Written Answers Nos. 161-181
161. Deputy Brendan Griffin asked the Minister for Health if funding will be provided for a mobility scooter for a person (details supplied) in County Kerry; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [26453/23]
View answerAs this is a service matter, I have asked the Health Service Executive to respond to the Deputy directly, as soon as possible.
162. Deputy Gino Kenny asked the Minister for Health if there are any plans to reschedule the chemical compound psilocybin for medical research and medicinal purposes; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [26461/23]
View answerPsilocin (also known as 4-HO-DMT, 4-hydroxy DMT, psilocine, psilocyn, or psilotsin) is a substituted tryptamine alkaloid and a serotonergic psychedelic substance. It is present in most psychedelic mushrooms together with its phosphorylated counterpart psilocybin. Psilocin is a Schedule I drug under the Convention on Psychotropic Substances and is a Schedule 1 controlled drug under he Misuse of Drugs Regulations 2017.
Under SI 237/2023 Misuse of Drugs Act 1977 (Controlled Drugs) (Designation) (Amendment) Order 2023 possession of a Schedule 1 controlled drug is permitted for research, forensic analysis or use as an essential intermediate or starting material in an industrial manufacturing process; this may include clinical trials. Consequently there is no requirement to consider rescheduling of psilocyn for medical research purposes.
163. Deputy Seán Canney asked the Minister for Health when a person (details supplied) who worked on the frontline will receive the pandemic bonus payment; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [26466/23]
View answerAs this is a service matter, I have asked the Health Service Executive to respond to the Deputy directly.
164. Deputy Denis Naughten asked the Minister for Health the number of vacant psychology roles in children's primary care services in CHO1; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [26467/23]
View answer165. Deputy Denis Naughten asked the Minister for Health the number of vacant psychology roles in children's primary care services in CHO2; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [26468/23]
View answer166. Deputy Denis Naughten asked the Minister for Health the number of vacant psychology roles in children's primary care services in CHO5; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [26469/23]
View answer167. Deputy Denis Naughten asked the Minister for Health the number of vacant psychology roles in children's primary care services in CHO7; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [26470/23]
View answer168. Deputy Denis Naughten asked the Minister for Health the number of vacant psychology roles in children's primary care services in CHO8; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [26471/23]
View answer169. Deputy Denis Naughten asked the Minister for Health the number of vacant psychology roles in children's primary care services in CHO9; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [26472/23]
View answerI propose to take Questions Nos. 164 to 169, inclusive, together.
As this is a service matter, I have asked the Health Service Executive to respond to the Deputy directly, as soon as possible.
171. Deputy Peadar Tóibín asked the Minister for Health if the accident and emergency department in Our Lady of Lourdes Hospital, Drogheda has been closed to new patients at any point over the past two years; if so, when it was closed; the length of time it was closed for; the reasons; and if his Department has received forms or letters of complaint from patients due to these closures. [26488/23]
View answerAs this is a service matter, I have asked the Health Service Executive to respond to the deputy directly, as soon as possible.
172. Deputy Seán Haughey asked the Minister for Health the role his Department plays in determining the income guidelines for eligibility for a medical card; the reason that the value of financial assets, including investment type and details of financial institutions, must be provided by applicants when applying for a medical card; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [26489/23]
View answerEligibility for a Medical Card is primarily based on a financial assessment which is conducted by the HSE in accordance with the Health Act 1970 (as amended). The HSE assesses each medical card application on a qualifying financial threshold. This is the amount of money that an individual can earn a week and still qualify for a card. It is specific to the individual’s own financial circumstances.
Persons aged 69 and under are assessed under the general means tested medical card thresholds which are based on an applicant’s household income after tax and the deduction of PRSI and the Universal Social Charge. Certain expenses are also taken into account. Examples of allowable expenses include rent, mortgage, certain insurance costs, childcare, maintenance, nursing home net costs which help to increase the amount a person can earn and still qualify for a medical card. Detailed guidelines are available at: Assessment for a medical card - HSE.ie. www2.hse.ie/services/schemes-allowances/medical-cards/applying/assessment/.
Persons aged 70 or older are assessed under the over 70s medical card income thresholds which are based on gross income. It should be noted that in November 2020, the weekly gross medical card income thresholds for those aged 70 and over were increased to €550 per week for a single person and €1050 for a couple. This increase helps to ensure that a greater proportion of those aged 70 and over qualify for a medical card. However, it should be noted that those aged over 70 can also be assessed under the general means tested scheme where there are particularly high costs, e.g., medication, nursing home fees. Furthermore, the Deputy may be aware that, since 2015, every individual aged 70 and over has automatic eligibility for a GP visit card.
I can assure the Deputy that, in order to ensure the medical card system is responsive and sensitive to people's needs, my Department keeps medical card issues, including the current medical card income thresholds, under review and any proposals are considered in the context of any potential broader implications for Government policy, the annual budgetary estimates process and legislative requirements arising.
173. Deputy Peadar Tóibín asked the Minister for Health the number of staff for each community care service within HSE community services for each CHO area for each of the past five years. [26492/23]
View answerAs this is an administrative matter for the Health Service Executive, the HSE has been asked to respond directly to the Deputy.
174. Deputy Peadar Tóibín asked the Minister for Health if he will provide a breakdown of the number of people waiting for each community care service within HSE community services, by each CHO area and each county, including waiting times, in tabular form. [26493/23]
View answerAs this is a service matter, I have asked the Health Service Executive to respond to the Deputy directly, as soon as possible.
175. Deputy Joe Flaherty asked the Minister for Health the additional community health services being provided in each county in CHO8 since 2020, in tabular form. [26497/23]
View answerAs this is a service matter, I have asked the Health Service Executive to respond to the Deputy directly, as soon as possible.
176. Deputy Alan Kelly asked the Minister for Health if the Patient Safety (Notifiable Incidents and Open Disclosure) Act 2023 applies to cervical cancer screening. [26500/23]
View answerThe Patient Safety Act applies to the programme referred to by the Deputy by providing for mandatory open disclosure requirements for completed individual patient requested reviews of their cancer screening by the Health Service Executive’s National Screening Service in a dedicated part of the Act. These reviews, known in the Act as Part 5 patient requested reviews, will be subject to mandatory Open Disclosure of all the relevant information related to that Part 5 patient requested review, in a similar manner as a notifiable patient safety incident elsewhere in the Act.
The legislation also provides for an obligation for the Cancer Screening Services to inform patients of their right to request a review.
177. Deputy Fergus O'Dowd asked the Minister for Health with respect to section 6 of the NIRP Report of 23 February 2023 HSE Safety and Quality Committee Minutes (details supplied), if he will identify the facility that is referenced with respect to a "governance review that has been requested by the HSE following a serious reportable event (SRE) in a HSE community nursing home for older people"; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [26511/23]
View answerAs this is an operational matter, I have asked the Health Service Executive to respond to the deputy directly, as soon as possible.
178. Deputy Pearse Doherty asked the Minister for Health when a person (details supplied) in County Donegal will receive a date for a procedure in Sligo University Hospital; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [26512/23]
View answerUnder 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.
179. Deputy James Lawless asked the Minister for Health whether plans are in place to address the lack of carers available in north Kildare, specifically Kilcock, Kill and Naas, County Kildare; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [26516/23]
View answerIn order to examine the significant workforce challenges in the home support and nursing home sectors in Ireland, I established the cross-departmental Strategic Workforce Advisory Group in March 2022. Working closely with key stakeholders, the Advisory Group made 16 recommendations to address the challenges in frontline carer roles in the home support and long-term residential care sectors.
Their report was published in October 2022 with 16 recommendations across the areas of recruitment, pay and conditions of employment, barriers to employment, training and professional development, sectoral reform, and monitoring and implementation.
I have endorsed the Advisory Group’s recommendations. Implementation of the recommendations will be overseen by a cross departmental Implementation Group, chaired by the Department of Health. The Department is engaging with recommendation owners to define an implementation plan.
A detailed implementation plan will be published containing steps involved in delivering the recommendations in the coming months. It is envisaged that the implementation group will meet quarterly and publish progress reports thereafter.
Implementation has commenced. The first recommendation was implemented in December 2022 with the announcement of the authorisation of 1,000 employment permits for non-EU/EEA home support workers. This promises to significantly reduce the current shortage of care workers in Ireland.
The issued raised by the Deputy is an operational one and I have asked the Health Service Executive to respond to the deputy directly, as soon as possible.
180. Deputy Pa Daly asked the Minister for Health the reason children who have received apologies from the HSE for significant deficits in care are not being added to the CAMHS compensation scheme and offered the same securities and non-adversarial mediator options as children from south Kerry. [26533/23]
View answerAs this is a service matter, I have asked the Health Service Executive to respond directly to the Deputy as soon as possible.
181. Deputy Alan Farrell asked the Minister for Health if he will provide an update on the plans to further expand free GP care to children aged seven and older; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [26535/23]
View answerThe Government is committed to increasing access to GP care without charges for children, an important healthcare measure that will remove a potentially prohibitive cost barrier to accessing GP care and will help to improve children’s health as they develop. At present all children under six years of age are eligible for a GP visit card and therefore GP care without charges.
The Health (General Practitioner Service and Alteration of Criteria for Eligibility) Act 2020 provides, amongst other things, for the phased expansion of GP care without fees to all children aged 12 years and under. It is currently planned to expand the provision of GP care without charges to all children aged 6 and 7.
My officials and the HSE have made preparations for this expansion. Engagements were held with the IMO, representing GPs, throughout last year, and engagement is ongoing in relation to the necessary fee structures for this service. It is intended to introduce the expansion as early as possible.
