Written Answers Nos. 269-279
269. Deputy Bernard J. Durkan asked the Minister for Health the progress to date in the determination of a medical card renewal in the case of a person (details supplied); and if he will make a statement on the matter. [17361/18]
Amharc ar fhreagraAs this is a service matter, I have asked the Health Service Executive to respond directly to the Deputy.
270. Deputy Bernard J. Durkan asked the Minister for Health when a hospital appointment will be facilitated in the case of a person (details supplied); and if he will make a statement on the matter. [17369/18]
Amharc ar fhreagraUnder 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 the Deputy directly.
271. Deputy Bernard J. Durkan asked the Minister for Health the extent to which provision is being made to identify persons on long waiting lists for various treatment, with particular reference to those with the most urgent requirement with a view to expediting the process in order to avail of every opportunity to reduce such waiting lists; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [17384/18]
Amharc ar fhreagraThe Programme for Government commits to reducing waiting times for procedures in hospitals and to increase funding to the National Treatment Purchase Fund to deliver on this commitment. In the Budget and Estimates 2018, funding for the NTPF to treat public patients was increased to €50 million.
The Inpatient/Day Case Action Plan is a joint initiative between the HSE, the NTPF and my Department and sets the projected activity and impact that will be delivered in 2018 from within the allocated funding. As outlined in the Action Plan, a projected 1.16 million inpatient and day case procedures will take place in 2018, with NTPF activity accounting for 20,000 procedures and HSE activity 1.14 million procedures.
The overall number of patients waiting for an inpatient or day case procedure is projected to fall to below 70,000 by year end, from a peak of 86,100 in July 2017.
As part of the plan, all patients who are waiting more than 9 months for a cataract, hip and/or knee replacement, tonsils, Gastro Intestinal scope or one of four other high-volume treatments will be offered treatment in 2018 if clinically suitable. Therefore it is planned that the number of patients waiting longer than 9 months will fall by 10,000 by year end.
My ambition is to build upon this progress in 2019 and to further reduce waiting time for Irish patients.
272. Deputy Bernard J. Durkan asked the Minister for Health the extent to which he remains satisfied regarding the adequacy of the health budget to meet the requirements in their entirety throughout 2018; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [17385/18]
Amharc ar fhreagraThe 2018 National Service Plan set out a budget of over €14.5 billion for the HSE, the highest budget ever allocated. The Health budget was increased by over €600 million on 2017, a substantial additional level of funding. The amount allocated follows an extensive process of engagement between my Department and the HSE, which considers both the funding requirements as submitted by the HSE and the fiscal position. These types of engagements are a normal part of the Budgetary process and happen with agencies across Government. All public bodies put forward spending proposals but all such bodies, including the HSE, are required to operate within the amounts proposed by Government and determined by the Dáil. While increased resources contribute to health service improvement, there are also ways in which improvements can be achieved within the current resources. The HSE has my full support in achieving these improvements as part of our shared reform agenda.
Since I have come to office the allocation to the HSE has increased by €1.4 billion or 10.6%. More resources are always welcome in contributing to the development of services but there is also a responsibility on the HSE to seek greater value from the very substantial existing resources at its disposal.
The services to be provided in 2018 are as set out in the National Service Plan, and levels are typically equal to or higher than planned or delivered in 2017. The additional funding provided in Budget 2018 for new developments will support new or expanded levels of services across priority service areas. I expect the HSE to operate within the funding provided to it in 2018.
The HSE notes that provision of the level of services and activities set out in the plan will require the delivery of value improvements totalling €346m. The Value Improvement Programme has three strands; a Mitigation Programme, a Corporate Value programme and a Strategic Value and Productivity programme. The HSE will lead on both the Mitigation programme and the Corporate Value programme. The Mitigation Programme is focused on cost reductions and savings at service level and includes procurement savings and agency conversion. In the Corporate Value programme, the HSE will identify savings and cost reductions across their entire corporate operations. This might include better control of central administrative costs such as travel and better management of supplies.
The Department of Health will work with the HSE within a shared governance and oversight framework on the Strategic Value and Productivity programme. This will be a multi-year strategic initiative, with the objective of identifying and implementing savings from improved productivity and changes in models of care or policies.
273. Deputy Bernard J. Durkan asked the Minister for Health the extent to which the number of nurses, doctors and consultants becoming available in 2018 is sufficient to meet the demand; his views on whether it is possible to compete with health services in the Middle East in this regard; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [17386/18]
Amharc ar fhreagraThe need to increase the numbers of consultants, medical staff, nurses and midwives in the public health service is a priority for this Government. It has been the focus of attention since 2014 as additional resources have become available and will continue to be this year and in the years ahead. The capacity challenges across acute, primary and social care that we must prepare for, and address, have been highlighted in the recently published Capacity Review.
It is recognised that retention of doctors and nurses is critical to the future growth of the medical and nursing workforce. Some progress has been made.
The number of consultants has increased by 109 in the 12 months ending December 2017 to 2,971 whole time equivalents, and by 415 in the 4 years since December 2013. The number of NCHDS has increased by 270 in the 12 months ending December, 2017 to 6,331 whole time equivalents, and by 1,323 in the 4 years since December 2013.
In July 2013 a Working Group, chaired by Professor Brian MacCraith, President, Dublin City University, was established to carry out a strategic review of medical training and career structure. The Group made 25 recommendations relating to training and career pathways for doctors with a focus on improving graduate retention in the public health system and planning for future service needs. Initiatives taken on foot of the Group's recommendations include the launch of a careers and training website, which gives information about each specialty, including details of training pathways and training duration, increasing the number of family-friendly training places and the appointment of lead NCHDs across sites.
With regard to nursing, the number of nurses and midwives has increased by 942 in the 12 months ending December 2017 to 36,777 whole time equivalents and by 2,599 in the 4 years since December 2013. This growth reflects the implementation of a Nursing Recruitment and Retention Agreement concluded with the INMO and SIPTU Nursing last year. This committed the HSE to increasing the number of nurses and midwives by 1,224 additional permanent posts across the health service in 2017. The HSE remain committed to the Agreement and efforts will continue to fill the remaining posts. Funded workforce plans for 2018 are in the process of being developed. One of the commitments already made by the HSE and supported by this Department is ensuring that every nursing graduate is offered a permanent contract in 2018 and work is already underway in that regard. Additional student places have also been put in place as part of the agreement and this will ensure growing numbers of graduates in the years ahead.
The Government is acutely aware that there is a backdrop of global shortages in health professionals and that there is intense competition from health services in the Middle East and elsewhere. This is particularly so given that Irish medical and nursing graduates are held in high regard worldwide. We must ensure that when our graduates qualify that Ireland is an attractive option for them this autumn and in the years ahead.
274. Deputy Bernard J. Durkan asked the Minister for Health the extent to which waiting lists for orthodontic treatment have been reduced for children at primary and second level; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [17387/18]
Amharc ar fhreagraAs this is a service matter it has been referred to the HSE for direct reply to the Deputy.
275. Deputy Martin Kenny asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine when the balancing payment of the 2017 sheep welfare scheme will issue; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [17152/18]
Amharc ar fhreagraIn December 2016 I introduced the Sheep Welfare Scheme to contribute to the continuing viability and sustainability of the sheep sector in Ireland. The Scheme is funded through the Rural Development Programme (RDP) 2014 - 2020.
Advance payments in the amount of €16 million under the first year of the Sheep Welfare Scheme have already issued. Balancing payments in respect of these applications are due to commence shortly.
276. Deputy Niall Collins asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the way in which his Department will assess the risks to the food chain, consumer health and the value and reputation of Irish agricultural exports in view of the fact that An Bord Pleanála has approved a company's (details supplied) application for an incinerator at a location; the way in which his Department and the Food Safety Authority will measure the effects on food safety caused by the incineration of toxic waste in the Golden Vale; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [17211/18]
Amharc ar fhreagraEnsuring the highest standards of food safety, consumer protection, animal and plant health is a key function of my Department. An integral element of this responsibility is the implementation of the national control plan whose primary objective is to ensure that feed and food is safe. This multi-annual national control plan (MANCP), is produced in conjunction with the Food Safety Authority of Ireland (FSAI), and contains details of the control systems in place for food, feed, animal health, animal welfare and plant health. While these control systems are implemented by a number of Departments and agencies, the FSAI - which comes under the remit of the Department of Health - is the competent authority with overall responsibility for the enforcement of food legislation. This responsibility is managed through contractual arrangements with the relevant agencies, including my Department.
277. Deputy Peter Burke asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the way in which his Department fills vacancies that arise from a panel (details supplied); and if he will make a statement on the matter. [17219/18]
Amharc ar fhreagraVeterinary Inspectors are recruited by my Department through a competitive process through the Public Appointments Service, the most recent recruitment campaign being that conducted in 2017.
My Department regularly assesses its Business needs and makes appointments from panels as prioritised vacancies arise. Occasionally, due to business demands, a Veterinary Inspector post in a Meat plant may require temporary cover in cases where permanent staff are unavailable for short periods of time. In these cases, the posts are filled on a temporary basis with suitably qualified people until the permanent staff resume duties.
278. Deputy Tom Neville asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine if a decision has been made on a late area of natural constraints application appeal by a person (details supplied) in County Kerry; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [17236/18]
Amharc ar fhreagraAn application for the Basic Payment Scheme and Areas of Natural Constraints (ANC) scheme was received from the person named on 14 July 2017. As this was a late application it incurred a late application penalty.
The person named submitted an appeal in relation to the late application penalty, and this appeal was upheld. Accordingly, payment under the ANC Scheme will issue shortly to the nominated bank account of the person named.
279. Deputy Tom Neville asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine if persons (details supplied) in County Kerry are eligible under the young farmers scheme; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [17256/18]
Amharc ar fhreagraThe persons named were successful applicants under the 2017 Young Farmers Scheme and received payment in December 2017. As they both commenced farming in 2013 they are also eligible to apply for continued participation in the Young Farmers Scheme in 2018.
