Mark Ward
Question:420. Deputy Mark Ward asked the Minister for Health the cost of reopening of a facility (details supplied); for a breakdown of all costs, in tabular form; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [30505/24]
View answerAddiction Treatment Services
Questions (420)
Written answers
As this is a service matter, I have asked the Health Service Executive to respond directly to the Deputy as soon as possible.
Hospital Waiting Lists
Questions (421)
Róisín Shortall
Question:421. Deputy Róisín Shortall asked the Minister for Health the number of correspondence he has received from advocacy groups (details supplied) raising concerns in respect of the €19 million allocated to Children’s Health Ireland to reduce waiting lists for spinal surgeries since it was announced in 2022, including the dates; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [30510/24]
View answerWritten answers
I want to acknowledge that waiting lists for scoliosis and spina bifida services are unacceptably long. I am acutely conscious of the burden that this places on patients and their families.
In 2022, I asked Children’s Health Ireland (CHI) to come up with a plan to achieve a 4-month waiting time for in-patient access to treatment. I committed €19 million to this plan to tackle these waiting lists. This investment included a 5th operating theatre in Temple Street, a second MRI in Crumlin, and additional beds. The investment has continued throughout 2023 and Scoliosis and Spina Bifida remain priority areas under the 2024 Waiting List Action Plan.
At the end of 2023, following the implementation of the majority of the additional capacity, and having consulted with patient groups and clinicians, I instructed my officials to seek assurances from the HSE and CHI that the funding allocated was being utilised as intended. The response received was not satisfactory.
In February, I took the unprecedented step of asking the HSE to have their internal audit team review the allocation of the €19 million in the context of what it was allocated to achieve. I am awaiting the final report of this review.
I have asked my officials to examine the correspondence from advocacy groups to determine the number that have raised these concerns as well as the specific dates, and to provide these details to the Deputy by direct reply.
Tobacco Control Measures
Questions (422)
Róisín Shortall
Question:422. Deputy Róisín Shortall asked the Minister for Health to outline his plans for the further regulation of nicotine-inhaling products; the timeline he is working towards in publishing the drafts heads of the Bill to ban single use nicotine-inhaling products; if he is considering restrictions on flavours; if he has notified the European Union of his plans; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [30511/24]
View answerWritten answers
The upcoming legislation which will further regulate nicotine inhaling products, including a complete ban on disposable vapes and a restriction on flavours, is in the drafting stage. The report of the consultation which my Department carried out at the end of 2023 will be published in the coming weeks, the results of this will inform upcoming legislation.
The draft legislation will require notification at EU level under the Technical Standards Directive (Directive 2015/1535).
Legislative Programme
Questions (423)
Róisín Shortall
Question:423. Deputy Róisín Shortall asked the Minister for Health the timeline he is working towards in publishing the new mental health Bill; if it will include provision to expand the functions of the Mental Health Commission to include the registration, regulation and inspection of community CAMHS services as urgently recommended by the Mental Health Commission in July 2023; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [30512/24]
View answerWritten answers
I firmly support the regulation of all mental health services, including community CAMHS, and I have been progressing priority legislation to underpin this regulation.
The Government recognises the importance of ensuring all mental health services, both inpatient and community, and both adult and child and adolescent, are fully registered, regulated, and inspected by the Mental Health Commission in its role as the independent regulator of mental health services.
The expansion of the Mental Health Commission’s role into regulating all community mental health services, including community CAMHS, is being addressed in the forthcoming Mental Health Bill. This new Bill is a complex and lengthy piece of legislation. It will provide the necessary legal underpinning to ensure that the Mental Health Commission can regulate all community services. Additionally, the Bill will overhaul the involuntary admission and detention process, modernise provisions related to consent to treatment, provide enhanced safeguards for people accessing inpatient treatment, and provide a new, discrete Part that relates exclusively to the care and treatment of children and young people.
The Mental Health Bill is currently undergoing quality assurance by the Office of Parliamentary Counsel and consultation with other key Government Departments is underway.
The Bill will be submitted for approval by Cabinet this month and be introduced to the Oireachtas immediately upon its return after the summer recess.
Equal Opportunities Employment
Questions (424)
Pauline Tully
Question:424. Deputy Pauline Tully asked the Minister for Health the number and percentage of people with disabilities employed across his Department and bodies under the aegis of his Department in each of the years 2020 to 2023; the number and percentage of people with disabilities employed across his Department and bodies under the aegis of his Department in the corresponding timeframe that had full-time contracts; and the number and percentage of people with disabilities employed in his Department and bodies under the aegis of his Department in 2020, 2021, 2022 and 2023 that had part-time contracts, in tabular form. [30959/24]
View answerWritten answers
The minimum statutory employment target for the employment of persons with disabilities rose from 3% in 2023 to 4.5% in 2024 and will rise again to 6% in 2025. The Department of Health currently exceeds the statutory target.
The Staff Disability Survey conducted in February 2024 (which only seeks a response from department staff who were employed by the Department on 31/12/2023), showed that 6.7% of staff had declared a disability.
The Staff Disability Survey provides information anonymously. Therefore it is not possible to give a breakdown on whether staff who declared a disability are working are working full time or reduced hours.
|
Department of Health – Percentage of Staff Who Declared a Disability |
|
|
2020 |
7.2% |
|
2021 |
7.5% |
|
2022 |
6.3% |
|
2023 |
6.7% |
The HSE will respond directly to the Deputy in respect of the staff of the HSE and Section 38 bodies under their aegis. In respect of the Non-Commercial State Agencies under the aegis of my Department, responses have been sought from each body, and once collated, this information will be provided to the Deputy by way of separate cover.