Written Answers Nos. 733-750
733. Deputy Éamon Ó Cuív asked the Minister for Justice when a decision will be made in relation to an application for a visa in respect of a non-national (details supplied); the reason for the delay in making a decision on this application; the need for the visa to issue urgently to enable the applicant who has secured employment in Ireland, to take up this position; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [34499/22]
Amharc ar fhreagraThe person referred to by the Deputy created an online employment visa application on 19 May 2022. The supporting documentation and relevant fees were received on 6 June 2022 in the Manila office.
It is not possible to give a definitive date as to when this application will be finalised. All applications are processed in chronological order, based on date order of receipt. While every effort is made to process applications as soon as possible, processing times will vary having regard to the volume and complexity of applications, the possible need for my Department to investigate, inquire into, or seek further information, and the resources available.
The Deputy and the applicant can be assured that there will be no avoidable delay in finalising the application and the applicant will be notified as soon as a decision has been reached by a Visa Officer.
Applicants are advised not to pay for airline or other travel tickets without having first been issued with a visa.
Queries in relation to the status of individual immigration cases may be made directly to my Department by e-mail using the Oireachtas Mail facility (inisoireachtasmail@justice.ie), which has been specifically established for this purpose. This service enables up to date information on such cases to be obtained without the need to seek information by way of the Parliamentary Questions process. The Deputy may consider using the e-mail service except in cases where the response is, in the Deputy’s view, inadequate or too long awaited.
734. Deputy Cormac Devlin asked the Minister for Justice if she will provide an update on the deployment of body cameras for gardaí; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [34566/22]
Amharc ar fhreagraI intend to publish the Garda Síochána (Recording Devices) Bill, previously called the Digital Recordings Bill, shortly. This important Bill makes provision for Garda powers to use modern digital technology including body worn cameras, Automatic Number Plate Recognition (ANPR) and CCTV. It is my intention that the Bill will be enacted by the Oireachtas later this year and that body worn cameras will be deployed shortly thereafter.
735. Deputy Catherine Murphy asked the Minister for Justice the number of complaints that she has received in the past five years to date under her Department’s customer service charter; if she will provide a breakdown by heading of the complaints made in respect of each service that she provides in tabular form. [34574/22]
Amharc ar fhreagraMy Department is committed to delivering high quality customer service and aims to provide all customers with a complaints procedure that is accessible, efficient, effective, standardised and fair.
The Customer Service Charter sets out the commitments and standards of service that customers can expect in their dealings with my Department and is published on our website at www.justice.ie/en/JELR/Pages/Customer-Charter. As set out in the Charter, complaints are received through two channels – one relating to immigration services, and the other for all other aspects of the work of the Department.
The Deputy may wish to note that a new Customer Service Charter is currently being finalised by an internal working group.
The information sought by the Deputy is set out below in tabular format.
|
Year |
Department of Justice |
Immigration Services |
Total |
|
2018 |
2 |
13 |
15 |
|
2019 |
2 |
13 |
15 |
|
2020 |
4 |
12 |
16 |
|
2021 |
4 |
12 |
16 |
|
To date in 2022 |
0 |
3 |
3 |
736. Deputy Mairéad Farrell asked the Minister for Justice if she has given consideration to reducing the fee of €950 for becoming a citizen through naturalisation for those who have been living in the country and paying taxes to the State for a considerable period of time; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [34583/22]
Amharc ar fhreagraThe granting of Irish citizenship through naturalisation is a privilege and an honour which confers certain rights and entitlements not only within the State but also at European Union level and it is important that appropriate procedures are in place to preserve the integrity of the process.
There is no provision in the Regulations for the discretionary waiver or reduction of fees, or for differing fees to apply to different nationalities or classes of applicant. All of the fees payable under the Irish Nationality and Citizenship Act 1956, as amended, are kept under ongoing review by my Department. However, there are no current plans to amend the fees.
The fees to be paid by an applicant for a certificate of naturalisation are governed by the provisions of the Irish Nationality and Citizenship Regulations 2011 (S.I. No. 569 of 2011). The application fee, stipulated at €175, is payable on application for a certificate of naturalisation and a certification fee is payable on the issue of a certificate of naturalisation.
The standard certification fee is set at €950, while a reduced fee of €200 applies in the case of an application made on behalf of a minor or in certain cases where the application is made by a widow, widower or surviving civil partner of an Irish citizen. In the case of recognised refugees and stateless persons, there is no certification fee.
737. Deputy Bernard J. Durkan asked the Minister for Justice the options available to a person (details supplied); and if she will make a statement on the matter. [34595/22]
Amharc ar fhreagraMalawian nationals are visa required and must have a valid Irish entry visa before they seek to enter the State.
Any visa required national that wishes to enter the State, and remain, for up to 90 days must have a Type C Short Stay Visa. A visa required national that wishes to reside in the State for longer than 90 days must have a Type D Long Stay Visa. Anyone that wishes to make an application for a visa must do so online at:
www.visas.inis.gov.ie/avats/OnlineHome.aspx.
Ireland supports the entry of migrants through legal pathways, to facilitate legal migration into the State. These include arrangements for various categories of persons, including; workers, business persons, the Immigrant Investor Programme, the Start-up Entrepreneur Programme, join family and international students.
Details of these legal pathways, including the criteria for join family visas, can be found on the my Department's immigration website at: www.irishimmigration.ie/.
738. Deputy Éamon Ó Cuív asked the Minister for Justice when a decision will be made in relation to an application for a visa in respect of a non-national (details supplied); the reason for the delay in making a decision on this application; the need for the visa to issue urgently to enable the applicant who has secured employment in Ireland, to take up this position; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [34619/22]
Amharc ar fhreagraThe person referred to by the Deputy created an online employment visa application on 3 June 2022.
To date, the summary sheet and supporting documentation has not yet been received by the relevant Visa Office. Once the applicant is satisfied with their application they should click “submit” and print a copy of their “Summary Form”. The summary form contains some of the information the applicant has entered. It will also contain instructions on what they are required to do next in order to submit their documentation and pay the relevant fee.
The instructions will differ depending on which country they are applying from.
The applicant should lodge the summary form together with the relevant fee and supporting documentation with the relevant Irish Embassy, Consulate or Visa Office as soon as possible. The applicant should make sure that the supporting documentation is as up to date as possible. Upon receipt of the necessary documentation and fee, the visa application will be processed further.
Queries in relation to the status of individual immigration cases may be made directly to my Department by e-mail using the Oireachtas Mail facility (inisoireachtasmail@justice.ie), which has been specifically established for this purpose. This service enables up to date information on such cases to be obtained without the need to seek information by way of the Parliamentary Questions process. The Deputy may consider using the e-mail service except in cases where the response is, in the Deputy’s view, inadequate or too long awaited.
739. Deputy Jackie Cahill asked the Minister for Health when a tender for the transport of patients for appointments and dialysis in the north County Tipperary area of the HSE mid-west region will be advertised; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [34135/22]
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.
740. Deputy Pearse Doherty asked the Minister for Health the number of expressions of interest received from 19 February to the closing date of 29 April 2022 for appointment to the Disabled Drivers Medical Board of Appeal. [34318/22]
Amharc ar fhreagraThe Departments of Health and Finance invited expressions of interest from suitably qualified and experienced medical practitioners interested in being appointed as a member of the Disabled Drivers Medical Board of Appeal. The extended closing date for applications was 29 April, 2022. Three expressions of interest were originally received, with two agreeing to go forward to the selection process. The selection process is not yet completed.
For the Deputy’s information a second expression of interest was published on 15 June, 2022 which has a closing date of Tuesday 5th July, 2022.
The Board determines appeals by applicants to the Department of Finance’s Disabled Drivers and Disabled Passengers (Tax Concessions) Scheme, who have been refused a Primary Medical Certificate by the Health Service Executive. Under the regulations governing the scheme which is operated by the Revenue Commissioners, members are appointed to the Disabled Drivers Medical Board of Appeal by the Minister for Finance, following nomination by the Minister for Health.
741. Deputy Alan Farrell asked the Minister for Health the measures that his Department is undertaking to ensure members of the LGBT+ community are encouraged and supported to make complaints regarding discrimination they experience when accessing healthcare; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [34341/22]
Amharc ar fhreagraThe Department of Health and the HSE are committed to adhering to health care standards.
As this is a healthcare service matter, it has been referred to the HSE for direct reply to the Deputy.
742. Deputy Niamh Smyth asked the Minister for Health if he will examine a matter raised in correspondence by a person (details supplied) in relation to long-Covid; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [34716/22]
Amharc ar fhreagra743. Deputy Niamh Smyth asked the Minister for Health if he will examine a matter raised in correspondence by a person (details supplied) in relation to long-Covid; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [34717/22]
Amharc ar fhreagra795. Deputy Catherine Murphy asked the Minister for Health if he has received requests for funding from the HSE and or the Department of Health for use regarding the roll-out of health services and supports for persons suffering from long-Covid. [33815/22]
Amharc ar fhreagra819. Deputy Emer Higgins asked the Minister for Health his Department’s response to the treatment of long-Covid symptoms; the funding that has been provided to date towards the treatment of long-Covid; and if provision will be made for future funding in the upcoming Budget. [34016/22]
Amharc ar fhreagraI propose to take Questions Nos. 742, 743, 795 and 819 together.
COVID-19 is a new disease and information on it, its features, incidence, and course are still emerging. My Department and the HSE, continue to review new evidence, research, and data on all aspects of COVID-19 including Long COVID, as it emerges to ensure care is in place for all who need it.
The HSE has developed and is implementing an interim Model of Care to provide Long COVID services nationally. This builds on existing service provision to further develop the necessary services across a number of health care settings including GP, community services and acute hospitals. The first priority is to ensure there are Long COVID and Post-Acute COVID clinics operating within each Hospital Group to ensure a national service. This involves expanding the resources at existing clinics where required and development of new clinics in line with the Model of Care. Anyone concerned about Long COVID is advised to engage with their GP in the first instance.
The HSE has advised that funding of €2.2 million has been allocated within the HSE for Long COVID service development in 2022. Access to these services will be in line with the current approach across health and social care services.
The HSE's funding for 2023 has not yet been allocated, therefore the level of funding available for Long COVID has not yet been determined. Proposals in relation to Long COVID and the associated funding requirements will be considered by my Department as part of the annual Estimates process later this year.
744. Deputy Fergus O'Dowd asked the Minister for Health further to the Dáil Éireann debate on 25 January 2022 (details supplied) in respect of this Deputy's calls for a commission of inquiry into the circumstances surrounding the deaths of 23 loved ones in a nursing home in April 2020 given that it was the only nursing home in the country where the HSE took over operational management due to the severity of the situation, and the Taoiseach's response in which he states that his Department is examining a variety of options as to how best to respect and meet the needs and concerns of families of those affected; and if he will provide an update on whether his Department has reached a final decision on how to support the families or provide the options under consideration. [33511/22]
Amharc ar fhreagraThere has been a clear national commitment to continue to learn from the pandemic and where necessary to ensure that the public health-led approach evolves, as evidence and learning materialises.
The Taoiseach has indicated that a comprehensive evaluation of how the country managed COVID-19 will provide an opportunity to learn lessons from our experiences in dealing with a pandemic over the past 2 years. This will help ensure that we are in a better, stronger position if another pandemic or another similar type emergency arrives. Consideration is being given as to what the best model for this evaluation will be.
Separately, I established a Public Health Reform Expert Group in January 2022 to identify learnings from the public health components of the response to the COVID-19 pandemic in Ireland with a view towards strengthening pandemic preparedness and health protection more generally. It will also identify lessons from international best practice regarding reform and strengthening of other core public health functions.
Since the start of the pandemic there has been significant and ongoing consideration of the impact of COVID-19 and the evolution of the response to it, as evidence and knowledge emerged and as national and international understanding of the virus evolved. Throughout, this has included a specific and sustained focus on older persons, and in particular, those resident in nursing homes. Various examinations and development of reports with a focus on COVID-19, its impact on nursing homes and the pandemic learnings that can inform future policy, regulation and the model of care for older persons have been undertaken.
In particular, the independent COVID-19 Nursing Homes Expert Panel was established in May 2020, on foot of a NPHET recommendation, to examine the complex issues surrounding the management of COVID-19 among this particularly vulnerable cohort in nursing homes and to provide real-time learnings and recommendations to inform the ongoing approach to the management and mitigation of risk to older persons resident in nursing homes as the pandemic evolved. This report outlines the key protective measures that we must ensure are in place across our nursing homes, based on learning from our own and the international experience of COVID-19.
Work to progress the recommendations of the Expert Panel report, particularly those recommendations requiring a priority focus in the response to COVID-19, is ongoing across all of the health agencies and stakeholders. Four Expert Panel Progress Reports have been published to date, the latest published on 21 June 2022, and all Progress Reports are available on my Department’s website.
745. Deputy David Cullinane asked the Minister for Health if there are plans to add hypothyroidism to the long-term illness scheme; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [33562/22]
Amharc ar fhreagraThe Long-Term Illness (LTI) scheme was established under Section 59(3) of the Health Act 1970 (as amended). Regulations were made in 1971, 1973 and 1975, prescribing 16 illnesses covered by the scheme. These are: acute leukaemia; mental handicap; cerebral palsy; mental illness (in a person under 16); cystic fibrosis; multiple sclerosis; diabetes insipidus; muscular dystrophies; diabetes mellitus; parkinsonism; epilepsy; phenylketonuria; haemophilia; spina bifida; hydrocephalus; and conditions arising from the use of Thalidomide.
Under the LTI scheme, patients receive drugs, medicines, and medical and surgical appliances directly related to the treatment of their illness, free of charge. The LTI scheme will be included as part of a review of the current eligibility framework, including the basis for existing hospital and medication charges, to be carried out under commitments given in the Sláintecare Implementation Strategy.
In the meantime, for people who are not eligible for the LTI scheme, there are other arrangements which protect them from excessive medicine costs.
Under the Drug Payment Scheme, no individual or family pays more than €80 a month towards the cost of approved prescribed medicines. The scheme significantly reduces the cost burden for families and individuals with ongoing expenditure on medicines.
People who cannot, without undue hardship, arrange for the provision of medical services for themselves and their dependants may be eligible for a medical card. In accordance with the provisions of the Health Act 1970 (as amended), eligibility for a medical card is determined by the HSE. Medical card eligibility is primarily based on an assessment of means and is not granted on the basis of any particular condition.
In certain circumstances the HSE may exercise discretion and grant a medical card, even though an applicant exceeds the income guidelines, where he or she faces difficult financial circumstances, such as extra costs arising from illness.
In circumstances where an applicant is still over the income limit for a medical card, they are then assessed for a GP visit card, which entitles the applicant to GP visits without charge.
Individuals may also be entitled to claim tax relief on the cost of their medical expenses, including medicines prescribed by a doctor, dentist, or consultant. Relief is at the standard tax rate of 20%.
746. Deputy Ged Nash asked the Minister for Health the reason that a number of staff (details supplied) at Our Lady of Lourdes Hospital have not received the pandemic bonus payment given that their direct counterparts in Beaumont Hospital and Our Lady’s Navan did receive the payment; if the HSE plans to rectify this; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [33563/22]
Amharc ar fhreagraAs this is a service matter, I have asked the Health Service Executive to respond to the Deputy directly.
747. Deputy David Cullinane asked the Minister for Health if his attention has been drawn to the Young Patients Family Fund that was launched by the Scottish government in July 2021; if he will give consideration to developing a similar scheme to support parents with children in hospital in Ireland; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [33603/22]
Amharc ar fhreagraI can advise the Deputy that there are no specific proposals within my Department at present for the development of a scheme of financial assistance for parents in the circumstances referred to by the Deputy. However, under the Supplementary Welfare Allowance scheme, administered by the Department of Social Protection, a person may be eligible to apply for an Exceptional Needs Payment to help meet essential, one-off, exceptional expenditure, which a person could not reasonably be expected to meet out of their weekly income.
748. Deputy David Cullinane asked the Minister for Health when the National Review of Hospital Parking Charges, announced in 2018, will be published; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [33604/22]
Amharc ar fhreagraI am aware that hospitals that charge parking fees are very cognisant of the financial implications of parking costs for patients and their families, particularly for those with long-term illnesses.
Consequently, some hospitals have introduced a maximum daily fixed parking charge and reduced rate parking for long-term patients and visitors for whom the payment of the full rate would cause hardship.
The Programme for Government makes a commitment to introduce a cap on the maximum daily charge for patients and visitors at all public hospitals, where possible and to introduce flexible passes in all public hospitals for patients and their families. I am very aware of the financial burden this issue can cause some patients and families. Accordingly, my Department and the HSE are currently examining the issue.
749. Deputy David Cullinane asked the Minister for Health the engagement that his Department has had with the Department of Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science to progress development of a third level hospital play specialist course, as committed to in the 2004 Ready, Steady, Play: A National Play Policy; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [33605/22]
Amharc ar fhreagraOfficials from my Department engage on an ongoing basis with colleagues in the Department of Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science and other relevant stakeholders to ensure that we train enough graduates with the skills necessary to support the delivery of health and social care services and to develop a strategic approach to workforce planning for the health sector.
The National Play Policy is a matter for my colleague the Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth.
750. Deputy Maurice Quinlivan asked the Minister for Health the status of the case of a person (details supplied) who has been waiting on an appointment at University Hospital Limerick for over three years; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [33610/22]
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.
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.
