Cowen, Brian

Tuesday, 7 December 1999

Dáil Éireann Debate
Vol. 512 No. 3

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Written Answers - Services for People with Disabilities.

Was asked: if he will report on the application for core funding by the Irish Association for Spina Bifida and Hydrocephalus for its national resource offices and headquarters in Clondalkin, Dublin 22.More Button

Was asked: if he will report on the submission to his Department in respect of funding for the expansion of the summer independence training and respite care programme run by the Irish Association for Spina Bifi...More Button

Was asked: if he will report on the application for deficit funding of £32,000 from the Irish Association for Spina Bifida and Hydrocephalus which was accumulated over a five year period and if he will approve t...More Button

Was asked: his response to the application relating to services from the Irish Association for Spina Bifida and Hydrocephalus (details supplied); and if he will make a statement on the matter.More Button

Was asked: his response to a recent submission received by his Department from the Irish Association for Spina Bifida and Hydrocephalus regarding funding requirements for the organisation in the years ahead; and...More Button

Was asked: if he has received an application from the Irish Association for Spina Bifida and Hydrocephalus in respect of funding for the expansion of its summer independence training and respite care programme r...More Button

Was asked: the deficit funding, if any, his Department will make available to the Irish Association for Spina Bifida and Hydrocephalus to clear its debt in view of the fact this deficit was accumulated over a fi...More Button

I propose to take Questions Nos. 202 to 204, inclusive, 215, 226, 228 and 238 together. Voluntary agencies providing services for people with physical and-or sensory disabilities are funded by the hea...More Button

Written Answers - Mental Health Services.

Was asked: when the working group on the care of the disturbed mentally ill last met; the reason it has not met since that date; the status of this working group; if he will ensure that a meeting will be convene...More Button

The working group on the care of the disturbed mentally ill met on ten occasions between January and November 1995. At its last meeting on 30 November 1995, it was agreed that the matter would best be...More Button

Was asked: if he is in receipt of a recommendation from the South Eastern Health Board regarding a tender and contractor to erect a new acute psychiatric unit at St. Luke's Hospital, Kilkenny; if so, when a deci...More Button

Funding for the proposed acute psychiatric unit at St. Luke's Hospital was sanctioned in July 1999. I have recently given approval to the tender submitted by the South Eastern Health Board for this pr...More Button

Written Answers - Health Board Allowances.

Was asked: if he is in receipt of an application by a person (details supplied) in County Kilkenny for domicilary care allowance; and, if so, if he will expedite the matter.More Button

The assessment of entitlement to a domiciliary care allowance in any individual case is a matter for the relevant health board. Accordingly, the Deputy's question has been referred to the chief execut...More Button

Was asked: if he will expedite an appli cation by a person (details supplied) in County Kilkenny for domicilary care allowance in view of the urgency of the matter.More Button

The assessment of entitlement to a domiciliary care allowance in any individual case is a matter for the relevant health board. Accordingly, the Deputy's question has been referred to the chief execut...More Button

Written Answers - Mobile Telephones Safety.

Was asked: if his attention has been drawn to recent reports on US television showing increasing evidence from medical sources suggesting serious causal links between radiation from mobile telephone handsets and...More Button

Details of the particular reports referred to by the Deputy are not given. All significant research in this area is monitored by the Department of Public Enterprise with whom my Department liaises reg...More Button

Written Answers - Hospital Waiting Lists.

Was asked: when a person (details supplied) in County Mayo will be called for an eye operation.More Button

The provision of medical services in this instance is the responsibility of the Western Health Board. I have asked the chief executive officer of the board to investigate the position in relation to t...More Button

Written Answers - Maternity Grants.

Was asked: the plans, if any, he has to increase the maternity cash grant amount for medical card holders.More Button

I have no plans to increase the maternity cash grant amount for medical card holders. The report of the maternity and infant care scheme review group, which was circulated in 1997, recommended that pa...More Button

Written Answers - Hospital Waiting Lists.

Was asked: the number of women waiting to see gynaecologists in Mayo General Hospital, Castlebar, and the Regional Hospital in Galway; and the length of time a person must wait for an appointment.More Button

The provision of medical services in this instance is the responsibility of the Western Health Board. I have asked the chief executive officer of the hospital to investigate the position in relation t...More Button

Written Answers - Orthodontic Service.

Was asked: when a person (details supplied) in County Kerry will be called for orthodontic treatment in view of the fact that she is on a waiting list for two years; and if he will make a statement on the matter...More Button

As the provision of orthodontic treatment to eligible persons in Kerry is the statutory responsibility of the Southern Health Board in the first instance I have asked the chief executive officer of th...More Button

Written Answers - Drug Treatment Services.

Was asked: if the case of a person (details supplied) in Dublin 8 will be examined with a view to having him admitted to a course.More Button

As the provision of rehabilitation services for drug misusers in Dublin is the statutory responsi bility for the Eastern Health Board in the first instance I have asked the chief executive officer of ...More Button

Written Answers - EU Directives.

Was asked: the steps, if any, he will take to comply with directives put forward by the European Commission on 16 November 1999 regarding the title rules on the content and labelling of cigarettes.More Button

The European Commission has proposed a directive in this area. The measure proposed will have to be considered by the Council of Ministers and the European Parliament. If agreement is reached between ...More Button

Written Answers - General Medical Services Scheme.

Was asked: the expected outturn for the overall cost of the medical card scheme for 1999; the estimated cost for the year 2000; and the approximate cost of extending the scheme to cover all pensioners over the a...More Button

The following is the information sought by the Deputy as provided by the General Medical Services (Payments) Board: expected overall cost of the General Medical Services Scheme in 1999 – £341 million;...More Button

Written Answers - Pension Provisions.

Was asked: if financial provision is being made for the payment of an increase in the pensions of retired nurses in accordance with pay and pension parity policy consequent on the recent increase in the salaries...More Button

My Department has sanctioned the application of the 2% special pay increase under the local bargaining clause of Partnership 2000 to the pensions of retired nurses.More Button

Written Answers - Food Poisoning.

Was asked: if, further to Parliamentary Question No. 102 of 18 November 1999, he will make a statement on the increase in food poisoning, bacterial other than salmonella, from 157 cases in 1990 to 1,278 cases in...More Button

Was asked: the reason for the increase in salmonellosis, other than typhoid or paratyphoid, from 473 cases in 1990 to 1,257 cases in 1998; and if he will make a statement on the matter.More Button

I propose to take Questions Nos. 219 and 221 together. The increase in the numbers of cases of the conditions referred to may be attributed to several factors, such as improvements in surveillance and...More Button

Written Answers - Meningitis Incidence.

Was asked: if his attention has been drawn to the fact that the incidence of bacterial meningitis has increased from 131 cases in 1990 to 487 cases in 1998; and if he will make a statement on the matter explaini...More Button

The increased level of notifications of bacterial meningitis and related conditions in recent years is in part attributable to the greatly increased awareness among health professionals and the genera...More Button

Written Answers - Hospital Waiting Lists.

Was asked: when a person (details supplied) in Dublin 12 will have an operation to have a disc removed in view of the fact he has been classified as an emergency case for six months; and if he will make a statem...More Button

As the determination of in-patient appointments is a matter for the hospital authorities in the first instance, based on clinical assessment of need, I have asked the chief executive officer of Mater ...More Button

Written Answers - Hospital Services.

Was asked: if patients without medical card cover are entitled to public hospital services for the removal of wisdom teeth where this treatment is not available in private dental practices; if this service is av...More Button

Current research in the UK suggests that a widespread practice has developed in the dental profession there of extracting wisdom teeth inappropriately. The research suggests that it would be more clin...More Button

Written Answers - EU Directives.

Was asked: the EU directive, if any, which ordains that citizens of the EU over 60 years of age are entitled to free medication; the reason this country has not implemented this or sought a derogation; and if he...More Button

I am not aware of an EU directive stating that persons over 60 must be provided with medication free of charge. Arrangements under EU regulations supercede the provisions of the Irish eligibility syst...More Button

Written Answers - Hospital Services.

Was asked: if a person (details supplied) will be transferred to this country from the Royal South Hampton Hospital in England in view of the fact that she has serious medical problems and needs the support of h...More Button

The provision of medical treatment in this case is the statutory responsibility of the North Western Health Board in the first instance. I have asked the chief executive officer of the board to invest...More Button

Written Answers - Medical Cards.

Was asked: if his attention has been drawn to the continuing discrepancy in the qualification for medical cards where a couple in receipt of individualised invalidity pension payments are above the income limit ...More Button

Entitlement to health services in Ireland is primarily based on means. Under the Health Act, 1970, determination of eligibility for medical cards is the responsibility of the chief executive officer o...More Button

Written Answers - Speech Therapy Service.

Was asked: the number of speech therapists in County Mayo; the number assigned to the health board; and the number with the Western Care Association.More Button

Was asked: the average recommended amount of times a child with Down's syndrome should receive speech therapy.More Button

Was asked: the number of children in County Mayo receiving speech therapy through the Western Care Association and the Western Health Board; and the waiting list, if any, for children to get this therapy.More Button

I propose to take Questions Nos. 229, 230 and 231 together. Responsibility for the provision of speech and language therapy services in County Mayo is a matter, in the first instance, for the Western ...More Button

Written Answers - Physiotherapy Service.

Was asked: the number of physiotherapists employed for the Mayo area by the Western Health Board; the number who work specifically with adults; and the number who work with children.More Button

Was asked: the waiting list for physiotherapy for children in the Mayo area of the Western Health Board; and the plans, if any, he has to increase the number of physiotherapists employed to reduce this waiting l...More Button

I propose to take Questions Nos. 232 and 233 together. At present there is one physiotherapist working whole time with children and one sessional physiotherapist working with adults in Mayo and there ...More Button

Written Answers - Hospital Services.

Was asked: when persons (details supplied) in County Mayo will be called for an eye examination in view of the fact that they have been waiting for a number of months.More Button

The provision of medical services in this instance is the responsibility of the Western Health Board. I have asked the chief executive officer of the board to investigate the position in relation to t...More Button

Written Answers - Hospice Movement.

Was asked: the contribution made to the hospice movement in each health board area in each of the years from 1997 to date.More Button

The information requested by the Deputy is not readily available in my Department. I am having inquiries made and will forward a response to the Deputy as soon as possible.More Button

Written Answers - National Suicide Research Group.

Was asked: the number of meetings of the national suicide research group established in 1998; the dates of these meetings; and the progress, if any, made.More Button

There have been five meetings of the national suicide research group since it was established in 1998. The meetings took place on the following dates: 2 June, 1998 – inaugural meeting; 20 October, 199...More Button

Written Answers - Drug Payment Scheme.

Was asked: if, further to Parliamentary Question No. 283 of 30 November 1999 regarding a replacement card under the new drug refund scheme for a person (details supplied) in County Kilkenny, he will contact the ...More Button

The registration of persons for the new drug payment scheme is a matter for the relevant health board in the first instance. I have asked the chief executive officer of the South-Eastern Health Board ...More Button

Written Answers - Services for People with Disabilities.

Was asked: if he will arrange for the restoration of respite care for a person (details supplied) in view of the fact that this had been cancelled due to lake of care staff.More Button

The provision of services, including respite care, to persons with disabilities in the Dublin area is the responsibility of the Eastern Health Board in the first instance. I have requested that the bo...More Button

Written Answers - Hospital Waiting Lists.

Was asked: if he has received waiting list figures for October 1999 from the health boards to enable an assessment to be made on the impact of the nurses' strike when compared with the quarterly figures for July...More Button

My Department sought total figures on the number of persons awaiting in-patient treatment on 31 October 1999, some days after the ending of the nurses dispute. These figures, as shown on the following...More Button

Written Answers - General Register Office.

Was asked: the reason for the delay in the completion of the transfer of the General Registry Office to Roscommon town; when this transfer will be completed; and if he will make a statement on the matter.More Button

The General Register Office archive conversion project, which is currently under way in Roscommon, involves the capture of the records of more than 150 years of births, deaths and marriages and associ...More Button

Written Answers - General Medical Services Scheme.

Was asked: if, further to Parliamentary Question No. 119 of 18 November 1999, the information is available in relation to the names of each doctor, the address of each practice, the number of patients and the am...More Button

Most of the information sought by the Deputy was forwarded by me in a reply to his question of 18 November 1999 but was inadvertently omitted from the official report. The particular additional inform...More Button


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