Written Answers Nos. 1678-1697
1678. Deputy Denis Naughten asked the Minister for Health the current status of the review process of the role of radiation therapists; when the recommendations will be implemented; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [2156/23]
View answerAn independent radiation therapist review has been agreed between the HSE, Department of Health and SIPTU, under the auspices of the WRC.
This strategic review of Radiation Therapy will support the objectives of the National Cancer Strategy 2017-2026 and help address the increasing and more complex demand for radiation oncology. Cancer cases are increasing in line with our ageing and growing population, and the NCCP estimates that up to 60% of patients will require radiation oncology for primary treatment and palliative care in coming years.
Radiation Therapists are highly skilled professionals regulated by CORU. The Review will align with the National Cancer Strategy, taking account of the increasing demand for radiation oncology, the advances in technology, increased specialisation and more targeted treatment. The review will consider issues such as organisation structure, career development in line with Health and Social Care Professional Frameworks, strategic workforce planning and recruitment and retention strategies.
The review process commenced in December 2022 and is currently underway.
All outcomes of the review will be given due consideration by the Department of Health. Implementation of any recommendations from the review are subject to approval from the Departments of Health and Public Expenditure and Reform in line with public service pay policy.
1679. Deputy Michael Lowry asked the Minister for Health the reason that the civil registration office for the register of births, deaths, and marriages in Thurles, County Tipperary is now closed; the reason the Health Service Executive is not providing this service to the people of Thurles; the solutions that have been put in place to have the civil registration office reopen in Thurles; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [2157/23]
View answerAs this is a service matter, I have asked the Health Service Executive to respond to the Deputy directly, as soon as possible.
1680. Deputy Niamh Smyth asked the Minister for Health if an urgent ophthalmology appointment will be expedited for a person (details supplied); and if he will make a statement on the matter. [2167/23]
View answerAs this refers to an individual case, I have referred this matter to the HSE for their attention and direct reply to the Deputy.
1681. Deputy Mark Ward asked the Minister for Health the number of children waiting for assessment of needs, psychology, physiotherapy, speech and language therapy, occupational therapy, and dietetics; the average waiting time for each of these services per CHO in tabular form; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [2168/23]
View answerAs this question refers to service matters, I have asked the Health Service Executive (HSE) to respond to the Deputy directly, as soon as possible.
1682. Deputy Róisín Shortall asked the Minister for Health if he intends to implement all 16 recommendations of the workforce advisory group on home carers and nursing home health care assistants in 2023; if he will provide a timeline for the implementation of each recommendation; the progress that has been made to date in implementing these recommendations; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [2181/23]
View answerThe Report of the Strategic Workforce Advisory Group on Home Carers and Nursing Home Healthcare Assistants was published on 15th October 2022. Providing an overview of the work of the Advisory Group and its key findings, the report presents a suite of 16 recommendations spanning the areas of areas of recruitment, pay and conditions of employment, barriers to employment, training and professional development, sectoral reform, and monitoring and implementation.
I have strongly endorsed all of the Advisory Group’s recommendations and I am committed to their full implementation as a priority. Implementation of the recommendations will be overseen by a cross-departmental Implementation Group, chaired by the Department of Health, which will provide timelines for the implementation of each recommendation as soon as possible.
I can confirm that implementation of the recommendations is in train and that on the 16th December 2022 the Government announced the authorisation of 1,000 employment permits for non-EU/EEA home support workers, as recommended by the Advisory Group. This promises to significantly reduce the shortage of home support workers in the immediate future.
The Advisory Group’s recommendations are targeted measures which, when implemented in conjunction with the wider sectoral reforms which are in train, will have a lasting impact on the workforce challenges associated with frontline care workers.
1683. Deputy Róisín Shortall asked the Minister for Health the proposed professions which have yet to be regulated by CORU; the timeline for the regulation of each profession; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [2182/23]
View answerAs the Deputy may be aware, CORU is Ireland’s multi-profession health and social care regulator. Seventeen health and social care professions are designated for regulation by CORU under the Health and Social Care Professionals Act 2005. There are currently registers open for ten professions.
CORU is continuing the substantial work required to open the registers for the remaining designated professions of Podiatrists; Social Care Workers; Counsellors and Psychotherapists; Clinical Biochemists; and Orthoptists.
The Register for Podiatrists opened on 31 March 2021. This began a 2-year transition period for existing practitioners to apply to register with CORU. On 31 March 2023, the title 'Podiatrist’ will become a legally protected title in Ireland.
The Social Care Workers Register will open on 30 November 2023. This will begin a 2-year transition period for existing practitioners to apply to register with CORU. On 30 November 2025, the title 'Social Care Worker' will become a legally protected title in Ireland.
The Psychologists Registration Board (PSRB) was established in 2017. In 2020 a public consultation on the draft Standards of Proficiency and Criteria for Education and Training Programmes developed for the profession revealed a lack of consensus on how to proceed with regulation. Having reached an impasse, CORU wrote to me on behalf of the PSRB seeking guidance on how to proceed. I wrote to CORU in August 2022 requesting the PSRB consider a dual stream and phased approach to regulating the profession, which would allow the PSRB to prioritise regulating psychology specialisms which present the greatest risk to public safety, while simultaneously continuing to work towards the long-term objective of protecting the title of ‘Psychologist’. The PSRB are now examining which specialisms should be prioritised for regulation and they will subsequently make a recommendation to me.
Counsellors and Psychotherapists were designated for regulation by my predecessor through S.I. No. 170 in 2018. The Counsellors and Psychotherapists Registration Board (CPRB) was established in 2019. The ongoing work of the CPRB includes consideration of the titles to be protected, the minimum qualifications to be required of existing practitioners, the qualifications that will be required for future graduates, and drafting the Standards of Proficiency and Criteria for Education and Training Programmes. 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.
Owing to the significant body of preparatory work that the PSRB and CPRB are required to undertake, it is not possible to say with any degree of accuracy when these professions will be fully regulated. I would anticipate that these registration boards will require a number of years to complete their work.
Registration boards have not yet been established for Clinical Biochemists and Orthoptists.
1684. Deputy Róisín Shortall asked the Minister for Health the process by which professions who are currently unregulated by CORU can apply for recognition of their field; if there is a means by which representative bodies can formally request consideration of their profession for regulation; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [2183/23]
View answerAs the Deputy is aware, CORU is the multi profession health and social care regulator in the State.
There are 17 health and social care professions designated for regulation by CORU under the Health and Social Care Professionals Act 2005 and currently there are registers open for 10 professions. Section 4 of the Act provides that, following a consultation process and with the approval of the Houses of the Oireachtas, the Minister can make regulations designating a health or social care profession not already designated.
More than twenty unregulated professions have approached the Department seeking to be regulated. The issues to be considered regarding the proportionate degree of regulatory force required to protect the public are complex. In light of the various issues to be considered, and in line with ongoing work in my Department, the Health Research Board were requested to carry out research on behalf of the Department to assist in policy development in this area. The report, “National Approaches to Regulating Health and Social Care Professions”, examines the approaches to the regulation of health and social care professionals internationally and is publicly available on the Department’s website (www.gov.ie/en/publication/ea62b-national-approaches-to-regulating-health-and-social-care-professions/).
My officials are in the process of drawing from this report and other relevant sources in the development of policy for the regulation of health and social care professionals into the future. In the meantime, CORU continues the complex work of preparing for regulation under the Health and Social Care Professionals Act 2005 those professions already designated.
It should be noted that as part of the development of policy proposals in this regard, my Department will need to consider the requirements arising from the transposition into Irish law of the EU Proportionality Test Directive (EU) 2018/958, (S.I. No. 413/2022 - European Union (Regulated Professions Proportionality Assessment) Regulations 2022), a proportionality assessment will need to be carried out before the adoption of any new regulated profession. Its intention is to prevent disproportionate regulatory measures by introducing objective proportionality assessments and increasing stakeholder involvement.
1685. Deputy Róisín Shortall asked the Minister for Health if consideration is being given to regulation by CORU of athletic therapists; if so, the steps that are being taken to advance this process; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [2184/23]
View answerAs the Deputy may be aware, CORU is Ireland’s multi-profession health and social care regulator. Seventeen health and social care professions are designated for regulation by CORU under the Health and Social Care Professionals Act 2005. There are currently registers open for ten professions and CORU is continuing the substantial work required to open the registers for the remaining professions.
A number of representative bodies for unregulated professions have approached the Department seeking to be regulated. The issues to be considered regarding the proportionate degree of regulatory force required to protect the public are complex. In light of the various issues to be considered, and in line with ongoing work in the Department of Health, the Health Research Board was requested to carry out research on behalf of the Department to assist in policy development in this area. The report, “National Approaches to Regulating Health and Social Care Professions”, examines the approaches to the regulation of health and social care professionals internationally and is publicly available on the Department’s website (www.gov.ie/en/publication/ea62b-national-approaches-to-regulating-health-and-social-care-professions/).
My officials are in the process of drawing from this report and other relevant sources in the development of policy for the regulation of health and social care professionals into the future.
1686. Deputy Pearse Doherty asked the Minister for Health when a person (details supplied) from County Donegal can expect to receive an appointment date from the Mater Private Hospital, Dublin; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [2186/23]
View answerUnder the Health Act 2004, the Health Service Executive (HSE) is required to manage and deliver, or arrange to be delivered on its behalf, health and personal social services. Section 6 of the HSE Governance Act 2013 bars the Minister for Health from directing the HSE to provide a treatment or a personal service to any individual or to confer eligibility on any individual.
In relation to the particular query raised, as this is a service matter, I have asked the Health Service Executive to respond to the Deputy directly, as soon as possible.
1687. Deputy Pearse Doherty asked the Minister for Health if a person (details supplied) in County Donegal is on the urgent or routine waiting list; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [2187/23]
View answerUnder the Health Act 2004, the Health Service Executive (HSE) is required to manage and deliver, or arrange to be delivered on its behalf, health and personal social services. Section 6 of the HSE Governance Act 2013 bars the Minister for Health from directing the HSE to provide a treatment or a personal service to any individual or to confer eligibility on any individual.
In relation to the particular query raised, as this is a service matter, I have asked the Health Service Executive to respond to the Deputy directly, as soon as possible.
1688. Deputy Mark Ward asked the Minister for Health further to Parliamentary Question No. 602 of 13 December 2022, the cost of accommodating the telemedicine clinic in CHO 4, including the expenses for travel for quarterly appointments; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [2188/23]
View answerAs this is a service matter, I have asked the Health Service Executive to respond directly to the Deputy as soon as possible.
1689. Deputy Mary Lou McDonald asked the Minister for Health if his attention has been drawn to reports that the Health Service Executive is not meeting is obligations as set out in section 18 of the Health (Pricing and Supply of Medical Goods) Act 2013 and that this failure is leading to shortages in supply of commonly-used generic pharmaceutical products; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [2190/23]
View answerAs this is a service matter, I have asked the Health Service Executive to respond to the Deputy directly, as soon as possible.
1690. Deputy Mary Lou McDonald asked the Minister for Health if he will consider a legislative measure, even on a temporary basis, to reduce the 180-day decision timeframe as set out in section 18 of the Health (Pricing and Supply of Medical Goods) Act 2013 for commonly used generic pharmaceutical products to address the current acute shortage of such drugs; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [2191/23]
View answerThe HSE has statutory responsibility for medicine pricing and reimbursement decisions, in accordance with the Health (Pricing and Supply of Medical Goods) Act 2013. The Act specifies the criteria for decisions on the reimbursement of medicines. As Minister for Health, I do not have any statutory power or function in relation to reimbursement of medicines.
Under the 2013 Act, if a company wishes to have a medicine reimbursed through the community drugs schemes, it must submit an application to the HSE to have the medicine added to the Reimbursement List.
As outlined in the 2021 Framework Agreements on the Supply and Pricing of Medicines, and in line with the 2013 Act, the HSE will decide, within 180 days of receiving the application (or a longer period if further information is sought from the company), to add the medicine to the reimbursement list, agree to reimburse it as a hospital medicine or refuse to reimburse it. As part of a pricing and reimbursement application for generic and biosimilar medicines, there are already dedicated reimbursement mechanisms in the 2021 agreements. Reimbursement is automatically approved, provided the pricing is in line with the generic and biosimilar (and hybrid) pricing framework/agreements. The pricing of such medicines is linked to the price of the originator or patented medicine.
HSE decisions on which medicines are reimbursed by the taxpayer are made on objective, scientific and economic grounds, on the advice of the National Centre for Pharmacoeconomics (NCPE). The NCPE conducts health technology assessments for the HSE, and makes recommendations on reimbursement to assist HSE decisions. The NCPE uses a decision framework to systematically assess whether a drug is cost-effective as a health intervention.
The HSE strives to reach a decision in as timely a manner as possible. However, because of the significant monies involved, it must ensure that the best price is achieved, as these commitments are often multi-million-euro investments on an ongoing basis. This can lead to a protracted deliberation process.
I am keen to explore ways in which new medicines might be more easily available for public patients in Ireland, but innovative approaches must be compatible with the statutory provisions in place and must also recognise fundamental pricing and funding issues, in the context of finite Exchequer resources.
1691. Deputy Jackie Cahill asked the Minister for Health if a rebate or grant is available to parents who avail of private orthodontic treatment for their children in time-sensitive situations; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [2194/23]
View answerAs this is a service matter, I have asked the Health Service Executive to respond to the Deputy directly, as soon as possible.
1692. Deputy Neasa Hourigan asked the Minister for Health his plans to amend the Health and Social Care Professionals Act 2005 to categorise athletic therapists as a profession regulated by CORU, considering their specialisation in the field of neuromusculoskeletal medicine related to physical activity in sporting, recreational and working environments; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [2201/23]
View answerAs the Deputy may be aware, CORU is Ireland’s multi-profession health and social care regulator. Seventeen health and social care professions are designated for regulation by CORU under the Health and Social Care Professionals Act 2005. There are currently registers open for ten professions and CORU is continuing the substantial work required to open the registers for the remaining professions.
A number of representative bodies for unregulated professions have approached the Department seeking to be regulated. The issues to be considered regarding the proportionate degree of regulatory force required to protect the public are complex. In light of the various issues to be considered, and in line with ongoing work in the Department of Health, the Health Research Board was requested to carry out research on behalf of the Department to assist in policy development in this area. The report, “National Approaches to Regulating Health and Social Care Professions”, examines the approaches to the regulation of health and social care professionals internationally and is publicly available on the Department’s website (www.gov.ie/en/publication/ea62b-national-approaches-to-regulating-health-and-social-care-professions/).
My officials are in the process of drawing from this report and other relevant sources in the development of policy for the regulation of health and social care professionals into the future.
1693. Deputy Jackie Cahill asked the Minister for Health the amount that was spent in 2022 on private ambulances to transfer patients from Nenagh Hospital to nursing homes, when they were being discharged from the hospital; the breakdown of the locations from which these ambulances travelled from originally in order to transfer these patients from Nenagh Hospital; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [2203/23]
View answerAs this is a service matter, I have asked the Health Service Executive to respond to the Deputy directly, as soon as possible.
1694. Deputy Pa Daly asked the Minister for Health the current waiting times in County Kerry for HSE dental appointments for children from 0 to 18-years-of-age, cross tabulated with the available age cohorts in tabular form.; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [2215/23]
View answerAs this is a service matter, I have asked the Health Service Executive to respond to the Deputy directly, as soon as possible.
1695. Deputy Pa Daly asked the Minister for Health his views on the availability of concerta methylphenidate in Ireland. [2245/23]
View answerJanssen, the marketing authorisation holder for Concerta products, has informed the Health Products Regulatory Authorithy (HPRA) that it is encountering intermittent supply shortages of various strengths of Concerta, which is impacting countries in multiple regions. This is due to global supply chain issues related to component availability and increased demand in multiple markets.
The company has stated that there are allocations in place to ensure equitable distribution to mitigate the impact on patients in Ireland. The company has also stated that it is working closely with pharmacies to ensure patients receive their medications, and if there are any localised supply issues, pharmacies can contact Janssen so that the required quantity can be released for the patient.
1696. Deputy Pa Daly asked the Minister for Health his views on the new HSE guidelines on the treatment of ADHD; the role of adult ADHD clinics; when he anticipates the clinics being fully operational; and the length of the current waiting list for such clinics. [2246/23]
View answerAs this is a service matter, I have asked the Health Service Executive to respond directly to the Deputy as soon as possible.
1697. Deputy Michael McNamara asked the Minister for Health when an application for the fair deal scheme will be processed for a person (details supplied); and if he will make a statement on the matter. [2248/23]
View answerAs this is an operational matter, I have asked the Health Service Executive to respond to the deputy directly, as soon as possible.
