Written Answers Nos. 1629-1650
1629. Deputy Catherine Connolly asked the Minister for Health the steps a person must take to obtain a second certificate of recovery from Covid-19 for the purposes of the EU Digital COVID Certificate in cases in which a person has been infected with the virus for a second time; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [1138/22]
View answerThe EU Digital COVID Certificate is a document which is issued to help facilitate the safe and free international movement of people across the EU during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Certificates of Recovery can be issued upon request through the online portal following a positive COVID-19 test (RT-PCR or ‘NAAT’) taken more than 11 days ago in Ireland. The certificate will remain valid for 180 days after the day of the positive test result.
1631. Deputy Neasa Hourigan asked the Minister for Health his plans to ensure that vulnerable high-risk children aged from 5 to 11 years of age will be prioritised for a Covid-19 vaccination following the opening of the HSE online portal for this cohort on 28 December 2021; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [1147/22]
View answer1771. Deputy Eoin Ó Broin asked the Minister for Health the reason prioritisation has not been given to children at high-risk in relation to the Covid-19 vaccination programme for children aged 5 to 11 years of age as in other age cohorts. [1769/22]
View answerI propose to take Questions Nos. 1631 and 1771 together.
Since December 28th, parents of children aged 5- 11 years, who have a health condition that puts them at risk of severe illness from COVID-19 and parents of children, who live with someone that has complex medical needs or who is immunocompromised have been invited to register their child for their COVID-19 vaccine. This is being done to prioritise children who are most at risk from COVID-19, so that they can be protected and to protect vulnerable household contacts.
As this query relates to an operational matter, I have asked the Health Service Executive to respond to the deputy directly, as soon as possible.
1632. Deputy Pádraig O'Sullivan asked the Minister for Health further to Parliamentary Question No. 734 of 28 September 2021, if Cork University Hospital will be allocated additional resources (details supplied); and if he will make a statement on the matter. [1157/22]
View answerThe allocation of €2.7m in funding for 2022 will support the development of Cork University Hospital as a Major Trauma Centre by bringing a number of core and specialist services up to a level that will allow it to meet the recommended designation criteria, as set out in the National Trauma Strategy.
In relation to the specific issues raised in your question, as this is a service matter, I have referred it to the HSE for direct response.
1633. Deputy Pádraig O'Sullivan asked the Minister for Health the number of children awaiting an assessment of need in each of the CHO areas of Cork city and county; the average waiting times; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [1162/22]
View answerAs this is a service matter, I have asked the Health Service Executive to respond to the deputy directly, as soon as possible.
1634. Deputy Pádraig O'Sullivan asked the Minister for Health the number of homecare packages being received in each LHO area; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [1163/22]
View answerAs this is a service matter, I have asked the Health Service Executive to respond to the deputy directly, as soon as possible.
1635. Deputy Pádraig O'Sullivan asked the Minister for Health the status of the commitment to introduce a statutory homecare scheme to ensure equitable allocation of resources to persons requiring homecare and licensing and regulation of homecare service providers; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [1164/22]
View answerIn accordance with the Programme for Government agreed in 2020, the Department of Health is committed to introducing a statutory scheme to support people to live in their own homes, with 'equitable access to high-quality, regulated home care'.
Consequently, work is on-going within the Department to progress the development of the new statutory scheme for the financing and regulation of home-support services. Taking place within the broader context of the Sláintecare reforms, this work encompasses the development of the regulatory framework for the new scheme; the examination of the options for the financing model for the scheme; and the development of a reformed model of service-delivery.
The aim is to ensure that all service-users are provided with a standard, high-quality level of care which is safe, effective, and person-centred. The regulatory framework will comprise: (i) primary legislation for the licensing of public and private home-support providers; (ii) minimum requirements (i.e., regulations); and (iii) HIQA National Standards for Home Support Services.
Last year, Government gave approval to draft a General Scheme and Heads of a Bill to establish a licensing framework for home-support providers. This is being progressed by the Department with a view to bringing it through the Houses of the Oireachtas at the earliest opportunity. It is expected that the primary legislation will give the Minister for Health the power to make regulations in respect of minimum requirements which will form the criteria against which a provider’s eligibility to hold a licence will be determined. The Department recently commenced a targeted stakeholder consultation on these draft minimum requirements. A public consultation will take place in 2022. In addition, HIQA recently ran a public scoping consultation to inform the development of their National Standards for Home Support Services. A regulatory impact analysis will be undertaken by the Department in 2022 to ensure effectiveness and mitigate risks.
In parallel to this, the Department is working with the Economic and Social Research Institute (ESRI) to investigate the projected demand for and cost of home-support service-provision across a range of models for the financing of the new scheme. The first report from this research, published in March 2021, focused on the potential demand for such a scheme. The findings contained in the report indicate that there will be a significant increase in the demand for home-support in the coming years and that, relative to a baseline provision of 24.7 million hours in 2019, between 3.5 and 8 million additional hours will be required across a range of policy scenarios. Building on this work, the ESRI is currently undertaking research on the potential cost of introducing such a scheme across a range of funding scenarios. This report is scheduled for publication in Q1 2022. The Department will seek Government approval in due course on any proposed legislation to provide for a funding model for the new home-support scheme, taking into consideration the cost associated with the various options.
In parallel, work is ongoing in relation to the development of a reformed model of service delivery for the new scheme. In 2021, funding was secured for the Health Service Executive (HSE) to: (i) progress the roll-out of interRAI as the standard assessment tool for care-needs in the community; (ii) pilot a reformed model of service-delivery for home-support; and (iii) establish a National Office for Home Support Services.
The testing of the reformed model of service delivery for home-support commenced in November 2021 in the first of the four pilot sites, which is in CHO 8. It is envisaged that the three other sites, in CHOs 2, 4 and 7, will be fully operational by the end of January. Funding has been approved for 128 interRAI Care Needs Facilitators to progress the national rollout of interRAI as the standard assessment tool for care-needs. A National Home Support Office is in the process of being established. A comprehensive and robust operational model for the roll-out of the interRAI has been developed which will facilitate effective, efficient, fair and transparent care needs assessments and planning and appropriate service delivery. The interRAI outputs and pilot site evaluation will be critical to the development of the new home-support scheme.
1636. Deputy Pádraig O'Sullivan asked the Minister for Health the number of persons on the child and adolescent mental health services waiting list in CHO4; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [1165/22]
View answerAs this is a service matter, I have asked the Health Service Executive to respond to the deputy directly, as soon as possible.
1637. Deputy Pádraig O'Sullivan asked the Minister for Health the number of persons on the child and adolescent mental health services waiting list in each of the CHO areas of Cork city and county; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [1166/22]
View answerAs this is a service matter, I have asked the Health Service Executive to respond to the deputy directly, as soon as possible.
1638. Deputy Pádraig O'Sullivan asked the Minister for Health when a child (details supplied) will receive access to services given that they have not received any services from the HSE since diagnosis; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [1167/22]
View answerAs this is a service matter, I have asked the Health Service Executive to respond to the deputy directly, as soon as possible.
1639. Deputy Michael Lowry asked the Minister for Health the number of respite care centres expressly for children with disabilities and complex additional needs by county from January 2020 to the end of December 2021; the number of nights provided; the number of children who availed of respite services in these facilities; the number of facilities that remained open and that continued to provide respite care for children during Covid-19 restrictions in the same period in tabular form; the number of respite care centres that closed during Covid-19 restrictions; his plans to reopen all facilities which provide respite care for children with disabilities and complex additional needs; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [1168/22]
View answerAs this is a service matter, I have asked the Health Service Executive to respond to the Deputy directly, as soon as possible.
1640. Deputy Pádraig O'Sullivan asked the Minister for Health if his attention has been drawn to the fact that waiting lists for child and adolescent mental health services in Cork city and county have increased by 23% in recent months; the measures that are being taken to reduce the waiting list; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [1169/22]
View answerAs this is a service matter, I have asked the Health Service Executive to respond to the deputy directly, as soon as possible.
1641. Deputy Pádraig O'Sullivan asked the Minister for Health if the two vacant CAMHS consultant posts in County Cork have been filled; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [1170/22]
View answerAs this is a service matter, I have asked the Health Service Executive to respond to the deputy directly, as soon as possible.
1642. Deputy Pádraig O'Sullivan asked the Minister for Health if there are plans to recruit an additional CAMHS consultant for the north Cork area; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [1171/22]
View answerAs this is a service matter, I have asked the Health Service Executive to respond to the deputy directly, as soon as possible.
1644. Deputy Joe Carey asked the Minister for Health if he will address a query (details supplied) in relation to the health service; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [1187/22]
View answerAs this is a service mater the HSE has been asked to respond directly to the Deputy on this issue
1645. Deputy John Brady asked the Minister for Health the plans in place for a health centre (details supplied) which has been closed for approximately four years; if it is intended that the health centre will reopen in the future; if so, when it is likely to reopen; and if not, the future plans of the HSE for this building going forward. [1189/22]
View answerAs this is a service matter, I have asked the Health Service Executive to respond to the Deputy directly, as soon as possible.
1646. Deputy Matt Carthy asked the Minister for Health if he will approve the licence application for cannabis for medical use under the Misuse of Drugs Act 1977 in respect of a person (details supplied); the reason for the delay in this instance; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [1191/22]
View answerThe Department does not comment on individual cases.
Ministerial Licence under Section 14 of the Misuse of Drugs Acts 1977-2016
Under Section 14 of the Misuse of Drugs Act 1977-2016, doctors may utilise the Ministerial licensing route to prescribe medical cannabis for their patients, should they wish to do so.
In line with the Chief Medical Officer's advice, the granting of a licence for cannabis for medical purposes must be premised on an appropriate application being submitted to the Department of Health, either by a consultant or by a GP which is endorsed by a consultant who is responsible for the management of the patient and who is prepared to monitor the effects of the treatment over time.
Further information is available on the Department's website at the following link:
www.gov.ie/en/collection/fb8912-cannabis-for-medical-use/
It is important to note that the medical decision to prescribe or not prescribe any treatment, including cannabis treatment, for an individual patient is strictly a decision for the treating clinician, in consultation with their patient. The Minister for Health has no role in this clinical decision-making process.
1647. Deputy Aengus Ó Snodaigh asked the Minister for Health his views on the case of a child (details supplied). [1204/22]
View answerAs this is a service matter, I have asked the Health Service Executive to respond to the deputy directly, as soon as possible.
1648. Deputy Paul Donnelly asked the Minister for Health when regulations for psychotherapists and counsellors registered with CORU will be in place given SI No. 170 of 2018 exempts psychotherapists and counsellors from VAT if they are registered with CORU but cannot be availed of until such registration opens. [1205/22]
View answerThe Health and Social Care Professionals Act 2005 (the Act) provides for the protection of the public by promoting high standards of professional conduct and professional education, training & competence through the statutory registration of health and social care professions designated under the Act.
As you are aware, regulations under SI No. 170 of 2018 were made by my predecessor in 2018. The effect of these regulations is to designate the professions of counsellor and psychotherapist under the Act and to establish one registration board for both professions. Members were appointed to the Counsellors and Psychotherapists Registration Board in February 2019 and they held their inaugural meeting in May 2019.
The work of a registration board includes consideration of the titles to be protected and the minimum qualifications to be required of existing practitioners and the qualifications that will be required for future graduates. The work of the Counsellors and Psychotherapists Registration Board is significantly more challenging than it is for registration boards for some of the more established professions owing to the different and complex pathways into these professions, the variety of titles used, and the variety and number of courses and course providers. This work is ongoing.
As Minister for Health, my objective is to provide for the regulation of certain health professions primarily based on the risk to the public. The matter of exemptions from VAT is a matter for the Department of Finance.
1650. Deputy Michael Lowry asked the Minister for Health if he will review correspondence from a healthcare establishment (details supplied) in County Tipperary; if he will consider the reintroduction of the temporary assistance payment scheme to healthcare establishments in 2022 considering additional infection control measures need to be sustained and healthcare institutions need to be supported to maintain this level of infection prevention; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [1210/22]
View answerThe Government has provided extensive support to the Nursing Home Sector since the start of the pandemic. The Temporary Assistance Payment Scheme (TAPS) was established in April 2020 as a temporary, administrative measure to respond to the challenges being faced by the nursing home sector at the start of the pandemic, and was extended twice beyond its original planned end date.
In broad terms, TAPS had substantially fulfilled its temporary purpose of providing financial support to nursing homes to address COVID-19 and therefore it was appropriate to end the standard assistance element of the scheme in June 2021. From June onwards, in recognition of the residual risk presented by the virus, Minister Donnelly and I have agreed to the continued availability of the outbreak assistance element of the Scheme. This will now be available until the end of March 2022, and will ensure that contingency is available in the event of an outbreak.
According to the most recent available HSE data, over 8,264 claims had been processed, with some €122.9 million euro of direct financial support provided to the sector. Due to the extension of outbreak assistance, claims continue to be received and paid. In total, €134.5 million has been made available under TAPS between 2020 and 2021.
The State has continued to prioritise residents of nursing homes in the response to COVID-19, including through the successful and early roll-out of the vaccine programme to nursing home residents. The booster programme has been rolled out to the majority of Nursing Homes, with some exceptions where public health has advised deferral, such as in cases of open outbreaks.
As the pandemic has continued, many further support measures for private and voluntary nursing homes have been made available through the HSE, including the provision of PPE on a no-cost basis (which now includes FFP2 masks), the implementation of serial testing, the support and engagement of COVID-19 response teams and public health teams, the temporary accommodation scheme for nursing home staff and further supports. Many of these supports will continue to be provided by the HSE for the foreseeable future.
