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Tuesday, 28 Jul 2020

Written Answers Nos. 893-912

Health Screening Programmes

Ceisteanna (893)

Louise O'Reilly

Ceist:

893. Deputy Louise O'Reilly asked the Minister for Health the estimated cost of expanding the new-born screening programme to screen for all diseases for which there is a medical treatment here. [18068/20]

Amharc ar fhreagra

Freagraí scríofa

The National Screening Advisory Committee (NSAC) was established in 2019 and has held three meetings to date.  The Committee’s role is to undertake an independent assessment of the evidence for screening for a particular condition against internationally accepted criteria and make recommendations accordingly. 

Professor Niall O’Higgins was appointed as Chair of the NSAC in 2019 and was asked that the Committee prioritise an examination of the approaches for the expansion of the National Newborn Bloodspot Screening Programme ('heelprick test') and work in that regard has been progressed by the Committee. 

Ireland has traditionally evaluated the case for commencing a national screening programme against the internationally accepted criteria (collectively known as Wilson Jungner criteria). The evidence bar for commencing a screening programme should and must remain high.  This evidence threshold ensures that we can be as confident as we can be that the programme in question is effective, quality assured and operating to safe standards for the population. 

The Committee will evaluate submissions and provide recommendations on a case by case basis.  A meeting of the NSAC took place on 17 July 2020 where the Committee considered (1) the addition of ADA-SCID to the blood spot screening programme and (2) a change in the screening pathway of the Diabetic RetinaScreen programme and I await the outcome of the discussions of the Committee. 

Financial cost is but one factor that is considered in the decision making process. Due to the complex nature of the evaluation process and the criteria against which a decision is made, it would be impossible to accurately quantify the cost of expanding a screening service until a full evidential assessment was completed.  

Any future potential changes to the National Newborn Bloodspot Screening Programme will be incorporated as part of the Committee's work programme.

Updates in relation to the work of the Committee will be posted on the NSAC website  available at https://www.gov.ie/en/campaigns/nsac/  

I am strongly committed to identifying any opportunities that exist in this area and to their implementation.

Health Services

Ceisteanna (894)

Louise O'Reilly

Ceist:

894. Deputy Louise O'Reilly asked the Minister for Health the estimated cost of providing contraceptives to all women who require same. [18069/20]

Amharc ar fhreagra

Freagraí scríofa

In its report published in October 2019, the Working Group on Access to Contraception estimated that it would cost in the region of €80m to €100m to deliver a universal, fully funded State scheme for contraception.

This estimated cost reflects the cost of providing the current GMS contraceptive service on a universal basis to all women aged 16-44, assuming two GP consultations per annum and assuming an uptake rate of between 50% and 60%.

The Working Group noted that this estimate should be considered as indicative as it is subject to a number of variables and uncertainties, including the outcome of consultation with service providers and the final parameters of any such scheme.

Period Poverty

Ceisteanna (895)

Louise O'Reilly

Ceist:

895. Deputy Louise O'Reilly asked the Minister for Health the estimated cost of providing free female hygiene products to all women in receipt of a medical card. [18070/20]

Amharc ar fhreagra

Freagraí scríofa

It is not possible to estimate the cost of providing female hygiene products free of charge to all eligible female medical card holders as this information is not currently collated by the State.

Period Poverty

Ceisteanna (896, 897, 898)

Louise O'Reilly

Ceist:

896. Deputy Louise O'Reilly asked the Minister for Health the estimated cost of providing free female hygiene products to all women in receipt of a general practitioner card. [18071/20]

Amharc ar fhreagra

Louise O'Reilly

Ceist:

897. Deputy Louise O'Reilly asked the Minister for Health the estimated cost of providing free female hygiene products to all girls between 12 and 18 years of age. [18072/20]

Amharc ar fhreagra

Louise O'Reilly

Ceist:

898. Deputy Louise O'Reilly asked the Minister for Health the estimated cost of providing free female hygiene products to all women in homeless shelters. [18073/20]

Amharc ar fhreagra

Freagraí scríofa

I propose to take Questions Nos. 896 to 898, inclusive, together.

The National Strategy for Women and Girls Strategy Committee which is led by the Department of Justice and Equality has established a sub-committee on period poverty, chaired by the Department of Health.

In line with Oireachtas motions passed in early 2019, its remit includes establishing the extent of period poverty and population cohorts most at risk in Ireland and making recommendations with regard to education, stigma reduction, targeting of at-risk groups and mainstreaming period poverty mitigation measures across all relevant Government Departments and public bodies.

The sub-committee is currently compiling a report of its work which will be submitted to the NSWG Strategy Committee in due course.

With regard to the average cost of period products, the following information has been provided to the sub-committee's deliberations:

The CSO advises that, among households with non-zero expenditure on sanitary pads and tampons, their estimates give an average weekly household expenditure of €1.86. An annual expenditure of €96.72 can therefore be estimated.

Data from the HSE Primary Care Reimbursement Service indicates that the number of women and girls aged 12-54 in receipt of a GP visit card is 54,800. The estimated cost of free period products for this group, using the CSO figures above, is €5.3m approximately. A similar estimate for the 389,150 women aged 12-54 with a GMS (medical) card is €37.6m per annum approximately.

Data from the 2016 Census shows the population of women aged between 12 and 18 resident in Ireland is 213,129. Therefore, it can be estimated that the provision of free period products for this group would cost €20.6m. Updated figures based on 2019 population estimates give 222,390 girls aged between 12-18, the corresponding estimated cost is €21.5m.

The most recent report from the Department of Housing, Planning and Local Government (May 2020) concerning the numbers of people accessing local authority managed emergency accommodation, lists 2,221 female adults as homeless, the majority of whom would be of menstrual age (54 or under). Figures are also given for dependent children under the age of 18 who are also accessing homeless services (2787); assuming that age and gender distributions are even, one can estimate that 465 of these dependents are girls between 12 and 18. The estimated cost of free period products for this group is approximately €260,000 per annum.

It should be noted that Homeless Period Ireland have advised the NSWG Sub-Committee on Period Poverty that they currently supply donated period products to homeless shelters, addiction services, charities and other organisations on request. As their business model relies on redistribution of donated products and not money, the current cost of their services to homeless shelters cannot be estimated accurately.

Surveys and the scientific literature estimate that the majority of teenage girls require pain relief to manage their periods. The cost of this is not included in the CSO estimates above, but was included in estimates published by Plan International and on the Oireachtas website previously. These estimates ranged from €132 to €208 per woman per annum, when pain relief was included.

Hospital Staff

Ceisteanna (899)

Louise O'Reilly

Ceist:

899. Deputy Louise O'Reilly asked the Minister for Health the estimated cost of increasing the number of obstetricians and gynaecologists employed by ten. [18074/20]

Amharc ar fhreagra

Freagraí scríofa

I have asked the HSE to respond directly to the Deputy on this matter.

Dental Services

Ceisteanna (900)

Louise O'Reilly

Ceist:

900. Deputy Louise O'Reilly asked the Minister for Health the estimated cost of recruiting five and ten orthodontists, respectively, on the average pay grade in tabular form. [18075/20]

Amharc ar fhreagra

Freagraí scríofa

I have asked the HSE to respond directly to the Deputy on this matter.

Nursing Staff

Ceisteanna (901)

Louise O'Reilly

Ceist:

901. Deputy Louise O'Reilly asked the Minister for Health the estimated cost of employing 100, 200, 300 and 400 nurses, respectively, on the average pay scale in tabular form. [18076/20]

Amharc ar fhreagra

Freagraí scríofa

I have asked the HSE to respond directly to the Deputy on this matter.

Midwifery Services

Ceisteanna (902)

Louise O'Reilly

Ceist:

902. Deputy Louise O'Reilly asked the Minister for Health the estimated cost of employing 100, 150 and 200 midwives, respectively, on the average pay scale in tabular form. [18077/20]

Amharc ar fhreagra

Freagraí scríofa

I have asked the HSE to respond directly to the Deputy on this matter.

Nursing Staff

Ceisteanna (903)

Louise O'Reilly

Ceist:

903. Deputy Louise O'Reilly asked the Minister for Health the estimated cost of employing ten and 25 advanced nurse practitioners in tabular form. [18078/20]

Amharc ar fhreagra

Freagraí scríofa

I have asked the HSE to respond directly to the Deputy on this matter.

Physiotherapy Services

Ceisteanna (904)

Louise O'Reilly

Ceist:

904. Deputy Louise O'Reilly asked the Minister for Health the estimated cost of employing ten community physiotherapists and hospital physiotherapists at entry level with five years and ten years of experience, respectively. [18079/20]

Amharc ar fhreagra

Freagraí scríofa

I have asked the HSE to respond directly to the Deputy on this matter.

Occupational Therapy

Ceisteanna (905)

Louise O'Reilly

Ceist:

905. Deputy Louise O'Reilly asked the Minister for Health the estimated cost of employing 100 occupational therapists. [18080/20]

Amharc ar fhreagra

Freagraí scríofa

I have asked the HSE to respond directly to the Deputy on this matter.

Physiotherapy Services

Ceisteanna (906)

Louise O'Reilly

Ceist:

906. Deputy Louise O'Reilly asked the Minister for Health the estimated cost of employing 100 physiotherapists. [18081/20]

Amharc ar fhreagra

Freagraí scríofa

I have asked the HSE to respond directly to the Deputy on this matter.

Mental Health Services

Ceisteanna (907)

Louise O'Reilly

Ceist:

907. Deputy Louise O'Reilly asked the Minister for Health the estimated cost of employing 150 psychologists. [18082/20]

Amharc ar fhreagra

Freagraí scríofa

I have asked the HSE to respond directly to the Deputy on this matter.

Speech and Language Therapy

Ceisteanna (908)

Louise O'Reilly

Ceist:

908. Deputy Louise O'Reilly asked the Minister for Health the estimated cost of employing 100 speech and language therapists. [18083/20]

Amharc ar fhreagra

Freagraí scríofa

I have asked the HSE to respond directly to the Deputy on this matter.

Speech and Language Therapy

Ceisteanna (909)

Louise O'Reilly

Ceist:

909. Deputy Louise O'Reilly asked the Minister for Health the estimated cost of employing 250 speech and language therapists based on mid-point 2018 pay scales. [18084/20]

Amharc ar fhreagra

Freagraí scríofa

I have asked the HSE to respond directly to the Deputy on this matter.

Hospital Staff

Ceisteanna (910)

Louise O'Reilly

Ceist:

910. Deputy Louise O'Reilly asked the Minister for Health the estimated cost of recruiting ten consultants on the average pay grade. [18085/20]

Amharc ar fhreagra

Freagraí scríofa

I have asked the HSE to respond directly to the Deputy on this matter.

Dental Services

Ceisteanna (911)

Louise O'Reilly

Ceist:

911. Deputy Louise O'Reilly asked the Minister for Health the estimated cost of recruiting ten, 20 and 40 dentists, respectively, on the average pay grade in tabular form. [18086/20]

Amharc ar fhreagra

Freagraí scríofa

I have asked the HSE to respond directly to the Deputy on this matter.

Dental Services

Ceisteanna (912)

Louise O'Reilly

Ceist:

912. Deputy Louise O'Reilly asked the Minister for Health the estimated cost of recruiting 60 dental nurses on the average pay grade. [18087/20]

Amharc ar fhreagra

Freagraí scríofa

I have asked the HSE to respond directly to the Deputy on this matter.

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