Written Answers Nos. 146-167
146. Deputy Mark Ward asked the Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth if he will provide an update on the recruitment process for neurorehabilitation teams under the national strategy for neurorehabilitation in CHO6 and CHO7; the reason for the delays; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [19625/23]
View answerAs this refers to service matters, I have asked the Health Service Executive (HSE) to respond to the Deputy directly, as soon as possible.
147. Deputy Steven Matthews asked the Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth the position regarding a local community neurorehabilitation team for CHO6 to be based in Bray, County Wicklow; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [19680/23]
View answerAs this refers to service matters, I have asked the Health Service Executive (HSE) to respond to the Deputy directly, as soon as possible.
148. Deputy Patrick Costello asked the Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth the length of time the HSE Disability Appeals Officer post has been vacant; and the steps being taken for recruiting a new one; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [19814/23]
View answerThis position has been vacant for a number of weeks. My Department is currently working with the Public Appointments Service to run a competition to fill this position as soon as possible.
149. Deputy Michael Healy-Rae asked the Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth if funding for a travel allowance can be paid to a family (details supplied); and if he will make a statement on the matter. [19875/23]
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.
150. Deputy Richard Boyd Barrett asked the Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth further to Parliamentary Question No. 368 of 8 February 2023, if he will provide an update on an assessment (details supplied); and if he will make a statement on the matter. [19879/23]
View answerAs this refers to service matters, I have asked the Health Service Executive (HSE) to respond to the Deputy directly, as soon as possible.
151. Deputy Peter Burke asked the Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth when outstanding invoices will be paid to an accommodation provider purchase order (details supplied); and if he will make a statement on the matter. [19637/23]
View answerMy Department is prioritising maintaining a practice of more timely payments, including providing more resources to address any issues, and outsourcing of elements of the process to speed up processing and respond to supplier calls. Any delays in making payments are deeply regretted and my Department is according this issue very high priority.
With regard to the service provider mentioned in the details supplied, I am advised by my officials that all of the Purchase Orders referred to in the Details Supplied have now been processed with payment expected to issue shortly pending final checks.
My Department will continue to press on to eliminate the payments backlog while ensuring appropriate governance is in place to safeguard the proper spending of Exchequer funding.
152. Deputy Catherine Connolly asked the Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth the number and location of emergency reception and orientation centres which were in use by IPAS as of 31 December 2022; the occupancy and contracted capacity of each centre as of 31 December 2022, in tabular form; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [19667/23]
View answerThere are currently 3 Emergency Reception and Orientation Centres (EROCs) contracted to accommodate programme refugees under the Irish Refugee Protection Programme (IRPP).
These centres are located in Ballaghaderreen, Co. Roscommon, Clonea Strand, Co. Waterford and Mosney Village, Co. Meath. Details on the capacity of these centres, as well as the occupancy as at the end of December 2022 are set out in the table below.
The Deputy should note that the figures below indicate the maximum beds available in the EROCs. The actual beds available at any given time are dependent on the age, gender and family make-up of the residents of the centres.
|
EROC |
Beds |
Occupied |
|
Ballaghaderreen |
220 |
198 |
|
Clonea |
125 |
109 |
|
Mosney |
200 |
182 |
|
Total |
545 |
489 |
153. Deputy Paul Murphy asked the Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth when a person (details supplied) will receive an assessment of need and subsequent service statement from their local children's disability network team. [19718/23]
View answerAs this refers to service matters, I have asked the Health Service Executive (HSE) to respond to the Deputy directly, as soon as possible.
154. Deputy Brian Stanley asked the Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth if he will meet with representatives from a network (details supplied) to discuss urgent related matters. [19737/23]
View answerAs the Deputy may be aware, the Minister for Education has responsibility for matters relating to survivors of Residential Institutional abuse. However, given the seriousness of this situation, my officials are liaising with the Department of Education to offer any assistance that we can provide, to bring this situation to a satisfactory conclusion as a matter of urgency.
155. Deputy Mark Ward asked the Minister for Health the number of young people referred to CAMHS by CHO area in 2020, 2021, 2022 and to date in 2023; the number of referrals accepted and refused; the reasons for refusal; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [19614/23]
View answerAs this is a service matter, I have asked the Health Service Executive to respond directly to the Deputy as soon as possible.
156. Deputy Mark Ward asked the Minister for Health if he or the Minister of State for Mental Health and Older People is aware of any issues that have been escalated by the Mental Health Commission from its current audits into CAMHS, to the HSE; if so, the nature of these issues; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [19620/23]
View answerThe principal functions of the Mental Health Commission are to promote, encourage, and foster the establishment and maintenance of high standards and good practices in the delivery of mental health services and to take all reasonable steps to protect the interests of persons detained in approved centres under the Mental Health Act 2001.
As the Deputy will be aware, the Mental Health Commission are undertaking an audit of all 73 CAMHS teams nationally. An Interim Report was published by the Commission on 23 January last covering 5 of the 9 CHOs. The Government and the HSE accepted the findings and recommendations of this Interim Report and has progressed consequent actions as appropriate.
As the Mental Health Commission is an independent body, and in light of the fact that the Commission has not completed its Final Report, the specific issues raised by the Deputy are in the first instance matters for consideration to be addressed as appropriate between the Commission and the HSE, prior to publication of the MHC Final Report. I look forward to receiving this report in due course.
157. Deputy Paul McAuliffe asked the Minister for Health his plans to expand the scoliosis treatment provision at Cappagh Hospital, Dublin 11; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [19622/23]
View answerThe partnership between Children’s Health Ireland and the National Orthopaedic Hospital has grown successfully over the last number of years, with clinically suitable patients from CHI undergoing orthopaedic procedures at Cappagh to help address long waiting lists at the CHI hospitals.
In 2022 I approved an ambitious plan from Children’s Health Ireland aimed at reducing the number of children waiting for spinal orthopaedic procedures by the year end.
Through this plan, 549 additional paediatric orthopaedic procedures and 68 spina bifida related procedures were carried out in Cappagh. In addition, 32 spinal fusion surgeries for Idiopathic Scoliosis were outsourced to Cappagh during 2022.
This work has continued in 2023 and up to the 20th of April this year, 213 paediatric orthopaedic procedures and 13 spina bifida related procedures have been carried out in Cappagh as well as 7 spinal fusion surgeries for Idiopathic Scoliosis.
Funding of €363 million has been allocated to the 2023 Waiting List Action Plan. This includes €123 million to be made available to the HSE on a recurring basis to progress longer-term reforms including to streamline and reconfigure care pathways and to sustainably enhance capacity. Scoliosis and Spina Bifida are again included as priority areas for this funding.
CHI is currently finalising a Scoliosis and Spina Bifida Action Plan for 2023, that will again include a considerable contribution from Cappagh, to continue the good work done in 2022.
158. Deputy Sean Sherlock asked the Minister for Health if the HSE has updated all of its computers, laptops, phones, servers and tablets since the cyber-attack; if so, if it has retrieved all of the obsolete items; if it has a comprehensive list of all such items and their current locations; and if they are disposed, if the HSE has proof of disposal. [19626/23]
View answerAs this is a service matter I have asked the Health Service Executive to respond directly to the Deputy as soon as possible.
159. Deputy Mark Ward asked the Minister for Health if the Government has plans to introduce a new income threshold to qualify for the GP visit card; what this threshold will be; when this will come into effect; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [19633/23]
View answerThe Government is committed to the extension of GP visit card eligibility to those who earn the median household income or less, as announced in Budget 2023.
In total, approximately 400,000 additional individuals are estimated to become eligible under this expansion. This measure will remove the cost of accessing GP care from those for whom cost is most likely to prevent access; helping reduce the cost of living for young adults and young families in particular.
The necessary planning and administrative development work to provide for the expansion is well advanced in preparation for the commencement of the expansion. Officials from my Department and the HSE are currently engaged in intensive discussions with the IMO regarding the expansion and in particular the IMO concerns on the impact of increased eligibility on general practice and the best use of the additional funding provided in Budget 2023 to support capacity in general practice.
Information in relation to the commencement of the expansion and operational information will be provided when available.
160. Deputy Patricia Ryan asked the Minister for Health the increase that has been made in funding for safeguarding teams to protect adults at risk of abuse. [19638/23]
View answerAs this is a service matter, I have asked the Health Service Executive to respond to the Deputy directly.
161. Deputy Patricia Ryan asked the Minister for Health the measures that have been taken to address employment issues in the home care sector to address home support shortages. [19639/23]
View answerIn order to examine the significant workforce challenges in the home-support and nursing home sectors in Ireland, Minister Butler established the cross-departmental Strategic Workforce Advisory Group in March 2022. Working closely with key stakeholders, the Advisory Group made 16 recommendations to address the challenges in frontline carer roles in the home support and long-term residential care sectors.
Their report was published in October 2022 with 16 recommendations across the areas of recruitment, pay and conditions of employment, barriers to employment, training and professional development, sectoral reform, and monitoring and implementation.
Minister Butler has endorsed the Advisory Group’s recommendations and is committed to their implementation as a priority. Implementation of the recommendations will be overseen by a cross departmental Implementation Group, chaired by the Department of Health. The Department is engaging with recommendation owners to define an implementation plan.
A detailed implementation plan will be published containing steps involved in delivering the recommendations in the coming months. It is envisaged that the implementation group will meet quarterly and publish progress reports thereafter.
Implementation has commenced. The first recommendation no. 9 was implemented in December 2022 with the announcement of the authorisation of 1,000 employment permits for non-EU/EEA home support workers. This promises to significantly reduce the current shortage of care workers in Ireland. The process for applying for this is through a Labour Market Needs test.
162. Deputy Patricia Ryan asked the Minister for Health if he will provide an update on the latest research into people suffering from dementia. [19640/23]
View answerThe Department of Health provides annual financial support to the Dementia Research Network Ireland (DRNI). DRNI, by supporting multidisciplinary collaborative research and knowledge exchange, is dedicated to the enhancement of the understanding of the causes and mechanisms of dementia and neurodegeneration, the effectiveness of different models of care and the policy changes required to improve the quality of life for persons with dementia and neurodegenerative conditions and their caregivers.
DRNI research will build on the recommendation from Professor Eamon O’Shea’s 2019 report on “The Continuum of Care for People with Dementia in Ireland” that there needs to be an exploration of a broad model of long-term residential care that includes a range of options. Professor O’Shea’s report highlights the need to support people to remain living at home where possible, alongside other alternatives such as small-scale independent living facilities as alternatives to traditional nursing home care. The report highlights the conflicting views on the dementia village model of care and recommends further evaluation of this care setting prior to any investment. The February 2019 joint policy statement on Housing Options for our Ageing Population by the Departments of Health and Housing will also be relevant to the research.
Dementia Trials Ireland (DTI), co-led by Professor Iracema Leroi from TCD and Professor Sean Kennelly from Tallaght University Hospital, was launched in May 2021 with Health Research Board (HRB) support. DTI aims to support and grow dementia intervention studies for people with/at risk of dementia. By significantly increasing Ireland’s capacity and capability to deliver dementia-related trials, and by increasing the number of people participating in trials, DTI aims to prevent/slow progression to dementia for those at risk, and to improve quality of life for people with dementia.
Extensive research was also undertaken in advance of the development of the HSE 'Dementia: Understand Together campaign', which has provided a central website providing information, resources and a service finder showing supports available in every county. It highlights the issue of dementia in wider society through its extensive public awareness campaign and by addressing the challenges faced by people with dementia in communities across Ireland. The most effective part of this campaign is how it shows that people with dementia remain a valuable part of society, and are still capable of contributing to the fabric of national life.
Additionally, the National Dementia Office convened a national working group in June 2021 to establish and prepare for the projected demand for disease modifying treatments (DMT) for dementia. This includes establishing the resource requirement for MASS imaging technology and radiologists.
You will also be aware that Sláintecare is the ten year vision for the reform of our health and social care services. Sláintecare aims to shift the focus of care to the community, and to provide services at the lowest appropriate level of complexity. As part of the Sláintecare Action Plan we have committed to continue to implement the National Dementia Strategy and address the needs of growing numbers of people with dementia and their family carers.
The evidence base generated through the above mentioned research will doubtless be of assistance as we seek to turn our vision, of transforming the health and social care of a rapidly increasing and ageing population, into a reality.
163. Deputy Patricia Ryan asked the Minister for Health the investment that has been delivered in perinatal health care in CHO7; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [19641/23]
View answerAs this is a service matter, I have asked the Health Service Executive to respond to the Deputy directly, as soon as possible.
164. Deputy Patricia Ryan asked the Minister for Health the updated plans that have been put in place regarding wrap-around services for those who no longer qualify for perinatal care; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [19642/23]
View answerAs this is a service matter, I have asked the Health Service Executive to respond to the Deputy directly, as soon as possible.
165. Deputy Patricia Ryan asked the Minister for Health the number of ADHD teams available in CHO7; and if there are plans for more. [19643/23]
View answerAs this is a service matter, I have asked the Health Service Executive to respond directly to the Deputy as soon as possible.
166. Deputy Patricia Ryan asked the Minister for Health the number of vacancies available to date in community posts in CHO7. [19644/23]
View answerAs this is a service matter, I have asked the Health Service Executive to respond directly to the Deputy, as soon as possible.
167. Deputy Patricia Ryan asked the Minister for Health if all respite beds have now reopened after the pandemic; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [19650/23]
View answer168. Deputy Patricia Ryan asked the Minister for Health if plans for extra respite beds are being made; and if so, the number of beds to be delivered, in tabular form. [19652/23]
View answerI propose to take Questions Nos. 167 and 168 together.
As this is an operational matter, I have asked the Health Service Executive to respond to the deputy directly, as soon as possible.
