Written Answers Nos. 506-525
506. Deputy Peadar Tóibín asked the Minister for Health the persons or body that conducts the HSE staff survey; and the breakdown of participation in the HSE staff survey in addition to overall staff participation. [49309/21]
View answerAs this is a service matter, I have asked the Health Service Executive to respond directly to the Deputy, as soon as possible.
507. Deputy Peadar Tóibín asked the Minister for Health the questions that are asked as part of HSE staff survey; and if there are specific questions relating to the staff experience of Covid-19 in the 2021 survey. [49310/21]
View answerAs this is a service matter, I have asked the Health Service Executive to respond directly to the Deputy, as soon as possible.
508. Deputy Peadar Tóibín asked the Minister for Health the persons or bodies that compile the results of the HSE staff survey; if these results are published; and the actions that arise from the findings of the staff survey. [49311/21]
View answerAs this is a service matter, I have asked the Health Service Executive to respond directly to the Deputy, as soon as possible.
509. Deputy Mattie McGrath asked the Minister for Health the full cost of the renaming of South Tipperary General Hospital to Tipperary University Hospital; the breakdown of all costs associated with the name change; if a list of all other hospital rebranding carried out by the HSE within the past three years and the costs associated with same will be provided; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [49314/21]
View answerAs this is a service matter, I have asked the Health Service Executive to respond to the Deputy directly, as soon as possible.
510. Deputy Matt Carthy asked the Minister for Health when legislation will be delivered to provide legal recognition to both parents who have children through surrogacy either in Ireland or abroad; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [49342/21]
View answer513. Deputy Matt Carthy asked the Minister for Health if his proposals regarding legislation for parents who have children through surrogacy will include provision for maternity leave for mothers, a streamlined service that ensures that both parents are legally recognised as such, retrospect parentage for those mothers who have been granted just guardianship to date and measures to reduce the substantial legal costs involved for the parents concerned; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [49352/21]
View answerI propose to take Questions Nos. 510 and 513 together.
As the Deputy will be aware, drafting of a bill on assisted human reproduction (AHR) and associated areas of research is ongoing by Department of Health officials, in conjunction with the Office of the Attorney General. This comprehensive and far-reaching piece of legislation encompasses the regulation for the first time of a wide range of practices undertaken in this jurisdiction, including domestic altruistic surrogacy.
The surrogacy provisions of the Bill outline the specific conditions under which surrogacy in Ireland will be permitted, including a requirement for all surrogacy agreements to be pre-authorised by the new AHR Regulatory Authority. The legislation also sets out a court-based mechanism through which the parentage of a child born through surrogacy may be transferred from the surrogate to the intending parent(s).
Publication of the AHR Bill is a priority for the Department and the Government, and a commitment to enact this legislation is included in the Programme for Government, “Our Shared Future”. This Department and the Office of the Attorney General will continue to engage intensively over the next few months to finalise this complex legislation.
Responsibility for maternity leave comes under the remit of the Minister of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth, and that Department has informed my officials that legislative changes in respect of all forms of family leave must be developed in the context of the legal situation concerning parentage, including in relation to surrogacy. My officials have also been informed that some forms of family leave may currently be available to commissioning parents, including parental leave and parent’s leave. However, any further queries relating to maternity leave should be directed to the Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth.
The question of whether provision should be made for the retrospective assignment of parentage in respect of children already born through surrogacy arrangements raises complex legal issues which will require detailed examination.
As Minister for Health, I have no role in the matter of the level of legal costs which may be incurred in relation to the undertaking of an individual surrogacy agreement or any court applications arising from such an arrangement. I am of the view that matters of such importance as the determination of the parentage of a child born through surrogacy should be decided by an appropriate court.
Issues which arise from the undertaking of surrogacy arrangements in other jurisdictions raise important questions in respect of rights and ethics, and concern areas of law that intersect across the remits of several Government Departments. This Department is engaging with the Department of Justice and the Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth in respect of this policy area, including at Ministerial level.
511. Deputy James Lawless asked the Minister for Health if he will examine an urgent case in which home help hours are urgently required by a person (details supplied); and if he will make a statement on the matter. [49344/21]
View answerAs this is a service matter, I have asked the Health Service Executive to respond to the Deputy directly, as soon as possible.
512. Deputy Catherine Connolly asked the Minister for Health when the updated implementation plan of the National Maternity Strategy will be published; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [49351/21]
View answerIn line with recommendations made by HIQA in its 2020 Overview Report of its monitoring programme against the National Standards for Safer Better Maternity Services, the National Women & Infants Health Programme (NWIHP) has produced a revised implementation plan for the National Maternity Strategy covering the remaining period of the Strategy’s lifetime from 2021 to 2026. The plan has been finalised and submitted to the Department for review. With regard to the plan's publication, as this is a matter for the National Women & Infants Health Programme, I have asked the HSE to respond to the Deputy directly, as soon as possible.
514. Deputy Niall Collins asked the Minister for Health when a person (details supplied) will receive their amended EU digital Covid certificate. [49354/21]
View answer523. Deputy Cian O'Callaghan asked the Minister for Health the status of an EU digital Covid certificate for a person (details supplied); and if he will make a statement on the matter. [49406/21]
View answerI propose to take Questions Nos. 514 and 523 together.
Digital Covid Certificates are being issued automatically for persons who have completed a full course of vaccination in Ireland. A dedicated team have been working proactively to resolve any outstanding queries and requests sent to the contact centre with the utmost urgency.
Individuals may contact the DCC helpline directly on 1800 807 008 if they are experiencing difficulties, or can access the dedicated online portal:
www.covidcertificateportal.gov.ie/en-US/issue-vaccine-cert/
It is also important to note that the EU Digital Covid Certificate is not a requirement for travel, but rather a record of a medical event which can make freedom of movement with the European Union easier.
515. Deputy Michael Healy-Rae asked the Minister for Health if he will address a matter regarding Killarney community nursing unit (details supplied); and if he will make a statement on the matter. [49355/21]
View answerAs the Health Service Executive is responsible for the delivery of public healthcare infrastructure projects, I have asked the HSE to respond to the Deputy directly in relation to this matter.
516. Deputy Peadar Tóibín asked the Minister for Health the number of hospital beds closed in each of the past five years by county; and the breakdown on the cited reasons for the closures. [49356/21]
View answerAs this is a service matter, I have asked the Health Service Executive to respond to the Deputy directly, as soon as possible.
517. Deputy Pa Daly asked the Minister for Health the position regarding vaccinations in secondary schools given many have now been scheduled in HSE vaccination centres on an individual basis; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [49365/21]
View answer518. Deputy Pa Daly asked the Minister for Health the reason a secondary school vaccination programme is now being conducted on an individual basis in HSE vaccination centres; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [49369/21]
View answerI propose to take Questions Nos. 517 and 518 together.
The HPV vaccination programme is a schools-based immunisation programme. The roll-out of the programme is the responsibility of the Health Service Executive.As this is a service matter, I have asked the HSE to respond to the deputy directly, as soon as possible.
519. Deputy Claire Kerrane asked the Minister for Health the number of full-time consultant gastroenterologists based in Roscommon University Hospital in each of the years of 2018, 2019, 2020 and to date in 2021; and if this number will be further increased. [49370/21]
View answerAs this is a service matter, I have asked the Health Service Executive to respond to the Deputy directly, as soon as possible.
520. Deputy Claire Kerrane asked the Minister for Health the number of full-time consultant paediatric dermatologists based in Portiuncula University Hospital in each of the years of 2018, 2019, 2020 and to date in 2021; and if this number will be further increased. [49371/21]
View answerAs this is a service matter, I have asked the Health Service Executive to respond to the Deputy directly, as soon as possible.
521. Deputy Claire Kerrane asked the Minister for Health the number and locations of child and adolescent mental health services, CAMHS, units that accept admissions during out of hours periods in tabular form. [49372/21]
View answerAs this is a service matter I have asked the Health Service Executive to respond directly to the Deputy as soon as possible.
522. Deputy John Brady asked the Minister for Health the costs for the fitting out of a vaccination centre (details supplied); and if he will make a statement on the matter. [49373/21]
View answerAs this is a service matter, I have asked the Health Service Executive to respond to the Deputy directly, as soon as possible.
524. Deputy Richard Boyd Barrett asked the Minister for Health if a new medical card can be applied for retrospectively for a medical bill in circumstances in which the person applied for the card within eight weeks of the treatment but did not receive the card until after eight weeks; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [49412/21]
View answerIn accordance with the Health Act 1970 (as amended), eligibility for a medical card is determined by the HSE. The Act obliges the HSE to assess whether a person is unable, without due hardship, to arrange general practitioner services for himself or herself and his or her family, having regard to his or her overall financial position and reasonable expenditure and every application must be assessed on that basis.
Regarding reimbursement, eligibility for a medical card or GP visit card is granted on the date when a completed application has been assessed and the applicant is awarded eligibility for a card under the scheme guidelines. Expenditure incurred prior to being granted eligibility is therefore not reimbursable.
525. Deputy Peadar Tóibín asked the Minister for Health the amount spent on the intensive care unit and the emergency department at Our Lady’s Hospital, Navan in 2019, 2020 and to date in 2021. [49413/21]
View answerAs the Health Service Executive is responsible for the delivery of public healthcare infrastructure projects, I have asked the HSE to respond to the Deputy directly in relation to this matter.
