Written Answers Nos. 393-411
393. Deputy James Bannon asked the Minister for Health if an early date may be arranged or agreed at either Mullingar, Tullamore or a Dublin hospital for glaucoma treatment in respect of a person (details supplied) in County Longford; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [38270/14]
Amharc ar fhreagraThe scheduling of appointments for patients is a matter for the hospital to which the patient has been referred. Should a patient's general practitioner consider that the patient's condition warrants an earlier appointment, he or she would be in the best position to take the matter up with the consultant and hospital involved. In relation to the specific case raised by the Deputy, as this is a service matter it has been referred to the HSE for direct reply.
394. Deputy James Bannon asked the Minister for Health if he will expedite the issuing of a medical card in respect of a person (details supplied) in County Cork; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [38279/14]
Amharc ar fhreagraThe Health Service Executive has been asked to examine this matter and to reply to the Deputy as soon as possible.
The Health Service Executive operates the General Medical Services scheme, which includes medical cards and GP visit cards, under the Health Act 1970, as amended. It has established a dedicated contact service for members of the Oireachtas specifically for queries relating to medical cards and GP visit cards, which the Deputy may wish to use for an earlier response. Contact information has issued to Oireachtas members.
396. Deputy John McGuinness asked the Minister for Health the position regarding travel arrangements in respect of a person (details supplied) in County Kilkenny. [38286/14]
Amharc ar fhreagraCancer services have been reorganised in line with best practice to ensure that patients are treated in locations that have the expertise, multi-disciplinary specialist skills and case volume to provide optimum treatment. Oesophageal cancer is treated in four approved centres designated by the HSE-National Cancer Control Programme (NCCP) for the treatment of this highly complex condition.
The NCCP established a Travel2Care scheme which provides financial support for those travelling to designated cancer centres or approved satellite centre and this scheme is administered by the Irish Cancer Society. The scheme supports people who have a genuine financial difficulty in meeting some of the costs of travelling to current appointments.
In relation to travel arrangements for the individual concerned, I have asked the HSE to respond directly to the Deputy.
397. Deputy Billy Timmins asked the Minister for Health his views on correspondence (details supplied) regarding indemnity cover; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [38288/14]
Amharc ar fhreagraThis matter is sub-judice and I am therefore restricted in the response I can give to your question.
My role as Minister for health primarily relates to national policy decisions, legislation, implementing the programme for government and securing an overall budget for health and accounting for it to the Oireachtas. I am in no way personally involved in decisions about individual patients, members of staff or contractors. I have had no role in this matter which is one for the HSE and it would be inappropriate for me to intervene regardless of political pressure or lobbying. I hope you can understand and respect why that is.
With regard to this case, I understand from the HSE that her indemnity has been suspended temporarily due to specific and serious concerns expressed by other clinical staff about patient safety. When the HSE suspends an individual as precautionary measure subject to a review/investigation, it does not do so lightly. An overall competence and performance review is planned. I hope this be done as expediently as possible.
On the broader issue, pregnancy is not a disease but a physiological condition and there is no reason why women with a normal pregnancy, should not have their baby delivered at home by a community midwife or in a midwife-led unit. It should be a mother’s choice within safe guidelines. This will form part of the general review of maternity services being carried out over the course of the next twelve months.
398. Deputy Joan Collins asked the Minister for Health the position regarding the removal of an independent midwife's (details supplied) indemnity cover without due process. [38291/14]
Amharc ar fhreagraThis matter is sub-judice and I am therefore restricted in the response I can give to your question.
My role as Minister for health primarily relates to national policy decisions, legislation, implementing the programme for government and securing an overall budget for health and accounting for it to the Oireachtas. I am in no way personally involved in decisions about individual patients, members of staff or contractors. I have had no role in this matter which is one for the HSE and it would be inappropriate for me to intervene regardless of political pressure or lobbying. I hope you can understand and respect why that is.
With regard to this case, I understand from the HSE that her indemnity has been suspended temporarily due to specific and serious concerns expressed by other clinical staff about patient safety. When the HSE suspends an individual as precautionary measure subject to a review/investigation, it does not do so lightly. An overall competence and performance review is planned. I hope this be done as expediently as possible.
On the broader issue, pregnancy is not a disease but a physiological condition and there is no reason why women with a normal pregnancy, should not have their baby delivered at home by a community midwife or in a midwife-led unit. It should be a mother’s choice within safe guidelines. This will form part of the general review of maternity services being carried out over the course of the next twelve months.
399. Deputy James Bannon asked the Minister for Health if an early appointment date will be agreed in respect of a person (details supplied) in County Longford; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [38292/14]
Amharc ar fhreagraIn relation to the particular patient query raised by the Deputy, as this is a service matter, I have asked the Health Service Executive to respond to him directly.
400. Deputy Robert Dowds asked the Minister for Health if he will provide information on the number of State agencies or organisations under the remit of his Department which are paid up members of IBEC; the names of each agency or organisation; the amount which each agency or organisation paid to IBEC in the years 2011, 2012, 2013 and to date in 2014; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [38728/14]
Amharc ar fhreagraThe information in relation to agencies under the remit of my Department is currently being collated and will be forwarded to the Deputy as soon as it is collated.
401. Deputy Micheál Martin asked the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade if the Government has assessed the ramifications for the Good Friday Agreement following the Scottish referendum; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [35589/14]
Amharc ar fhreagra413. Deputy Micheál Martin asked the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade his views on the recent Scottish referendum; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [35587/14]
Amharc ar fhreagraI propose to take Questions Nos. 401 and 413 together.
Following its referendum on 18 September, there is now a roadmap for further devolution in Scotland. I welcome the fact that the process will allow for the many different groups in Scottish society to express their views. I hope that all parts of Scottish society can come together in a constructive and inclusive way in shaping Scotland’s future within the UK.
This Government is in close contact with London, Edinburgh and other devolved administrations as discussions proceed on enhanced devolution for Scotland and, indeed, on the political changes across the UK outlined by Prime Minister Cameron on 18 September. Devolution of further powers in Northern Ireland will be an issue for discussion between the Northern Ireland Executive and the British Government taking account of the framework of the Good Friday Agreement.
The further devolution of powers to Scotland and the political changes outlined by Prime Minster Cameron do of course have political and policy implications for Ireland, North and South. It will take time to tease out these political and policy implications with all stakeholders, on these islands and within the European Union.
The Good Friday Agreement set as a key objective the promotion of the harmonious and mutually beneficial development of the totality of relationships among the peoples of these islands. The commitment in that agreement to partnership, equality and mutual respect as the basis of relationships within Northern Ireland, between North and South and between these islands is as important today as it ever was.
402. Deputy Seán Crowe asked the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade if he has had any formal contact with the Bolivian Government over the case of a person (details supplied) who was killed in Bolivia in 2009; and if he will detail the level of discussions. [37703/14]
Amharc ar fhreagraThe case of the individual mentioned by the Deputy has been raised regularly with the Bolivian authorities at Ministerial and senior official levels, since he was killed by Bolivian security forces in April 2009. Indeed, I discussed the case as recently as 25 September directly with the vice-Foreign Minister of Bolivia, on the margins of the United Nations General Assembly in New York. My two predecessors as Minister, Deputies Eamonn Gilmore and Micheál Martin, also raised the case on a number of occasions with the Foreign Minister of Bolivia, by letter and by way of bilateral meetings at international fora.
The family of the individual has called for an independent international investigation into his killing and my Department has informed the Bolivian authorities that the Irish Government fully supports this position. In addition, my Department has raised the case at EU and UN level, with High Representative Catherine Ashton of the European External Action Service, and with the UN Special Rapporteur for Extrajudicial, Summary and Arbitrary Executions and at the Human Rights Council.
I wish to assure the Deputy that all possible consular assistance continues to be provided to the family of the deceased individual and that officials from the Consular Assistance and Latin America Caribbean Sections of my Department are in regular contact with his family. I personally met with the individual’s mother on 27 August 2014 to discuss the continuing assistance and support that my Department can provide.
403. Deputy Richard Boyd Barrett asked the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade the number of US transport planes that went through Shannon airport in the months of July and August 2014; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [34572/14]
Amharc ar fhreagraDuring the months of July and August 2014 permission was granted for ninety US military aircraft, including military transport aircraft, to land at Shannon airport.
404. Deputy Richard Boyd Barrett asked the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade if he has been in contact with the Israeli Prime Minister in the aftermath of recent attacks on Gaza; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [36516/14]
Amharc ar fhreagra408. Deputy Joe Higgins asked the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade if he will report on his discussions with other Heads of Government on the issue of Gaza and the other occupied Palestinian territories; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [35192/14]
Amharc ar fhreagra416. Deputy Micheál Martin asked the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade if he has met the Israeli ambassador to discuss developments in Israel; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [35668/14]
Amharc ar fhreagraI propose to take Questions Nos. 404, 408 and 416 together.
In the context of the ceasefire in Gaza on 26 August, which finally brought to an end the recent disastrous period of conflict, the European Council, at its meeting of 30 August, adopted Conclusions on the situation in Gaza, similar to and reinforcing those adopted by the 15 August extraordinary meeting of Foreign Affairs Council, which I attended.
The European Council welcomed the recent ceasefire, and stressed in particular that efforts must continue to bring about the end of the closure regime operated by Israel, an improvement in the conditions of the people in Gaza, and an end to rocket attacks into Israel. The Council reiterated the EU’s willingness to assist in Gaza, and recalled that Gaza must be part of the comprehensive resolution of the conflict in a two state solution. Further humanitarian and reconstruction aid to Gaza will be discussed at an international conference in Cairo on 12 October, which I will attend.
I have not been in contact with Prime Minister Netanyahu or Foreign Minister Liberman following the cessation of the conflict.
I have met and spoken with the Israeli Ambassador on a number of occasions throughout the recent Gaza crisis, and asked him to convey to his Government our serious concerns about the extent of Israeli military actions in Gaza, which in our view were disproportionate and could not be justified. The same messages were conveyed directly to the Israeli authorities by our Ambassador in Tel Aviv, and in public statements at the UN Human Rights Council and during the special Seanad Éireann debate which I addressed on 31 July. Since the ceasefire I have emphasised, notably in my address to the UN General Assembly last month, that unless the ceasefire is followed by political discussions to achieve a lasting arrangement involving the end of the blockade and an end to missile attacks, the recent dreadful conflict will soon recur.
405. Deputy Brendan Smith asked the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade if he will provide an update on the ongoing negotiations of the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership; if he had discussions on this issue during his recent visit to the US; his views that Irish interests in the agriculture sphere will be protected robustly; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [37748/14]
Amharc ar fhreagraSince the formal negotiations between the European Union and the United States on a Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP) began in July 2013, seven negotiating rounds have taken place.
The 7th round of the TTIP negotiations took place in the US from 29th September to 3rd October. This was the last round before the current European Commission ends its term on 30 October and the US midterm elections, scheduled for 4th November, take place. It is expected that the 8th round of the negotiations will be held in December, with dates yet to be confirmed.
During my visit to the US last week the importance of making progress on the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership was one of a number of themes I stressed in my meetings with both business and official contacts. I emphasised Ireland’s continued strong support for an ambitious TTIP deal while also noting that we had certain concerns that needed to be addressed, particularly in Agriculture. It was the subject of particularly strong interest during my meeting with the US Chamber of Commerce in Washington, demonstrating the great importance accorded to TTIP by US business.
The Government will continue to look for an agreement that is comprehensive and balanced and one that delivers real trade and economic potential for our economy. In this context we will continue to ensure that the agreement respects our broad trade interests including those in the broad Agriculture sector.
406. Deputy Brendan Smith asked the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade the number of Certificates of Irish Heritage that have been issued per year by his Department; the costs of this scheme per year; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [37749/14]
Amharc ar fhreagraSince the Certificate of Irish Heritage was introduced in September 2011, 2,863 Certificates have been issued – 149 in 2011, 1,317 in 2012, 1,172 in 2013 and 225 to date in 2014. This includes 278 promotional Certificates presented to various individuals since 2011.
The Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade has spent €3,461 to date on the Certificate of Irish Heritage, broken down as €703 in 2010, €1,693 in 2011, €767 in 2012 and €298 in 2013.
These costs are mainly on technical issues relating to the websites which the Department owns (registering domains and security validation procedures) as well as travel costs to meetings with Fexco in Killorglin and some photographs at the launch in New York.
There has been no expenditure to date in 2014.
With the vast majority of the global diaspora not eligible for Irish citizenship, the Certificate of Irish Heritage was introduced to recognise descendants of previous generations of Irish citizens in an official way and to give greater practical expression to the sense of Irish identity felt by many around the world. It is very clear from the positive reaction of those who have received a Certificate how much their heritage means to them.
My Department will continue to work with Fexco, who operate the programme on our behalf, to promote the Certificate of Irish Heritage around the world.
407. Deputy Brendan Smith asked the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade the position regarding the Catalonian independence referendum; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [37750/14]
Amharc ar fhreagraArrangements for the governance of any EU Member State are a matter for determination through that country’s democratic processes. Hence, it would not be appropriate for me to comment on such processes in any particular Member State of the European Union.
409. Deputy Micheál Martin asked the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade the position regarding proposed changes to the status and powers to the Northern Ireland Executive; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [36514/14]
Amharc ar fhreagra410. Deputy Micheál Martin asked the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade if he has concerns about the Northern Ireland Executive; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [36515/14]
Amharc ar fhreagra414. Deputy Micheál Martin asked the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade if he has concerns regarding the workings of the Northern Ireland Executive; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [35605/14]
Amharc ar fhreagraI propose to take Questions Nos. 409, 410 and 414 together.
Over the recent period, the Northern Ireland Executive has been faced with a number of challenges on which it has been difficult to find agreement. These include longstanding issues such as parades, flags and dealing with the past. It also includes more recent difficulties in relation to budgetary issues. The parties that comprise the Executive need to reach agreement on such issues to ensure the effective functioning of the Northern Ireland Executive into the future.
I am confident that the North’s political representatives will show the leadership needed to deliver comprehensive, fair and balanced solutions to the issues before them. This will require compromise and committed engagement to the talks process. The goal is to ensure that the North’s political institutions not only function, but flourish, to the benefit of all, as envisaged by the Good Friday Agreement. I am of the view that all party talks involving the Governments are required at this time to overcome the current political impasse within the Northern Ireland Executive.
Over the period ahead, I will remain in close ongoing contact with the Northern Ireland parties and with the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland as preparations for the talks process continue, including agreeing an agenda for the talks. We fully support partnership Government in Northern Ireland and will work with the political parties to facilitate the resolution of current difficulties and legacy issues.
411. Deputy Micheál Martin asked the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade if he has met Secretary of State Villiers recently; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [35658/14]
Amharc ar fhreagraI have kept in close contact with Secretary of State Villiers since becoming Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade. We have spoken several times in recent weeks on a range of issues and I look forward to meeting her in Dublin later today. As co-guarantors of the Good Friday Agreement, regular, close contact with our partners in the British Government is an important element of the Government’s approach to Northern Ireland.
Secretary of State Villiers and I both strongly believe that talks convened by the two Governments is the best way forward to dealing with the political difficulties and legacy issues in Northern Ireland. It is imperative that everything possible is done to overcome the current political impasse within the Northern Ireland Executive – including on the legacy issues of parades, flags and identity and dealing with the past.
Over the period ahead, I will remain in close ongoing contact with the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland and with the Northern Ireland parties over the period ahead as preparations for the talks process continue, including agreeing an agenda for the talks. The Government’s priority remains to ensure that the institutions of the Good Friday Agreement function effectively to the benefit of all. We fully support partnership Government in Northern Ireland and will work with the political parties to facilitate the resolution of current difficulties and legacy issues.
