Jonathan O'Brien
Ceist:366. Deputy Jonathan O'Brien asked the Minister for Health the domain names registered to or owned by his Department or through a third-party company. [49067/17]
Amharc ar fhreagraDepartmental Websites
Ceisteanna (366)
Freagraí scríofa
The following domain names are currently registered to my Department. Some refer to areas which were applicable to the former Department of Health & Children and no longer relate to the business of the Department of Health, while others are no longer in use but the registration has not expired.
|
Domain Name |
Description |
|
health.gov.ie / health.irlgov.ie |
Department's government domain |
|
doh.ie / dohc.ie |
Former domains for Department's website |
|
healthyireland.ie |
Website for framework for improved health and well being |
|
emadublin.ie |
Website for relocate the European Medicine Agency to Dublin |
|
patientsafetyfirst.ie |
Patient Safety website (now incorporated in Departmental website) |
|
healthreform.ie |
Health reform website |
|
adoptionauthority.ie |
Original Adoption Authority website |
|
ombudsmanforchildren.ie |
Office of the Ombudsman for Children |
|
fluoridationforum.ie |
Forum on water fluoridation in Ireland |
|
nationalchildrensoffice.ie |
Former National Children's Office |
|
activeaging.ie |
Active ageing website |
|
droghedareview.ie |
Independent review |
|
cpsqa.ie |
Commission on Patient Safety and Quality Assurance |
|
lcnhi.ie |
Commission of Investigation (Leas Cross Nursing Home) |
|
odao.ie |
Office of the Disability Appeals Officer |
|
oco.ie |
Office of the Children's Ombudsman |
|
nacda.ie |
National Advisory Committee on Drugs & Alcohol (now incorporated in Departmental website) |
|
mbhcoi.ie |
Commission of Investigation into Mother and Baby Homes |
|
farrellycommission.gov.ie |
Commission of Investigation (Certain matters relative to a disability service in the South East and Related Matters) |
|
payment-scheme.gov.ie |
Independent Review of Issues relating to Symphysiotomy |
Parliamentary Questions Costs
Ceisteanna (367)
Mattie McGrath
Ceist:367. Deputy Mattie McGrath asked the Minister for Health the average costs associated with processing and answering written and oral parliamentary questions; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [49126/17]
Amharc ar fhreagraFreagraí scríofa
In 2011, an analysis of parliamentary and legislative processes in my Department was co-ordinated by the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform. This included an estimation of the average cost of responding to Oral (including Priority) and Written Parliamentary Questions. These were indicative estimates based on survey responses from staff in my Department. They do not include any costs relating to, say, stationery, nor do they include any estimates of costs relating to input to responses from the Health Service Executive. They are set out in the table.
|
Process |
Average Cost per question in 2011 |
|
Written PQs |
€ 77 |
|
Oral PQs |
€741 |
Health Services Provision
Ceisteanna (368)
Micheál Martin
Ceist:368. Deputy Micheál Martin asked the Minister for Health his views on the continued lack of a rehabilitation unit for persons with a neurological disability in the south of the country despite the recommendations from numerous reports; and his further views on the status of the most recent report commissioned by the South-South West Hospital Group for the planning of such a unit which is now more than a year overdue. [49149/17]
Amharc ar fhreagraFreagraí scríofa
As the Deputy's question relates to service matters, I have arranged for the question to be referred to the Health Service Executive (HSE) for direct reply to the Deputy.
Legislative Process
Ceisteanna (369)
Louise O'Reilly
Ceist:369. Deputy Louise O'Reilly asked the Minister for Health the details of the contact between his Department and the Department of Communications, Climate Action and Environment in respect of the Public Health (Alcohol) Bill 2015, specifically on provisions and amendments previously tabled relating to restrictions on advertising on the Internet and for related definitions and offences; the way in which the two Departments plan to deal with this gap in the Bill with regard to Internet advertising; if he will report on developments in this area; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [49152/17]
Amharc ar fhreagraFreagraí scríofa
There has been ongoing engagement between my Department and the Department of Communications, Climate Action and Environment in relation to internet advertising.
In April 2014, my Department made a submission to the Internet Content Governance Advisory Group whose Report was published in 2014. My Department is also represented on the Interdepartmental Implementation Group of the Internet Content Governance Advisory Group.
In relation to the Public Health (Alcohol) Bill 2015, my Department consulted with the Department of Communications, Climate Action and Environment on the matter of internet advertising, the proposed amendments to the Public Health (Alcohol) Bill and the related offences. Having fully considered the matter, the Department of Communications, Climate Action and Environment indicated that such amendments would present difficulties in terms of enforcement. My Department concurred with this view.
Health Services Provision
Ceisteanna (370)
Michael Fitzmaurice
Ceist:370. Deputy Michael Fitzmaurice asked the Minister for Health if the HSE will fund a surgical procedure carried out in a private setting for a person (details supplied); and if he will make a statement on the matter. [49153/17]
Amharc ar fhreagraFreagraí scríofa
Under 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.
The National Waiting List Management Policy, A standardised approach to managing scheduled care treatment for in-patient, day case and planned procedures, January 2014, has been developed to ensure that all administrative, managerial and clinical staff follow an agreed national minimum standard for the management and administration of waiting lists for scheduled care. This policy, which has been adopted by the HSE, sets out the processes that hospitals are to implement to manage waiting lists.
In relation to the particular query raised, as this is a service matter, I have asked the HSE to respond to you directly.
Disability Services Funding
Ceisteanna (371)
Anne Rabbitte
Ceist:371. Deputy Anne Rabbitte asked the Minister for Health the way in which personalised budgets or individualised funding is administered through the HSE in circumstances in which a person has a disability (details supplied); if parents can apply for part of the funding to employ a personal assistant for the days their child is not in the service and is engaged in alternative activities; if they must be out of the service to receive this funding; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [49155/17]
Amharc ar fhreagraFreagraí scríofa
As the Deputy may be aware the Programme for Government contained a commitment to the introduction of personalised budgets for people with disabilities. I established a Task Force on Personalised Budgets on 20 September 2016, on foot of this commitment.
The Task Force on Personalised Budgets consists of a Strategy Group and an Advisory & Consultative Group. It includes officials from the relevant Government Departments and agencies, HSE, academic and policy experts, stakeholder organisations and a wide range of people with lived experience of disability and disability services (both intellectual and physical). Its remit is to make recommendations on personalised budgets models which will give people with disabilities more control in accessing health funded personal social services, giving them greater independence and choice in accessing services which best meet their individual needs. A Reference Group comprising people with lived experience of disability and disability services was also established, and the views of this group inform the Task Force deliberations.
Offering people the choice of a personalised budget is becoming increasingly common internationally as a way of providing people with more choice and control over the services and supports they access. While the concept of personalised budgets is not limited to health and personal social services, the Task Force is focussing on personalised budgets for services for adults with disabilities funded by the HSE Disability Services in the first instance. The Task Force has been asked to report with recommendations on personalised budget models by the end of 2017.
Historically, personalised budgets have been made available to a small number of people participating in pilot projects and to a very limited number of people whose specific circumstances required additional flexibility. Further roll-out of personalised budgets in 2018 will be informed by the Task Force report and will follow a structured implementation plan and process. As the Deputy's query relates to a service matter I have referred the question to the HSE for review and direct reply to the Deputy.
Health Services Provision
Ceisteanna (372)
James Browne
Ceist:372. Deputy James Browne asked the Minister for Health his plans to improve dementia services in County Wexford; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [49159/17]
Amharc ar fhreagraFreagraí scríofa
As this is a service matter I have asked the Health Service Executive to respond directly to the Deputy as soon as possible.
Mental Health Services
Ceisteanna (373)
James Browne
Ceist:373. Deputy James Browne asked the Minister for Health the way in which the HSE has addressed local clinical governance issues within Roscommon’s mental health services; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [49160/17]
Amharc ar fhreagraFreagraí scríofa
As this is a service matter I have asked the Health Service Executive to respond directly to the Deputy as soon as possible.
Electronic Health Records
Ceisteanna (374)
James Browne
Ceist:374. Deputy James Browne asked the Minister for Health the way in which the HSE plans to develop a patient-based information technology system on a national basis; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [49161/17]
Amharc ar fhreagraFreagraí scríofa
I presume by "a patient-based information technology system on a national basis" that the Deputy is referring to the HSE’s plans for the phasing in of a national Electronic Health Record (EHR). It should also be noted that the HSE is delivering a wide range of technology enabled programmes which support the delivery of Electronic Health Records.
The EHR business case, which has been developed by the HSE, highlights a number of optional timescales and investment approaches. The scale of the task to implement a national electronic health record programme is very large, challenging and requires a complex planning, approval and tendering process. It is a five to ten year programme of work depending on the scale of resources deployed. We must also be cognisant of the delivery of an EHR in the context of the work being planned for the New Children’s Hospital, which aspires to be the first digital hospital facility in the country.
I welcome the recognition of the priority required for investment in the EHR Programme in the Sláintecare Report which recommended “continued strong support of the e-health strategy - particularly ensuring the necessary funding for timely roll-out of the EHR system".
For a programme of this scale and scope, realistic timescales and funding options are important to ensure that the adoption of both the technology and the business change required by front line staff can be absorbed and managed in a coherent way. In addition to resourcing the EHR project with substantial manpower and financial resources, experience from other countries demonstrates that the vendor markets supplying many of these services needs to be carefully managed in terms of capacity and capability to deliver working tailored solutions in a satisfactory manner. The Electronic Health Record (EHR) as defined in the high level strategic business case has 4 main elements - the Shared Care Record, the Community & Primary Care EHR, the Acute Operational EHR and the EHR integration suite. The Strategic Business Case is published on the eHealth Ireland website. The HSE appointed a programme manager to oversee the implementation of the Electronic Health Record in May 2017 and work is continuing with the HSE and my Department on progressing the business case with the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform. The next phase of the EHR programme is to develop detailed business cases for each component, specification of requirements, procurement documentation and support during the procurement process.
The HSE sought and received conditional sanction from my Department and the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform to undertake 4 tenders, utilising the Office of Government procurement framework, to provide them with external support for the programme. The 4 tenders are for the delivery of support for the following areas:
- programme office;
- acute EHR;
- community EHR; and
- Shared Care Record and Integration.
The tender documents were published in August and the tender process closed mid-September. To date, one contract for this work has been awarded for the acute hospital EHR in view of the requirements for the National Children's Hospital. In the case of the other two lots, a re-tendering exercise is underway. The outputs from this work will allow greater clarity on the scope of the individual components for what is being procured and the detailed costings for each of the areas that will make up the electronic health care record. Only when this detailed work is completed can the procurement process be considered for submission to the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform and prioritisation assigned to the work. The work in relation to EHR will continue and feed into the implementation response to the Sláintecare report being prepared by my Department .
Mental Health Services Provision
Ceisteanna (375)
James Browne
Ceist:375. Deputy James Browne asked the Minister for Health the way in which the national forensic mental health capital project’s second phase will decide on the location of new regional intensive care rehabilitation units in the HSE west and HSE south areas; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [49162/17]
Amharc ar fhreagraFreagraí scríofa
Planning permission for a new modern forensic mental health facility in Portrane, to replace the Central Mental Hospital in Dundrum together with associated new facilities, was granted in June 2015. Site preparation works were undertaken by the HSE during 2016.
Phase 1 comprises a new 170 single bed National Forensic Mental Service facility. This includes a 130 bed main hospital, as well as a co-located 10 bed Forensic Child and Adolescent Mental Health Unit, and a 30 bed Intensive Care Rehabilitation Unit. Construction on Phase I commenced in June 2017, and this is progressing satisfactorily. The new facilities will open in 2020, following Equipping and Commissioning stages.
Phase 2 of the National Forensic Mental Health capital project envisages the provision of new regional Intensive Care Rehabilitation Units. It is intended that these will be prioritised within the HSE capital programme over the medium term. As the HSE has carried out some preliminary work on these proposals to-date, I have asked the Executive to respond directly to the Deputy in relation to the detail of these.
Mental Health Services Staff
Ceisteanna (376)
James Browne
Ceist:376. Deputy James Browne asked the Minister for Health further to Parliamentary Question No. 556 of 13 July 2017, the number of new whole-time equivalent positions the €15 million in funding for mental health in 2017 will provide; the number of positions in medical, nursing, health and social care management and administration, general support staff and patient and client care categories; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [49163/17]
Amharc ar fhreagraFreagraí scríofa
As this is a service matter I have asked the Health Service Executive to respond directly to the Deputy as soon as possible.
Mental Health Services Funding
Ceisteanna (377)
James Browne
Ceist:377. Deputy James Browne asked the Minister for Health the amount of the €15 million in new funding for mental health in 2017 that has been expended; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [49164/17]
Amharc ar fhreagraFreagraí scríofa
As this is a service matter I have asked the Health Service Executive to respond directly to the Deputy as soon as possible.
Health and Social Care Professionals Regulation
Ceisteanna (378)
Tom Neville
Ceist:378. Deputy Tom Neville asked the Minister for Health further to Parliamentary Question No. 395 of 17 October 2017, when it is expected that the draft regulations to designate the professions to establish the registration board will be ready for submission to Houses of the Oireachtas; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [49168/17]
Amharc ar fhreagraFreagraí scríofa
I can confirm that the draft Regulations to designate the professions of counsellor and psychotherapist and to establish a registration board for the professions were, in accordance with the provisions of the Health and Social Care Professionals Act 2005, laid before each House of the Oireachtas on 9th November 2017 and resolutions approving the drafts have been submitted to each House for consideration.
Health Services Provision
Ceisteanna (379)
Robert Troy
Ceist:379. Deputy Robert Troy asked the Minister for Health if suitable services will be put in place for a person (details supplied); and if he will make a statement on the matter. [49180/17]
Amharc ar fhreagraFreagraí scríofa
As this is a service matter I have asked the Health Service Executive to respond directly to the Deputy as soon as possible.
Health Services Provision
Ceisteanna (380)
Tony McLoughlin
Ceist:380. Deputy Tony McLoughlin asked the Minister for Health if an incident (details supplied) will be investigated; the efforts to ensure this will not occur again; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [49181/17]
Amharc ar fhreagraFreagraí scríofa
Under 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.
The National Waiting List Management Policy, A standardised approach to managing scheduled care treatment for in-patient, day case and planned procedures, January 2014, has been developed to ensure that all administrative, managerial and clinical staff follow an agreed national minimum standard for the management and administration of waiting lists for scheduled care. This policy, which has been adopted by the HSE, sets out the processes that hospitals are to implement to manage waiting lists.
In relation to the particular query raised, as this is a service matter, I have asked the HSE to respond to you directly.
Legislative Process
Ceisteanna (381)
Louise O'Reilly
Ceist:381. Deputy Louise O'Reilly asked the Minister for Health when he plans to facilitate the commencement of sections 2 and 3 of the Children and Family Relationships Act 2015; the timeframe for full enactment; if his attention has been drawn to the many families affected by this; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [49183/17]
Amharc ar fhreagraFreagraí scríofa
Draft regulations to facilitate the commencement of Parts 2 & 3 of the Children and Family Relationships Act 2015 have been prepared for the consideration of the Office of Parliamentary Council, which Office is responsible for settling Regulations before they are laid before the Houses of the Oireachtas. My Department is also working to resolve a small number of technical issues in order to ensure that the processes associated with Parts 2 & 3 of the Act can be commenced.
National Children's Hospital
Ceisteanna (382)
Dara Calleary
Ceist:382. Deputy Dara Calleary asked the Minister for Health if his attention has been drawn to proposals to name the new national children's hospital in honour of Dr. Kathleen Lynn (details supplied); and his views on whether this would be an excellent choice of name for the new hospital. [49202/17]
Amharc ar fhreagraFreagraí scríofa
A comprehensive and inclusive process involving parents, children, staff and youth organisations was organised by the Children's Hospital Group to choose a name for the new entity to run the new children's hospital and associated outpatient and urgent care centres. I understand that hundreds of names were proposed and submitted for consideration through this process. The name selected for the new entity, Phoenix Children's Health, was announced on 23 October 2017.
Home Care Packages Provision
Ceisteanna (383)
John Brassil
Ceist:383. Deputy John Brassil asked the Minister for Health if a home care package application by a person (details supplied) will be expedited; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [49209/17]
Amharc ar fhreagraFreagraí scríofa
As this is a service matter I have asked the Health Service Executive to respond directly to the Deputy as soon as possible.
Home Care Packages Data
Ceisteanna (384)
Thomas Pringle
Ceist:384. Deputy Thomas Pringle asked the Minister for Health the estimated cost of providing an extra 100 intensive home care packages in County Donegal; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [49212/17]
Amharc ar fhreagraFreagraí scríofa
As this is a service matter I have asked the Health Service Executive to respond directly to the Deputy as soon as possible.