Written Answers Nos. 443-462
443. Deputy Pauline Tully asked the Minister for Health the number of WTE emergency medicine registrars working in the minor injuries unit at Monaghan General Hospital in the years of 2022, 2023 and to date in 2024, in tabular form; and if this number will be further increased. [28659/24]
Amharc ar fhreagra“As this is a service matter, I have asked the Health Service Executive to respond to the Deputy directly, as soon as possible.”
444. Deputy Pauline Tully asked the Minister for Health the primary care centres within CHO1 that currently provide HSE civil registration services, in tabular form. [28660/24]
Amharc ar fhreagra“As this is a service matter, I have asked the Health Service Executive to respond to the Deputy directly, as soon as possible.”
445. Deputy Pauline Tully asked the Minister for Health the number of WTE consultant plastic surgeons attached to each hospital part of RCSI Hospital Group in the years of 2022, 2023 and to date in 2024, in tabular form. [28661/24]
Amharc ar fhreagra“As this is a service matter, I have asked the Health Service Executive to respond to the Deputy directly, as soon as possible.”
446. Deputy Thomas Gould asked the Minister for Health the reason babies born from April to September are not eligible for the RSV immunisation. [28673/24]
Amharc ar fhreagraAs you are aware, the Government recently provided approval for an infant Respiratory Syncytial Virus (RSV) Immunisation Pathfinder Programme which will run between September 2024 and February 2025.
All newborn infants born during the programme will be offered immunisation against RSV after birth on site in Irish maternity hospitals. This immunisation will protect newborn infants when they are most vulnerable to the complications of RSV during the winter period when infection rates are at their highest. The risk is highest in children less than six months of age.
As well as protecting newborn infants, this programme will help maintain health service capacity during this coming winter season. The programme is based on NIAC advice and is a temporary programme put in place as an interim measure pending the outcome of Health Technology Assessments on RSV immunisation currently being undertaken by the Health Information and Quality Authority (HIQA).
A HTA is a multidisciplinary research process that collects and summarises information about a health technology. The information can cover a range of fields, including clinical effectiveness and safety, cost-effectiveness and budget impact, organisational and social aspects, and ethical and legal issues. The information is collected and presented in a systematic, unbiased and transparent manner.
As well as protecting infants against serious illness, this pathfinder programme also offers the HSE an opportunity to establish working mechanisms and to evaluate the programme.
It is a strategic initiative designed to explore innovative approaches to improving health outcomes within a community or population. Such programmes often serve as pilots or models that, if successful, can be scaled up and replicated in other settings.
The outcome of the HTAs, and learnings from the pathfinder programme once complete, will inform the development of any longer-term programme and future decision making on this matter.
447. Deputy Pádraig O'Sullivan asked the Minister for Health if he will provide extra resources to hospitals dealing with the significant rise in Covid-19 cases recently (details supplied); and if he will make a statement on the matter. [28684/24]
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.
448. Deputy Holly Cairns asked the Minister for Health further to Parliamentary Question No. 611 of 14 May 2024, when a response will issue from the HSE. [28697/24]
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.
449. Deputy Steven Matthews asked the Minister for Health if his attention has been drawn to the rejection of a medical card application (details supplied); the actions he will take to ensure that this is reviewed; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [28716/24]
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.
As the correspondence concerns a service matter, I have asked the Health Service Executive to respond to the Deputy directly, as soon as possible.
450. Deputy John Paul Phelan asked the Minister for Health the reason for the decision not to carry out pre-legislative scrutiny on the The Public Health (Tobacco) (Amendment) Bill 2024 on raising the legal age for tobacco products to 21 years; for an update on plans to publish a regulatory impact assessment with regards to this planned legislation; the timeline for when his Department will publish the responses to the consultation on tobacco in December of 2023; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [28717/24]
Amharc ar fhreagraWith the agreement of Government, I sought a waiver from pre legislative scrutiny on the basis of the narrow scope of the Bill. I am grateful to the Joint Committee for granting that waiver.
I intend to publish both the regulatory impact assessment and the public consultation report in the coming weeks.
451. Deputy John Paul Phelan asked the Minister for Health if he is satisfied with the resourcing levels of the enforcement regime that provides for test purchasers to monitor for underage sales of tobacco and nicotine products; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [28718/24]
Amharc ar fhreagraWe work closely with the HSE to ensure that sufficient resources are available for all of its functions including those of the National Environmental Health Service (NEHS).
The NEHS has done, and continues to do, an outstanding job in enforcing a vast range of law from tobacco control, public health alcohol, cosmetic products, drinking water, food safety, sunbeds control and infectious diseases.
452. Deputy Michael Healy-Rae asked the Minister for Health to provide an update on the initiative to raise the age limit of purchasing cigarettes to 21 years (details supplied); and if he will make a statement on the matter. [28737/24]
Amharc ar fhreagraI will bring forward the Public Health (Tobacco) (Amendment) Bill 2024 for Second Stage in Dáil Éireann on Thursday July 4.
453. Deputy Richard Boyd Barrett asked the Minister for Health the estimated full-year cost of providing and staffing 1,000 additional acute beds in a public hospital; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [28806/24]
Amharc ar fhreagraAs this is a operational matter, I have asked the Health Service Executive to respond to the Deputy directly, as soon as possible.
454. Deputy Richard Boyd Barrett asked the Minister for Health the estimated full-year cost of providing and staffing 100 additional ICU beds in a public hospital; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [28807/24]
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.
455. Deputy Richard Boyd Barrett asked the Minister for Health the estimated cost of clearing homecare package waiting lists. [28808/24]
Amharc ar fhreagraAs this is an operational matter, I have asked the Health Service Executive to respond to the Deputy directly, as soon as possible.
456. Deputy Richard Boyd Barrett asked the Minister for Health the estimated cost of providing universal free primary care. [28809/24]
Amharc ar fhreagraAs this is a service matter, it has been referred to the Health Service Executive for attention and direct reply to the Deputy.
457. Deputy Richard Boyd Barrett asked the Minister for Health the estimated cost of providing universal free GP care. [28810/24]
Amharc ar fhreagraGP visit card eligibility was expanded last year under the GP Agreement 2023 to all those earning up to the median household income and to all children under the 8 years of age. All persons aged 70 years and over are also eligible for a GP visit card. Following these expansions, over half the population are eligible for GP care without charges under the GMS scheme.
Implementing a general practice model that provides for GP care without charges for all would require significant change to the current model of general practice as the existing model is based on the mixed delivery of GP services to both private and GMS patients.
It is not possible to definitively calculate the cost of universal free GP care given the changes that would be necessary to the current general practice, and the range of payments and other variables that would have to be accounted for.
Such a calculation would require a complex modelling exercise to account for a range of demographic changes, future projections of service demands, variations of GPs and practice staff numbers, and the cost of remuneration under the new model.
Additionally, the fees payable to GPs could only be determined following agreement with the IMO on the scope and content of the general practitioner service to be provided, as well as on the future of the various other supports provided to general practice. For these reasons, it is not possible to give the actual cost of extending GP care without fees to further cohorts.
However, the following recent papers have estimated the cost of universal GP care without charges: the 2018 ESRI study Universal GP care in Ireland: Potential Cost Implications, the 2019 IGEES paper Costing Framework for the Expansion of GP Care, and the 2023 ESRI report Extending Eligibility for General Practitioner Care in Ireland: Cost Implications .
458. Deputy Richard Boyd Barrett asked the Minister for Health the estimated cost to hire 100 speech and language therapists, 100 psychologists, 100 occupational therapists and 100 physiotherapists. [28811/24]
Amharc ar fhreagra“As this is a service matter, I have asked the Health Service Executive to respond to the Deputy directly, as soon as possible.”
459. Deputy Richard Boyd Barrett asked the Minister for Health the estimated full-year cost to hire 100 permanent consultants. [28812/24]
Amharc ar fhreagraAs this is a service matter, it has been referred to the Health Service Executive for attention and direct reply to the Deputy.
460. Deputy Richard Boyd Barrett asked the Minister for Health the estimated full-year cost to bring mental health services spending in line with WHO recommendations of 12% of the health budget. [28814/24]
Amharc ar fhreagraThe Government is committed to enhancing mental health services, which will involve service improvement and reform, in addition to funding increases.
With regard to funding for mental health services, the total allocation for mental health services in 2024 is approximately €1.3 billion, which is the fourth year in a row in which the mental health budget has been increased. This increase in funding for mental health services represents a significant investment which will enable continued policy implementation and service improvement in line with our national mental health policy, Sharing the Vision. This year’s budget allocation builds on the investment this Government has made over the last number of years to deliver the policy priorities of Sharing the Vision through the provision of mental health supports across a broad continuum from mental health promotion, prevention and early intervention, to acute and specialist mental health service delivery, and enabling us to continue to deliver our vital services to as many people as possible, as we move into 2024.
As part of the funding allocated to mental health services, new development funding has been secured to advance initiatives on youth mental health, and around priority groups identified within our national suicide prevention strategy Connecting for Life. This new development funding will be focused on increased CAMHS staffing, a new Youth Mental Health app, a referral pilot for children's community services including CAMHS (piloting an approach to service referrals known as ‘No Wrong Door’), the expansion of Suicide Bereavement Liaison Services, and expanding the Traveller Counselling Service to achieve national coverage for the first time.
In addition to this, I have secured additional funding of €10m for mental health services in the revised estimates process, with details of additional allocations to be confirmed in the coming weeks.
It should be noted that funding for mental health supports is dispersed across many areas of Government, and there is no single headline funding figure which captures this important figure. For example, the figure of approximately €1.3bn above does not include funding for other parts of the health service that provide mental health services and supports, such as psychotropic medicines funded by the Primary Care Reimbursement Service, liaison mental health services in acute hospitals, some dual diagnosis (addiction and mental health) services, and mental health and well-being promotion.
It also does not include spending by other departments on services that incorporate psychological or mental health supports, such as the Prison and Probation Services, Social Protection, Defence Forces, or the Department of Education.
Total NSP Budget Allocation
|
NSP Allocation |
2021 |
2022 |
2023 |
2024 |
|
€m |
€m |
€m |
€m |
|
|
HSE Mental Health Budget |
1,114 |
1,159 |
1,227 |
1,308 |
|
Total HSE Health Budget |
20,623 |
20,683 |
21,689 |
20,708 |
|
Mental Health Budget as a % of total HSE Health Budget |
5.4% |
5.6% |
5.7% |
6.3% |
Source: HSE National Service Plan. Please note these figures will not include any supplementary / additional REV funding allocated during the year.
461. Deputy Richard Boyd Barrett asked the Minister for Health the estimated full-year cost of hiring 1,000 new nurses on the pre-2011 rate of pay. [28815/24]
Amharc ar fhreagraAs this is a service matter, it has been referred to the Health Service Executive for attention and direct reply to the Deputy.
462. Deputy Richard Boyd Barrett asked the Minister for Health the estimated full-year cost of reducing prescription charges by €0.50. [28816/24]
Amharc ar fhreagraPrescription charges were introduced in the Health (Amendment) (No. 2) Act 2010. On 1 November 2020, prescription charges were reduced as follows:
• For those aged over 70, €1 per item with a maximum charge of €10 per month.
• For those aged under 70, €1.50 per item with a maximum charge of €15 per month.
The estimated full year cost of reducing prescription charges by €0.50 is €39.74m.
This costing does not take account of changes in demographics or in eligibility numbers (i.e., changes in the number of medical card holders). It also does not take account of how a reduction in prescription charges may impact on claimant behaviour.
