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Gnáthamharc

Wednesday, 29 Sep 2021

Written Answers Nos. 225-244

Alcohol Sales

Ceisteanna (225)

Róisín Shortall

Ceist:

225. Deputy Róisín Shortall asked the Minister for Health the number of inspections carried to date by the HSE since 12 November 2020 to assess compliance among alcohol retailers with section 22 of the Public Health (Alcohol) Act 2018; the detailed rate of compliance as a percentage of the total inspections performed; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [46967/21]

Amharc ar fhreagra

Freagraí scríofa

As this is an operational matter, I have asked the Health Service Executive to respond to the Deputy directly, as soon as possible.

Hospital Appointments Status

Ceisteanna (226)

Michael Healy-Rae

Ceist:

226. Deputy Michael Healy-Rae asked the Minister for Health the status of testing for a person (details supplied); and if he will make a statement on the matter. [46968/21]

Amharc ar fhreagra

Freagraí 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.

In 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.

Hospital Appointments Status

Ceisteanna (227)

Michael Healy-Rae

Ceist:

227. Deputy Michael Healy-Rae asked the Minister for Health if an appointment will be expedited for a person (details supplied); and if he will make a statement on the matter. [46969/21]

Amharc ar fhreagra

Freagraí scríofa

As this is a service matter, I have asked the Health Service Executive to respond to the deputy directly, as soon as possible.

Hospital Appointments Status

Ceisteanna (228)

Michael Healy-Rae

Ceist:

228. Deputy Michael Healy-Rae asked the Minister for Health if an appointment will be expedited for a person (details supplied); and if he will make a statement on the matter. [46970/21]

Amharc ar fhreagra

Freagraí 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.

In 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.

Ambulance Service

Ceisteanna (229)

Carol Nolan

Ceist:

229. Deputy Carol Nolan asked the Minister for Health if he will engage with the National Ambulance Service to determine the significant delays in ambulance response time in counties Laois and Offaly; if he will establish the standard response time from call-out to arrival on the scene in those counties in 2020 and to date in 2021; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [46971/21]

Amharc ar fhreagra

Freagraí scríofa

As these are service matters I have asked the Health Service Executive to respond to the Deputy directly, as soon as possible.

Hospital Appointments Status

Ceisteanna (230)

Michael Healy-Rae

Ceist:

230. Deputy Michael Healy-Rae asked the Minister for Health if an appointment will be expedited for a person (details supplied); and if he will make a statement on the matter. [46972/21]

Amharc ar fhreagra

Freagraí 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.

In 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.

Primary Medical Certificates

Ceisteanna (231)

Michael Healy-Rae

Ceist:

231. Deputy Michael Healy-Rae asked the Minister for Health the status of a primary medical certificate for a person (details supplied); and if he will make a statement on the matter. [46974/21]

Amharc ar fhreagra

Freagraí scríofa

As this is a service matter, I have asked the Health Service Executive to respond to the Deputy directly, as soon as possible.

Home Help Service

Ceisteanna (232)

Michael Healy-Rae

Ceist:

232. Deputy Michael Healy-Rae asked the Minister for Health if home help will be reinstated for a child (details supplied); the reason home help hours were withdrawn; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [46983/21]

Amharc ar fhreagra

Freagraí scríofa

As this is a service matter, I have asked the Health Service Executive to respond to the deputy directly, as soon as possible.

Primary Medical Certificates

Ceisteanna (233)

Michael Healy-Rae

Ceist:

233. Deputy Michael Healy-Rae asked the Minister for Health the status of a primary medical certificate application by a person (details supplied); and if he will make a statement on the matter. [46984/21]

Amharc ar fhreagra

Freagraí scríofa

As this is a service matter, I have asked the Health Service Executive to respond to the Deputy directly, as soon as possible.

Hospital Appointments Status

Ceisteanna (234)

Michael Healy-Rae

Ceist:

234. Deputy Michael Healy-Rae asked the Minister for Health the status of a hospital appointment for a person (details supplied); and if he will make a statement on the matter. [46985/21]

Amharc ar fhreagra

Freagraí scríofa

As this is a service matter, I have asked the Health Service Executive to respond to the deputy directly, as soon as possible.

Disability Services

Ceisteanna (235)

Michael Healy-Rae

Ceist:

235. Deputy Michael Healy-Rae asked the Minister for Health if funding will be granted in the case of a person (details supplied); and if he will make a statement on the matter. [46987/21]

Amharc ar fhreagra

Freagraí scríofa

The Government is committed to providing services and supports for people with disabilities which will empower them to live independent lives, provide greater independence in accessing the services they choose, and enhance their ability to tailor the supports required to meet their needs and plan their lives. 

As this is a service matter, I have asked the Health Service Executive to respond to the Deputy directly, as soon as possible.

Emergency Services

Ceisteanna (236, 237, 238)

Violet-Anne Wynne

Ceist:

236. Deputy Violet-Anne Wynne asked the Minister for Health the current costings of the emergency aeromedical service offered by the Department of Defence to operate for a year; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [46990/21]

Amharc ar fhreagra

Violet-Anne Wynne

Ceist:

237. Deputy Violet-Anne Wynne asked the Minister for Health the total sum of Exchequer funding that the emergency aeromedical service receives from the State; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [46993/21]

Amharc ar fhreagra

Violet-Anne Wynne

Ceist:

238. Deputy Violet-Anne Wynne asked the Minister for Health the key performance indicator analysis of the emergency aeromedical service in terms of the number of callouts received from the National Ambulance Service, average arrival time and so on; and the breakdown of the number of incidents that have been attended to by the service in each of the years 2016 to 2020. [46996/21]

Amharc ar fhreagra

Freagraí scríofa

I propose to take Questions Nos. 236 to 238, inclusive, together.

The Emergency Aeromedical Service (EAS), based at Custume Barracks, is a nationwide Helicopter Emergency Medical Service provided by the Irish Air Corps in conjunction with the National Ambulance Service (NAS) during daylight hours. The service is staffed by an Air Corps flight crew, an Emergency Medical Technician and a NAS Advanced Paramedic. Reserve support for the EAS is provided by the Irish Coast Guard.  

Regarding costs, the NAS estimated in 2020 an approximate yearly total of €711,000 to medically equip an AW139 EMS Helicopter as currently used by the Air Corps with the required staffing of two whole time equivalent Paramedics and two whole time equivalent Advanced Paramedics.      

In 2021 the medical equipping and crewing elements of the EAS are being funded by the NAS from within a total allocation of €187.5 million, which includes €10 million of new development funding to  increase paramedic staff numbers to target capacity deficits and to further progress the development of alternative patient care pathways.

Funding for the cost of the purchase and maintenance of the aircraft resource, the recruitment and training of pilots and other associated costs to operate and maintain the EAS are matters for my colleague, the Minister for Defence.  

As the analysis of EAS call outs and response times are operational matters, I have asked the Health Service Executive to respond to the Deputy directly, together with any updated indicative cost data that it may have.

Question No. 237 answered with Question No. 236.
Question No. 238 answered with Question No. 236.

Charitable and Voluntary Organisations

Ceisteanna (239)

Violet-Anne Wynne

Ceist:

239. Deputy Violet-Anne Wynne asked the Minister for Health if his Department is considering an additional allocation of funding in Budget 2022 for a charity (details supplied). [46999/21]

Amharc ar fhreagra

Freagraí scríofa

My Department is engaging in ongoing dialogue with the HSE and the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform in relation to the 2022 Estimates.

These discussions are still progressing and until they are concluded it would not be appropriate for me to anticipate the outcome.

Assisted Human Reproduction

Ceisteanna (240)

Richard Bruton

Ceist:

240. Deputy Richard Bruton asked the Minister for Health the preparation that has been undertaken for new legislation in the area of human reproduction; the principles that would be enshrined in a new law; and when the heads of the Bill will be published. [47010/21]

Amharc ar fhreagra

Freagraí scríofa

I understand from my officials, who have engaged with the Deputy’s office, that this question relates to domestic surrogacy specifically.

As the Deputy will be aware, drafting of a bill based on the General Scheme of the Assisted Human Reproduction Bill is ongoing by officials in my Department, in conjunction with the Office of the Attorney General. I can assure the Deputy that publication of this legislation is a priority for my Department and the Government, and a commitment to enact this legislation is included in the Programme for Government, “Our Shared Future”. My Department and the Office of the Attorney General continue to prioritise the drafting of this complex legislation and will engage intensively over the next few months to finalise the Bill.  

The AHR legislation encompasses the regulation, for the first time in Ireland, of a wide range of practices, including domestic altruistic surrogacy, as well as: gamete (sperm or egg) and embryo donation for AHR and research; pre-implantation genetic diagnosis (PGD) of embryos; posthumous assisted reproduction; and embryo and stem cell research. The legislation also provides for the establishment of an independent regulatory authority for AHR.

The surrogacy provisions of the Bill outline the specific conditions under which surrogacy in Ireland will be permitted, including a requirement for all surrogacy agreements to be pre-authorised by the new AHR Regulatory Authority. The legislation also sets out a court-based mechanism through which the parentage of a child born through surrogacy may be transferred from the surrogate (and her husband, if applicable) to the intending parent(s).

Disability Services

Ceisteanna (241)

Violet-Anne Wynne

Ceist:

241. Deputy Violet-Anne Wynne asked the Minister for Health when the primary care, disability service and school inclusion waiting lists that were referred to in a statement by Minister of State with special responsibility for Disability in Dáil Éireann in June 2021 are set to be finalised; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [47025/21]

Amharc ar fhreagra

Freagraí scríofa

As this is a service matter, I have asked the Health Service Executive to respond to the deputy directly, as soon as possible.

Hospital Facilities

Ceisteanna (242)

Violet-Anne Wynne

Ceist:

242. Deputy Violet-Anne Wynne asked the Minister for Health if there are dieticians and nutritionists involved in the food provided to inpatients in hospitals across the State; if emergent health and nutrition guidelines are taken into consideration; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [47026/21]

Amharc ar fhreagra

Freagraí scríofa

As this is a service matter, I have asked the Health Service Executive to respond to the deputy directly, as soon as possible.

Food Waste

Ceisteanna (243)

Violet-Anne Wynne

Ceist:

243. Deputy Violet-Anne Wynne asked the Minister for Health if there is a system in place to redistribute the food waste produced by hospitals; if any of the hospitals' food produce or products are donated in order to avoid waste; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [47027/21]

Amharc ar fhreagra

Freagraí scríofa

As this is a service matter, I have asked the Health Service Executive to respond to the Deputy directly, as soon as possible. 

Health Services Staff

Ceisteanna (244, 245)

Violet-Anne Wynne

Ceist:

244. Deputy Violet-Anne Wynne asked the Minister for Health the number of early intervention teams that have been established since July 2020, by county in tabular form. [47028/21]

Amharc ar fhreagra

Violet-Anne Wynne

Ceist:

245. Deputy Violet-Anne Wynne asked the Minister for Health the number of school age teams that have been established since July 2020, by county in tabular form. [47029/21]

Amharc ar fhreagra

Freagraí scríofa

I propose to take Questions Nos. 244 and 245 together.

As these are service matters, I have asked the Health Service Executive to respond to the Deputy directly, as soon as possible.

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