and when a death which occurred in April 2021 (details supplied) might be issued. [40064/21]
View answerI wish to advise the Deputy that the issuing of death certificates is a matter for the Department of Social Protection.
