Written Answers Nos. 215-235
215. Deputy Róisín Shortall asked the Minister for Health if outdoor hospitality patrons will be subject to a time limit from 7 June 2021 as was the case when restaurants were previously open; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [23492/21]
Amharc ar fhreagraThere has been considerable progress in reducing infection levels since the peak of the wave of infection in late 2020/early 2021 because of the widespread commitment and adherence by the public to the public health measures in place. While there is still a high level of infection nationally, the situation is considered reasonably stable and significant progress is being made in relation to the roll-out of our vaccination programme.
In recognition of the improving situation, the Government announced a roadmap on the 29 April for the gradual lifting of some restrictions over the next two months, with a particular focus on allowing more outdoor activities. A range of measures will be eased in May, with a further easing of measures in June subject to the epidemiological situation at the time.
Under this roadmap, it is envisaged that outdoor hospitality will recommence from the 7 June. Fáilte Ireland are now updating their guidelines and these will be published on their site ahead of the reopening of outdoor dining: https://covid19.failteireland.ie/operational-guidelines/
It is important to note that while there is now scope to ease a range of public health measures, this approach must continue to be cautious, gradual and on a phased basis, with sufficient time between any easing of measures to assess the impact. This will be critical to ensuring the protection of the gains of recent months, the protection of those most vulnerable, and the protection of health and social care, education, and childcare services.
Significant progress has been made on suppressing the virus over recent months due to the huge effort of people across the country. By working together, we have saved lives and limited the impact of the disease on society in Ireland. We all must continue to do everything possible to continue to avoid the virus spreading and to support the safe reopening of activities over the coming months.
216. Deputy Róisín Shortall asked the Minister for Health the number of persons over 70 years of age who have yet to receive a vaccine; the timeline for completing this cohort; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [23493/21]
Amharc ar fhreagraAs this is a service matter, I have asked the Health Service Executive to respond to the deputy directly, as soon as possible.
217. Deputy Róisín Shortall asked the Minister for Health the number of persons who have yet to receive a vaccine who have medical conditions which put them at very high risk of developing severe disease as a result of Covid-19; the timeline for completing this cohort; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [23494/21]
Amharc ar fhreagraAs this is a service matter, I have asked the Health Service Executive to respond to the deputy directly, as soon as possible.
218. Deputy Róisín Shortall asked the Minister for Health the number of persons aged 60 to 69 years of age who have registered for the Covid-19 vaccine online; the number who have registered by phone; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [23495/21]
Amharc ar fhreagraAs this is a service matter, I have asked the Health Service Executive to respond to the deputy directly, as soon as possible.
219. Deputy Róisín Shortall asked the Minister for Health the number of persons who arrived here in each week from 12 April 2021 to date who had been in a designated state in the previous 14 days; the number from each designated state in tabular form; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [23497/21]
Amharc ar fhreagraAll passengers arriving into the state are required to complete a COVID-19 Passenger Locator Form (PLF) in accordance with SI 45/2021. There are limited exemptions from this requirement, as set out in the regulations, such as for international transport workers or for diplomats. The Passenger Locator Form is used to support a system of engagements with arriving passengers including the targeting of public health messaging by SMS and may be used for contact tracing.
It should be noted that PLF data does not constitute formal arrival data into the state, due to the different intended purpose for the system and also the number of exempted persons as set out above. In addition, some passengers may complete a PLF in advance but be unable to travel as intended, and the data below may include some duplicates for certain travellers. Passengers may have completed a PLF and continued their journey without staying overnight in the state or having transiting onto Northern Ireland.
The data below is an indicative number of passengers whose journey originated in a designated state as well as those passengers that listed a designated state in their recent travel history from 12 April to 23 April. This is the most recent date with validated data.
There are currently 71 states designated by the Minister as listed at https://www.gov.ie/en/publication/b4020-travelling-to-ireland-during-the-covid-19-pandemic/#designated-states-mandatory-hotel-quarantine. For the period in question there were 55 designated states up to 14 April, and 71 designated states to 23rd April.
22,665 Passenger Locator Forms were completed during this period from all countries of departure for relevant travellers. 7.5% of the Passenger Locator Forms indicated a designated state.
The data provided below is where a minimum number of 10 arrived from a designated state, as providing any smaller numbers could risk identifying individual passengers. Where a passenger has declared that they have travelled in a number of designated states prior to arriving into Ireland, the most recent state is reported.
The data in the table below includes the number of accompanying children under 16 declared on the PLF. No further information is recorded on passengers under 16 years of age.
The figures below are subject to change due to ongoing data cleansing e.g. duplication where passengers completed the PLF twice.
|
12-18 April ** |
19-23 April |
|
|
Austria |
11 |
13 |
|
Belgium |
38 |
90 |
|
Brazil |
30 |
64 |
|
Canada |
12 |
* |
|
France |
147 |
86 |
|
Italy |
56 |
60 |
|
Lebanon |
* |
21 |
|
Moldova |
* |
18 |
|
Nigeria |
77 |
74 |
|
Pakistan (Islamic Republic of) |
24 |
47 |
|
Philippines (Republic of) |
30 |
43 |
|
Qatar |
20 |
22 |
|
South Africa |
28 |
26 |
|
Turkey |
34 |
32 |
|
Ukraine |
36 |
* |
|
United Arab Emirates |
46 |
44 |
|
United States |
151 |
198 |
|
Zimbabwe |
* |
13 |
|
*Other |
56 |
60 |
|
Total |
796 |
911 |
*refers to countries in the table where passenger numbers are less than 10. This data is included in Other and includes the following for the relevant weeks:
Andorra, Angola, Argentina, Armenia, Aruba, Bahrain, Bangladesh (People's Republic of), Bermuda, the islands of Bonaire, Sint Eustatius and Saba, Bolivia (Plurinational State of), Bosnia and Herzegovina, Botswana, Burundi, Cabo Verde, Chile, Colombia, Curaçao, DR Congo, Ecuador, Eswatini, Ethiopia, French Guiana, Guyana, Jordan, Kenya, Kosovo, Kuwait, Lesotho, Luxembourg, Malawi, Maldives (Republic of), Monaco, Montenegro, Mozambique, Namibia, North Macedonia, Oman, Palestine, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, Puerto Rico, Rwanda, San Marino, Serbia, Seychelles, Somalia, Suriname, Tanzania, Uruguay, Venezuela, Zambia and the Territory of the Wallis and Futuna Islands.
**Note- designated states included in the table above with the operative date 15th April:
Designated states from 15th April
Armenia, Bangladesh, Belgium, Bermuda, Bosnia & Herzegovina, Canada, Curaçao, France, Italy, Kenya, Luxembourg, Maldives, Pakistan, Turkey, United States of America and Ukraine.
For reference, the following revocations and designations have been made since the dates for the above table:
Designated status revoked from 30th April
Bonaire Sint Eustatius & Saba, Monaco, Moldova, San Marino, Wallis and Futuna Islands
Designated states from 4th May
Costa Rica, Georgia, India, Iran and Mongolia
220. Deputy Róisín Shortall asked the Minister for Health the arrangements in place for persons who received their first Covid-19 vaccination in another country and have since moved to live in Ireland; if they will be facilitated with their second dose at the time it is due irrespective of the cohort they are in; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [23500/21]
Amharc ar fhreagraAs this is a service matter, I have asked the Health Service Executive to respond to the deputy directly, as soon as possible.
221. Deputy Rose Conway-Walsh asked the Minister for Health if the National Immunisation Advisory Committee advised against the inclusion of the HPV vaccine in the drug payment scheme; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [23501/21]
Amharc ar fhreagraAll vaccines administered through the School Immunisation Programme, including the HPV vaccine, are provided free of charge.
The ages at which vaccines are recommended in the immunisation schedule are chosen by the National Immunisation Advisory Committee (NIAC) in order to give each child the best possible protection against vaccine preventable diseases.
As the HPV vaccine is preventative it is intended to be administered, if possible, before a person becomes sexually active, that is, before a person is first exposed to HPV infection.
Therefore, the gender-neutral HPV vaccination programme targets all girls and boys in their first year of secondary school to provide maximum coverage.
My Department will continue to be guided by the NIAC's recommendations on any emerging evidence on this issue in the future.
222. Deputy Rose Conway-Walsh asked the Minister for Health the number of internship positions offered to medical graduates each year since 2006; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [23502/21]
Amharc ar fhreagraIn 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.
223. Deputy Paul Murphy asked the Minister for Health if he will consider introducing provisions to allow persons over 60 years of age who are certified as having been vaccinated in Ireland to use swimming pools and gyms; and if so, the related certification and monitoring provisions that may he put in place. [23506/21]
Amharc ar fhreagraThere has been considerable progress in reducing infection levels since the peak of the wave of infection in late 2020/early 2021 because of the widespread commitment and adherence by the public to the public health measures in place. While there is still a high level of infection nationally, the situation is considered reasonably stable and significant progress is being made in relation to the roll-out of our vaccination programme.
In recognition of the improving situation, the Government announced a roadmap on the 29 April for the gradual lifting of some restrictions over the next two months, with a particular focus on allowing more outdoor activities. A range of measures will be eased in May, with a further easing of measures in June subject to the epidemiological situation at the time.
Under this roadmap, it is envisaged that gyms, swimming pools and leisure centres will reopen from the 7 June for individual training.
The “vaccine bonus/dividend” provisions currently in place are guided by public health advice and are specifically focused on social visits to private homes to alleviate the impacts of social isolation. From 10 May, those that are fully vaccinated may visit with other fully vaccinated people, providing there is no more than 3 households present and those that are fully vaccinated may visit with unvaccinated people from a single household, provided that they are not at risk of severe illness and there is no more than 3 households present.
It is important to note that while there is now scope to ease a range of public health measures, the approach must continue to be cautious, gradual and on a phased basis, with sufficient time between any easing of measures to assess the impact. This will be critical to ensuring the protection of the gains of recent months, the protection of those most vulnerable, and the protection of health and social care, education, and childcare services.
Significant progress has been made on suppressing the virus over recent months due to the huge effort of people across the country. By working together, we have saved lives and limited the impact of the disease on society in Ireland. We all must continue to do everything possible to continue to avoid the virus spreading and to support the safe reopening of activities over the coming months.
225. Deputy Paul Murphy asked the Minister for Health the number of additional staff the HSE has employed to carry out Covid-19 test and tracing activity; the number of additional staff the HSE has subcontracted through employment agencies to carry out Covid-19 test and tracing activity; the number from each agency; the number of staff the HSE has transferred from other HSE roles to carry out Covid-19 test and tracing activity; if he plans to request the HSE to carry out 14-day backward contact tracing as is done in Australia and Japan in order to protect against the spread of Covid-19 and new variants of the virus as the current restrictions are lifted; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [23518/21]
Amharc ar fhreagraAs this is a service matter, I have asked the Health Service Executive to respond to the deputy directly, as soon as possible.
226. Deputy Sean Sherlock asked the Minister for Health when he will announce uniform access rights for birthing partners to maternity hospitals. [23519/21]
Amharc ar fhreagraAs this is a service matter, I have asked the Health Service Executive to respond to the Deputy directly, as soon as possible.
227. Deputy Kathleen Funchion asked the Minister for Health if he plans to ease the restrictions for expectant couples using maternity services and ensure a consistent policy in all publicly funded hospitals; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [23522/21]
Amharc ar fhreagraAs this is a service matter, I have asked the Health Service Executive to respond to the Deputy directly, as soon as possible.
228. Deputy Denis Naughten asked the Minister for Health the ECMO facilities that exist for the treatment of persons with respiratory illnesses. [23544/21]
Amharc ar fhreagra229. Deputy Denis Naughten asked the Minister for Health the ECMO facilities that exist for treatment of both adults and children with cardiac illnesses. [23545/21]
Amharc ar fhreagra230. Deputy Denis Naughten asked the Minister for Health his plans to introduce a fully funded single national cardiac and respiratory ECMO centre; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [23546/21]
Amharc ar fhreagra233. Deputy Denis Naughten asked the Minister for Health the number of ECMO machines currently available within the State; the hospitals in which they are based; and the number of these operating at present. [23549/21]
Amharc ar fhreagraI propose to take Questions Nos. 228, 229, 230 and 233 together.
The Deputy's questions relate to service delivery matters. Accordingly, I have asked the Health Service Executive to respond to him directly.
231. Deputy Denis Naughten asked the Minister for Health his views on reports that seriously ill children are being put at risk by being transported abroad for treatment on extra-corporeal membrane oxygenation machines which are already available in Our Lady's Children's Hospital, Crumlin; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [23547/21]
Amharc ar fhreagra232. Deputy Denis Naughten asked the Minister for Health if Our Lady's Children's Hospital, Crumlin has ECMO machines available which are not used to treat respiratory illnesses due to a lack of funding from the HSE; if so, the number of machines that are available in this case; and the estimated cost in having them operational. [23548/21]
Amharc ar fhreagraI propose to take Questions Nos. 231 and 232 together.
As this is a service matter, I have asked the Health Service Executive to respond to the Deputy directly, as soon as possible.
234. Deputy Denis Naughten asked the Minister for Health the number of persons who have received respiratory ECMO treatment abroad in each of the years 2017 to 2020 and to date in 2021; the cost involved; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [23550/21]
Amharc ar fhreagraAs this is a service matter, I have asked the Health Service Executive to respond to the Deputy directly, as soon as possible.
235. Deputy Sorca Clarke asked the Minister for Health if a person being refused a blood test at the Midlands Regional Hospital Mullingar is reflective of a new wider practice in which hospitals are no longer accepting patients referred by their general practitioner for blood tests, given that this service is not covered by the medical card and the additional fee payable to the general practitioner can represent in excess of 25% of a person’s weekly income under the 25 jobseeker’s allowance rate and a significant barrier to proper medical care. [23551/21]
Amharc ar fhreagraAs this is a service matter, I have asked the Health Service Executive to respond to the deputy directly, as soon as possible.
