Written Answers Nos. 694-710
694. Deputy Maurice Quinlivan asked the Minister for Health the status of the case of a person (details supplied) who, following a diagnosis of lung cancer at St. James's Hospital, Dublin was referred for a second biopsy and has yet to receive any communication regarding an appointment date; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [15003/23]
View answerAs this is a service matter, I have asked the Health Service Executive to respond to the deputy directly, as soon as possible.
695. Deputy Pearse Doherty asked the Minister for Health if an appointment at the Temple Street Hospital can be expedited for a child (details supplied) in County Donegal; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [15015/23]
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.
696. Deputy Pearse Doherty asked the Minister for Health if an appointment at the Children's Hospital in Crumlin can be expedited for a child (details supplied) in County Donegal; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [15016/23]
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.
697. Deputy Pearse Doherty asked the Minister for Health if an appointment at the Children's Hospital in Crumlin can be expedited for a child (details supplied) in County Donegal; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [15017/23]
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.
698. Deputy Pearse Doherty asked the Minister for Health if an appointment at the Temple Street Hospital can be expedited for a child (details supplied) in County Donegal; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [15018/23]
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.
699. Deputy Richard Boyd Barrett asked the Minister for Health the regulations that are in place for vaping products; if there is any intention of further regulating these products; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [15030/23]
View answerElectronic cigarettes are currently regulated under the European Union (Manufacture, Presentation and Sale of Tobacco and Related Products) Regulations 2016 (S.I. 271/2016). These Regulations transpose the EU Tobacco Products Directive (Directive 2014/40/EU).The Regulations require health warnings on packaging which advise consumers that e-cigarettes contain nicotine which is a highly addictive substance. The Regulations also provide for mandatory safety and quality requirements for e-cigarettes and refill containers, including maximum nicotine concentrations for e-cigarettes containing nicotine, and maximum volumes for cartridges, tanks and nicotine liquid containers.Under the regulations e-cigarette manufacturers or importers are required to notify the Health Service Executive of all products that they place on the market and, if a manufacturer, importer or distributor has a reason to believe that a product is not safe, they are required to immediately notify the Health Service Executive and to explain what corrective action has been taken.
The Directive is currently being reviewed and this is likely to lead to increased regulation of e-cigarettes.
Further regulation of e-cigarettes is planned in national law via the Public Health (Tobacco Products and Nicotine Inhaling Products) Bill, which is currently being drafted by the Office of the Attorney General. The Bill contains measures which will prohibit the sale of nicotine products by or to anyone under the age of 18 and introduce a new licensing system for their retail sale.
In addition, the Bill will prohibit the sale of nicotine inhaling products from self-service vending machines, temporary or mobile premises and at events for children. Advertisements for nicotine inhaling products will be prohibited on public transport, in cinemas and near schools.
700. Deputy Michael Ring asked the Minister for Health the reason the HSE will not provide information to a group (details supplied), in view of the very serious implications for the group; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [15031/23]
View answerAs the Health Service Executive is responsible for the delivery of public healthcare infrastructure projects, I have asked the HSE to respond to you directly in relation to this matter.
701. Deputy Michael Ring asked the Minister for Health when the HSE will provide information to a group (details supplied); and if he will make a statement on the matter. [15032/23]
View answerAs the Health Service Executive is responsible for the delivery of public healthcare infrastructure projects, I have asked the HSE to respond to you directly in relation to this matter.
702. Deputy Michael Ring asked the Minister for Health when a group (details supplied) in County Mayo will receive the moneys due to them; if this matter will be expedited; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [15033/23]
View answerAs the Health Service Executive is responsible for the delivery of public healthcare infrastructure projects, I have asked the HSE to respond to you directly in relation to this matter.
703. Deputy Matt Shanahan asked the Minister for Health if a person with dementia, who is in receipt of maximum 22.5 hours home help per week, could also avail of the dementia home support scheme; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [15036/23]
View answerAs this is a service matter, I have asked the Health Service Executive to respond to the deputy directly as soon as possible.
704. Deputy John Brady asked the Minister for Health if consideration will be given to introducing a redress scheme for people who have been impacted by being overcharged for nursing home care for their loved ones; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [15051/23]
View answerThe issue raised was addressed by the establishment of a statutory scheme under the Health (Repayment Scheme) Act 2006 to repay specified pre-2005 charges for in-patient services imposed on certain persons with full medical card eligibility in public long stay facilities, including nursing homes. The Scheme closed to new applications on 31 December 2007 in accordance with the provisions of the Act. The HSE processed almost 35,500 claims under the Scheme and issued repayments of approximately €453 million to over 20,300 claimants.
705. Deputy Matt Carthy asked the Minister for Health the status of the review of the National Carers’ Strategy, promised under the Programme for Government; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [15110/23]
View answerThe Programme for Government contains specific commitments in recognition of the contribution of Family Carers to care provision in Ireland, which will build on the progress to date in the implementation of the National Carers’ Strategy. One of these is to review and update the National Carers' Strategy. The other commitments coming under the remit of the Department of Health are to extend free GP care to carers in receipt of the Carer’s Support Grant, and to develop a ‘Carers Guarantee’ proposal that will provide a core basket of services to carers across the country regardless of where they live.
Before commencing work on an update and refresh of the National Carers' Strategy, consideration will need to be given by the Department of Health to the approach to the update and the breadth of stakeholder consultation. A review carried out by Care Alliance Ireland and UCC in 2021 of the Carers' Strategy found that for most actions (40/42), over 90% of carers felt they were still relevant and wanted them retained but that they should be strengthened.
It should be noted that in relation to the Programme for Government commitment to develop a ‘Carers Guarantee’ proposal, new funding of €2 million was provided in Budget 2021 under the umbrella of the National Carers’ Strategy to improve equity of access to supports for carers across the country, in tandem with the community and voluntary sector. This funding delivers substantially on the Carers' Guarantee: €1.9 million is being channelled through Family Carers Ireland for the delivery of a broad range of supports to carers, while the remaining €100,000 is supporting the development and delivery of online supports through Care Alliance Ireland.
In addition, the HSE is currently piloting a Family Carers Needs Assessment in Community Healthcare West over a two-year period from September 2021. The pilot is testing the implementation of the FCNA with 100 family carers across a variety of care groups including carers of people with dementia, older people, people with physical and sensory disability and those with mental health issues. It is looking at how caring affects the family carer, how much care they can realistically provide while still allowing for involvement in other activities, and, crucially, how any needs identified can be addressed. The FCNA is being piloted in conjunction with Family Carers Ireland.
To progress implementation of the Programme for Government commitment to extend free GP care to carers in receipt of the Carer’s Support Grant, it will be necessary for the Department of Health to undertake additional detailed analysis of the related policy, financial, operational and legislative requirements arising, in conjunction with the Department of Social Protection as appropriate.
It should be noted that since September 2018, individuals in receipt of either a full or half-rate Carer's Allowance or Carer's Benefit are automatically eligible for a GP visit card. On foot of this measure, as at 1st February 2023, 6,308 persons in receipt of either full or half-rate Carer's Allowance or Carer's Benefit have gained GP Visit Card eligibility. It is also noted that many carers may have already held a medical card or GP visit card prior to this welcome policy change. A range of other measures have been introduced in recent years to expand access to GP Care, including the automatic awarding of a GP visit card to all persons over 70 in 2015 and a 10% increase to the income thresholds for a GP Visit Card in 2019, which are considerably higher than those for a medical card.
Furthermore, as provided for in Budget 2023, from April, eligibility for GP visit cards will be extended to people who earn up to the median household income (€46,000 or less). Over 400,000 additional persons, who otherwise would have attended their GP on a private basis, are expected to become eligible for free GP care under this expansion. It is likely that many of those currently in receipt of the Carer's Support Grant will be among those positively affected by this expansion, although an estimate of the exact number is not currently available.
706. Deputy Matt Carthy asked the Minister for Health if it is the responsibility of staff of a nursing home to provide a third party (details supplied) with copies of their payslips to facilitate the pandemic bonus payment or if this function should be carried out by their employer; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [15111/23]
View answerAs this is a service matter, I have asked the Health Service Executive to respond to the Deputy directly.
707. Deputy Carol Nolan asked the Minister for Health further to Parliamentary Question No. 650 of 14 February 2023, and the written reply from the HSE dated 20 February 2023, his views on whether any amendment is needed to the legal position as outlined by the HSE in its letter; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [15141/23]
View answerThe reply the Deputy refers to from the HSE, sets out the HSE National Consent policy (2022) which is that it adopts a position that the consent of a young person aged 16 and 17 years (who has decision-making capacity) is sufficient (except where the Mental Health Act 2001 applies). This is in line with long established current practice and with the Medical Council, Guide to Professional Conduct and Ethics for Registered Medical Practitioners (2019) as well as with a reasonable interpretation of s. 23 of the Non-Fatal Offences Against the Person Act 1997.
The general issue of consent to certain medical treatments for 16-year-olds is dealt with in the Non-Fatal Offences Against the Person Act, 1997 which I understand is under the remit of the Department of Justice, should the Deputy wish to raise any amendments and request any further information.
708. Deputy Mary Lou McDonald asked the Minister for Health when his Department's review of the rationale for the disclosure of counselling notes as part of court proceedings, including a victim or survivor perspective, commenced in July 2022 will be completed. [15215/23]
View answerAs the Deputy may be aware, recommendation 5.7 of Supporting a Victim’s Journey outlined 'Further consideration should be given to the question of whether the disclosure of medical records should be made subject to a statutory regime similar to that applicable to the disclosure of counselling records.' Responsibility for responding to sexual violence is shared across Government and work being progressed through the Third National Strategy on Domestic, Sexual and Gender based violence, launched last year, further demonstrates the Government’s commitment to tackling this issue.
My Department are currently leading on the examination of this complex issue, with the Department of Justice. The examination includes engagement with Department of Health agencies, the broader health sector and relevant bodies to examine and review the rationale for the disclosure of counselling notes as part of court proceedings including a victim / survivor perspective, with a view to bringing forward recommendations. As the Deputy will be aware, this is a complex issue in which extensive consultation is required.
709. Deputy Alan Farrell asked the Minister for Health if he will provide details of the current HSE infrastructure relating to maternity healthcare services in north Dublin; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [15216/23]
View answerAs this is a service matter, I have asked the Health Service Executive to respond to the deputy directly, as soon as possible.
710. Deputy Alan Farrell asked the Minister for Health the number of women referred to the Rotunda Hospital from north County Dublin; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [15217/23]
View answerAs this is a service matter, I have asked the Health Service Executive to respond to the Deputy directly, as soon as possible.
