Written Answers Nos. 724-739
724. Deputy Neasa Hourigan asked the Minister for Health if he will provide an update on the progress of funding proposals for the new HSE Home Support Tender 2023; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [24098/23]
View answerGovernment is committed to promoting care in the community for older people so that they can continue to live in their own homes for as long as possible. Home support is an increasingly important part of the supports we offer to older people and will continue to increase in importance into the future, as our ageing population grows.
The Home Support Service is funded by Government to deliver a volume of service each year as approved in the HSE National Service Plan which is subject to the annual estimates process. It is a non-statutory service and access to the current service is based on assessment of the person’s care needs by the HSE, having regard to the available resources and competing demands for services. Home Support services are provided by both directly employed Healthcare Support Assistants and Approved Providers with service arrangements with the HSE through the tender.
The process of developing the new tender is at an advanced stage. Officials in the Department of Health are engaging at a senior level with the HSE and the HSE has ongoing engagements with home care providers to progress the new tender. No final decisions on the tender content have been reached. As a strict communication protocol applies in all phases of the procurement process it is not possible to discuss specific funding proposals at this time.
725. Deputy Michael Healy-Rae asked the Minister for Health if he will expedite an appointment for a child (details supplied); and if he will make a statement on the matter. [24100/23]
View answerAs this is a service matter, I have asked the Health Service Executive to respond to the Deputy directly, as soon as possible.
726. Deputy Pearse Doherty asked the Minister for Health if an earlier appointment can be provided for a child in County Donegal (details supplied); and if he will make a statement on the matter. [24114/23]
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.
727. Deputy Maurice Quinlivan asked the Minister for Health his views on the case of a person (details supplied) who is scheduled to have cataract surgery through the NI Planned Healthcare Scheme, with a cost of £2,200 per eye and will be reimbursed £1,626.33 (€1,870) by this State, outlining the reason for the shortfall in re-imbursement to the patient; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [24122/23]
View answerAs this is a service matter, I have asked the Health Service Executive to respond to the Deputy directly, as soon as possible.
728. Deputy Michael Creed asked the Minister for Health if his Department is considering a national screening programme for haemochromatosis. [24125/23]
View answerI am fully committed to supporting our population screening programmes which are a valuable part of our health service, enabling early treatment and care for many people, and improving the overall health of our population.
It is important to be aware that any decisions about changes to our national screening programmes, such as screening for Haemochromatosis, will be made on the advice of our National Screening Advisory Committee (NSAC). This independent expert group considers and assesses evidence in a robust and transparent manner, and against internationally accepted criteria. It is important we have rigorous processes in place to ensure our screening programmes are effective, quality assured and operating to safe standards, and that the benefits of screening outweigh the harms.
The Committee's Annual Call 2022 for proposals for new screening programmes or changes to our existing programmes, received a total of 19 submissions, which included a submission on Genetic Haemochromatosis.
Genetic Haemochromatosis, along with a number of other conditions, is currently under consideration by NSAC. The Committee has published its Work Programme on its website: www.gov.ie/en/publication/e9d02-national-screening-advisory-committee-nsac-work-programme/, setting out the status of proposals currently being considered.
729. Deputy Maurice Quinlivan asked the Minister for Health if he will provide an update on the case of a group of workers (details supplied) who, although eligible for the pandemic bonus payment, have yet to receive their payments; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [24131/23]
View answerAs this is a service matter, I have asked the Health Service Executive to respond to the Deputy directly.
730. Deputy Aodhán Ó Ríordáin asked the Minister for Health if he has made a response to a request (details supplied) for an urgent meeting with relevant Government Ministers to agree funding for a new rate on Tender 2023 that reflects increased costs of care; if he will work with trade unions to ensures that resources are used to pay care staff a living wage, travel time and mileage costs; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [24166/23]
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. This Group progressed a structured programme of consultative engagements with key sectoral stakeholders, including ICTU and the HCCI, to further explore and define the issues, and identify approaches to respond to the strategic workforce challenges.
The Advisory Group 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. 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.
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.
Progression of the specific recommendations concerning living wage and travel time are linked to the outcome of the Tender 2023 process. The process of developing the new tender is at an advanced stage. Officials in the Department of Health are engaging at a senior level with the HSE and the HSE has ongoing engagements with home care providers to progress the new tender. No final decisions on the tender content have been reached. As a strict communication protocol applies in all phases of the procurement process, therefore a meeting with a particular organisation on Tender 2023 cannot be facilitated at this time.
731. Deputy John McGuinness asked the Minister for Health if an application for a medical card in the name of a person (details supplied) will be expedited and approved. [24168/23]
View answerAs this is a service matter, I have asked the Health Service Executive to respond to the Deputy directly, as soon as possible.
732. Deputy Richard Boyd Barrett asked the Minister for Health the estimated full-year cost of providing and staffing ten additional acute beds in a public hospital; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [24179/23]
View answerAs this is an administrative matter for the Health Service Executive, the HSE has been asked to reply directly to the Deputy.
733. Deputy Richard Boyd Barrett asked the Minister for Health the estimated full-year cost of providing and staffing ten additional ICU beds in a public hospital; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [24180/23]
View answerAs this is an administrative matter for the Health Service Executive, the HSE has been asked to reply directly to the Deputy.
734. Deputy Richard Boyd Barrett asked the Minister for Health the estimated full-year cost of reducing the maximum payment on the drug payment scheme to €40; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [24181/23]
View answerThe Drug Payment Scheme (DPS) provides for the refund of the amount by which expenditure on approved prescribed medicines or medical and surgical appliances exceeds a named threshold in any calendar month. The DPS is not means tested and is available to anyone ordinarily resident in Ireland.
The DPS threshold was reduced twice in 2022:
- From €114 to €100 per month on 1 January 2022.
- From €100 to €80 per month on 1 March 2022.
Therefore, currently, under the DPS, no individual pays more than €80 a month towards the cost of approved prescribed medicines. The DPS significantly reduces the cost burden for people with ongoing expenditure on medicines.
The estimated cost of reducing the DPS threshold to €40 per month is €79.2m per annum.
735. Deputy Richard Boyd Barrett asked the Minister for Health the estimated full-year cost of providing free primary care (including GPs) for all; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [24182/23]
View answerUnder the GMS scheme GPs receive a range of payments including capitation payments, fee per service payments and practice supports. Extending GP care without charges to all citizens who do not currently hold a medical card or GP visit card would encompass a further 3 million people approximately. It is not possible to definitively calculate the cost of universal GP care without charges given the wide range of payments and variables that have to be accounted for.
Such a calculation would require a complex and detailed modelling exercise to account for a range of demographic changes, future projections of service demands and variations in the number of GPs and the allowances that could be paid.
Additionally, the fees payable to GPs could only be determined following agreement with the IMO on the scope and content of the general practitioner service to be provided, as well as on the future of the various other supports provided to general practice. For these reasons, it is not possible to give the actual cost of extending GP care without fees to further cohorts.
However, the following recent papers have estimated the cost of universal GP care without charges: the 2018 ESRI study Universal GP care in Ireland: Potential Cost Implications, the 2019 IGEES paper Costing Framework for the Expansion of GP Care, and the 2023 ESRI report Extending Eligibility for General Practitioner Care in Ireland: Cost Implications .
With regard to primary care dental services, the national approach to future oral health service provision will be informed by Smile agus Sláinte, the National Oral Health Policy (2019). The aim of the policy is to develop a model of care that will enable preventative approaches to be prioritised, improve access, and support interventions appropriate to current and future oral health needs. The cost of providing free dental care to the whole population would depend on a number of factors, including the underlying oral health of the population and the level of take-up of such services.
Over the last number of years, several pieces of detailed policy analysis have been undertaken to assess various aspects of expanding eligibility for near or full universal access to primary care and other care sectors and the associated additional costs for the Exchequer. These include the Expert Group Report on Resource Allocation and Financing of the Irish Health System (2010), the White Paper on Universal Health Insurance (2014) and associated costings, and the Committee on the Future of Healthcare Sláintecare Report (2018).
Sláintecare makes the commitment to providing free or affordable access to healthcare to all, while recognising that the delivery of universal GP care without charges must be done on a phased basis. The Strategic Review of General Practice, the Terms of Reference for which I published last month, will examine the broad range of issues affecting general practice and set out the measures necessary to deliver a more sustainable GP service. Under this review, consideration is to be given to the scope of services to be provided to patients on a universal basis, and also to developing the support model necessary to underpin the provision of sustainable GP services under the Sláintecare vision.
736. Deputy Richard Boyd Barrett asked the Minister for Health the estimated full-year cost of providing free dental care; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [24183/23]
View answer742. Deputy Richard Boyd Barrett asked the Minister for Health the estimated full-year cost in 2023 of reinstating all the benefits that were available under the dental treatment services scheme before the economic crash; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [24190/23]
View answerI propose to take Questions Nos. 736 and 742 together.
The Dental Treatment Services Scheme (DTSS) provides dental care, free of charge, to medical card holders aged 16 and over. These services are provided by independent dental practitioners who have a contract with the HSE. As part of Budget 2010 measures, expenditure on the DTSS was capped at the 2008 level of €63 million. Consequently some treatments were limited, restricted to emergencies only or, in the case of prophylaxis (Scale and Polish), suspended. Last year Scale and Polish was re-introduced for all medical card patients along with an expansion of the oral examination to include provision of preventative advice, using €10 million awarded in Budget 2022. The cost of making changes to the DTSS or providing free dental care to the whole population would depend on a number of factors, including the underlying oral health of the population and the level of take-up of such services.The national approach to future oral health service provision will be informed by Smile agus Sláinte, the National Oral Health Policy (2019). The aim of the policy is to develop a model of care that will enable preventative approaches to be prioritised, improve access, and support interventions appropriate to current and future oral health needs. An additional €15 million has been allocated in Budget 2023 to protect access to current oral healthcare services and progress reform.
737. Deputy Richard Boyd Barrett asked the Minister for Health the estimated full-year cost of abolishing all inpatient and ED charges; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [24184/23]
View answerAs part of Budget 2023, I announced my commitment to abolish all public inpatient hospital charges this year. The Health (Amendment) Act 2023, signed into law by the President on 4 April 2023, removes the acute public in-patient charge of €80 per day for people accessing care as a public patient in public hospitals. This measure came into effect from 17 April 2023.
The removal of these charges is an important step towards reducing the healthcare costs of patients and families. This measure builds on the abolition of public in-patient charges for children, which I introduced in September last year, and is another significant step in ensuring that people have access to affordable healthcare services when needed.
Emergency Department (ED) charges are recorded by the HSE as Out-Patient Income. In 2021 the HSE reported Hospital Out-Patient Income of €22.4m.
738. Deputy Richard Boyd Barrett asked the Minister for Health the estimated full-year cost of abolishing all prescription charges for medical card holders; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [24185/23]
View answerThe Government is committed to making healthcare more accessible and affordable and has introduced several reductions in the cost of healthcare.
On 1 November 2020, prescription charges under the General Medical Services (GMS) Scheme were reduced as follows:
- For persons over 70, the charges were reduced to €1 per item with a maximum monthly charge of €10 per month.
- For persons under 70, the charges were reduced to €1.50 per item with a maximum monthly charge of €15 per month.
It is estimated that the minimum cost of abolishing prescription charges for all eligible persons would be approximately €60m per annum.
This estimation is subject to the following caveats:
- That demographic changes may impact the number of eligible persons.
- That the removal of prescription charges may result in a change in claimant behaviour.
739. Deputy Richard Boyd Barrett asked the Minister for Health the estimated full-year cost of abolishing all parking charges at public hospitals; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [24186/23]
View answerAs this is a service matter, I have asked the Health Service Executive to respond to the Deputy directly, as soon as possible.
