Latest news with #Sláintecare
Irish Examiner
a day ago
- Business
- Irish Examiner
New childcare fee cap will not benefit most parents
A new fee cap for early learning and childcare will not have a significant impact for the majority of parents, new figures show. Minister for children Norma Foley announced a maximum fee cap for new and existing services taking part in core funding. Under this, the highest possible fees will be no more than €295 per week for a full day care place that would come in at 40-50 hours a week. However, according to figures from the Department of Children, the highest average fees being paid at the moment is in the Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown area of Dublin at €258. The department said the fee cap will bring fees 'closer to the average weekly fee of €197 for full day care'. The figures, released to Social Democrats TD Aidan Farrelly, show that Cork, Dublin, Kildare, Meath, and Wicklow are the only counties with a current average above €197. Mr Farrelly said that while he welcomes the announcement, the move falls short of addressing the significant issues facing families who are trying to find a place for their child or workers who do not have pay parity with their peers. The department of education said the cap will bring fees closer to the average weekly fee of €197 for full day care — but Cork, Dublin, Kildare, Meath, and Wicklow are the only counties with a current average weekly fee above €197. iStock 'In recent months, I have met with stakeholders in the early years education and childcare sector such as staff and unions, service providers, and families — who all maintain that the systemic issues facing the sector such as recruitment and retention, access and affordability will not be addressed with increases to funding in the current model,' he said. 'I have consistently asked the minister and this Government to consider establishing a cross-party special Oireachtas committee on the future of childcare and early years education to take a similar approach to Sláintecare which would map out a vision for the future of the sector having heard directly from all stakeholders.' While announcing the fee cap, as well as an increase in investment of €60m, Ms Foley said it would reduce the cost for families who are facing the highest fees across the country in around 10% of early learning and childcare providers. 'It will address some of the extreme fee disparities across the sector in a meaningful way, so that there are more consistent rates in place for families in their local area,' said Ms Foley. During the general election, there was a great deal of talk from the coalition parties, and others, about a maximum payment of €200 per child per month for early learning and childcare, a promise which Ms Foley said would be kept. 'I have been very clear that we will do that over the lifetime of this Government so it will be incremental. "Like the steps we take today, we are starting at the very top where there is an extraordinary high cost to parents and we are beginning to bring that down as we have seen over the last number of years,' said Ms Foley. The core funding scheme is now in its fourth year and despite a warning last year that there would be a mass exodus of providers, Ms Foley said there has actually been a net increase of 226 providers. Among the issues raised by frustrated providers was struggling to retain staff in a competitive labour market but it is hoped that the €45m ringfenced for the increased minimum pay rates for the sector will help to remedy this issue.
The Journal
28-05-2025
- Health
- The Journal
Delay to plans to have pharmacies prescribe for UTIs, thrush, and coldsores in Ireland
PLANS TO HAVE pharmacies across Ireland prescribing medications for common conditions including uncomplicated urinary tract infections, vulvovaginal thrush, cold sores and other common conditions have been delayed. The then-Minister for Health Stephen Donnelly said in August last year that it was his department's intention that pharmacies would be prescribing for eight common conditions by the start of 2025. Now an implementation oversight group is working towards a date 'by the end of 2025″ for delivering the so-called 'common conditions service' in pharmacies. The Health Minister Jennifer Carroll MacNeill has made it clear that completing this work this year, and to see pharmacies begin to provide this service within the year is a matter of priority for her. A spokesperson for the Department of Health said that an oversight group is currently working to finalise the clinical protocols, education and training for pharmacists, a package of required regulations, and operational aspects of the service. The Irish Pharmacists Union (IPU) warned in August of 2024 that there was considerable work to be done before the scope of the work done in pharmacies could be expanded. In August of last year Tom Murray, the President of the IPU, said that community pharmacists were effectively being paid less than they were in 2009 and that it was not 'acceptable' for the Department to layer on new schemes to an 'already underfunded and resourced group of healthcare professionals'. Advertisement A spokesperson for the IPU told The Journal that the move to have pharmacies prescribe for common conditions was on foot of a recommendation of an expert taskforce to expand of the role of pharmacists in Ireland. The Minister for Health then set up a community pharmacy expansion implementation oversight group made up of representatives from the Department of Health, the Health Service Executive, the IPU, the Health Products Regulatory Authority and the Pharmaceutical Society of Ireland. The IPU said that the work of this group is still ongoing with the aim of having all enablers to support the delivery of a common conditions service in place by the year end. Pharmacies have been able to prescribe for common conditions like UTIs, which often see women in particular requiring antibiotics, since 2023. The original taskforce was established in July of 2023, consisting of 13 experts who represented many of the main stakeholders involved, and it delivered its final report in August 2024. Its report said that pharmacies should be able to prescribe for allergic rhinitis, cold sores, conjunctivitis, impetigo, oral thrush, shingles, uncomplicated UTIs and vulvovaginal thrush. The then-Minister for Health said that the move would alleviate pressure on GPs – one of the key aims of the Sláintecare health reform strategy. It would also potentially see a lesser cost attached to treating common health conditions, including those that can impact some women and men on a recurring basis, such as UTIs and thrush. Readers like you are keeping these stories free for everyone... A mix of advertising and supporting contributions helps keep paywalls away from valuable information like this article. Over 5,000 readers like you have already stepped up and support us with a monthly payment or a once-off donation. Learn More Support The Journal
Irish Examiner
13-05-2025
- Business
- Irish Examiner
Tánaiste to tell Cabinet tariffs will remain regardless of EU-US deal
Tariffs are likely to remain in place even if the EU is able to reach a deal with the US, Tánaiste Simon Harris is set to tell Cabinet. Mr Harris is to update Government on the progress of EU-US trade talks, in the wake of an agreement being signed between the US and Britain last week. The foreign affairs minister is due to tell Cabinet that the US-UK agreement will formalise and solidify tariffs, it is understood. This is despite both Ireland and the EU seeking a free trade deal which removes barriers as well as lowers, or in some areas, abolishes tariffs altogether. However, Mr Harris will say that an initial analysis of the deal does appear to have averted the prospect of different tariff rates on both sides of the border. It's understood the Tánaiste has been in contact with EU trade commissioner Maros Sefcovic in recent days, after the Commission revealed its proposed countermeasures, to outline Ireland's position. It's expected there will be further engagement with Mr Sefcovic at the EU's foreign affairs council later this week. The Cabinet will also be updated by education minister Helen McEntee on Leaving Cert reform, which is due to begin its first phase this September. The reforms include project work, known as additional assessment components, to be worth 40% of a students total grade in a subject. Both teacher unions, the ASTI and TUI, are due to ballot their members on the proposals after new supports were confirmed. Additionally, health minister Jennifer Carroll MacNeill will ask the Government to approve the new 2025 Sláintecare implementation plan, alongside the 2024 progress report. It is understood the progress report outlines a reduction in cumulative daily trolley counts by 11% compared to 2023, despite an 8% increase in patients attending emergency departments. It also details that 95% of GPs have signed up oto the chronic disease management programme, with 650,000 patient reviews last year. Meanwhile, housing minister James Browne will seek Cabinet approval to extend the First Home shared equity scheme for another two years, alongside providing a further €30m in funding. A Government source said the extra funding will match commitments by banks participating in the scheme – AIB, Bank of Ireland and PTSB.
Irish Independent
12-05-2025
- Health
- Irish Independent
‘Putting everyone's health record on their phone would save the HSE billions'
That's according to a vision to become a leading digital health nation set out by the health service's former digital transformation director and current Maynooth University Professor Martin Curley as he launched an initiative called Mission 10X at its Digital Health Summer School. 'This is a moonshot empowering every Irish citizen to manage and improve their health. We want your health to revolve around you and not around hospitals,' he said. The school's launch saw demonstrations of a number of technologies, including AI-assisted smartwatches to monitor patients who are at risk and AI-assisted screening technology deployable in homes, pharmacies, primary care centres and GP practices.. 'These innovations are low-risk, low-cost proven technologies that help detect disease early. It's a preventative approach, in contrast to the current one, where we spend the majority of the budget on treating sick patients in hospitals. 'The best way to predict the future is to innovate it. We have all the knowledge and technology to build and scale a world-class health and wellness system – one powered by open, intelligent technology and centred on patients, not paperwork. 'Deploying these nationwide could ultimately enable us to offer a full annual medical screening for about €100 per person. Early detection is better for the service, for patients and for health budgets. 'Mission 10X is fully aligned with Sláintecare, would cost €100m and is achievable in about five years, enabling the nation to 'leapfrog' current systemic and infrastructural obstacles,' he said. Prof Curley's vision is in contrast to the HSE's current digital health approach centred on hospitals and regions. Last year, its Digital Health Strategic Implementation Roadmap sought an increase in the HSE's annual IT budget to between €1bn and €1.4bn a year over seven years. Health sources say that hospital-based digital health records would cost between €2bn and €5bn to roll out nationwide. 'That would only see us largely get to where some other countries' health services were 20 years ago. But Mission 10X could also complement that plan,' Prof Curley said. ADVERTISEMENT Ireland ranks last in European digital health rankings, but could become a global leader alongside countries such as Estonia, which has already adopted this approach, if our health service adopted 10 recommendations his vision is based on, Prof Curley said. 'We've had an increase to date of about 3.5pc in health productivity as the result of 50,000 more health workers and spending €8bn. This preventative approach would save anywhere between 10 and 100 times its comparatively low cost,' he added. The first step towards this goal is a phased investment in a secure patient information network, or SPINE, at an initial cost of €10 million to study its feasibility, ahead of scaling to a €100 million nationwide deployment, he said. Prof Curley, a former senior Intel executive who is now Director of Digital Health at the University's Innovation Value Institute, has already trialled the initiative with two senior HSE managers and 15,000 patients in Leinster, some of whom have complex health needs. The trial also involved 1,000 patient queries that would otherwise have seen all of them visit their GP or local A&E. Out of those, our approach helped triage and guide people to establish that 30 actually needed to visit their GP, and six needed to go to A&E. 'If you multiply that small example on a nationwide scale, it could be transformational for health productivity, and in terms of the time and cost savings to both patients and health workers. It benefits everyone,' Prof Curley said. His vision is supported by a range of clinicians and others concerned with and within the health system. Dr John Sheehan, Clinical Director of Radiology at Blackrock Health, said: 'With a modest initial investment of €10m, Ireland can create a scalable digital health system, mirroring Estonia's successful model. This is a historical opportunity we cannot afford to miss.' Stephen McMahon, head of the Irish Patients Association added: 'This is a revolutionary beacon of hope and healing for patients today and future generations. Mission 10X shows that together, we truly can transform healthcare.'
Irish Examiner
08-05-2025
- Health
- Irish Examiner
Housing an 'issue for everybody', not just nurses, health minister tells INMO conference
The health minister has pushed responsibility for housing nurses onto hospital management, saying the crisis is an issue for everyone and not just public sector workers. Jennifer O'Carroll MacNeill was speaking during the second day of the Irish Nurses and Midwives Organisation (INMO) conference in Wexford. The conference heard many nurses lived in 'inappropriate' housing at extremely high rents and some live two hours or more from their workplace. One nurse said 'it's a dream' now to buy a house on her salary. Fears were also raised the new children's hospital would struggle to recruit nurses due to shortages of affordable housing in that area of Dublin. Housing is one of the biggest issues for this Government, the minister said. 'But it is an issue for everybody, it is an issue for retail workers who are not paid by the public purse as much as it is for nurses. This is a challenge everywhere,' she said. 'And certainly, I think as we go forward it is a matter for hospital managers to see what they can do in terms of additional accommodation on site for emergency situations.' Nurses also discussed low staffing numbers, with 61.5% saying they thought about leaving in the past month. The minister acknowledged these pressures, saying work continued on a framework for safe staffing, as well as opening of more beds. On Thursday, 417 patients could not get a bed in hospitals, including 88 at University Hospital Limerick, and 28 at Cork University Hospital, INMO data showed. 'Limerick is in a particular difficulty and they need that 96-bed block,' Ms Carroll MacNeill said, referring to a block opening in September. 'I look at the [trolley] figures every weekend and I note that Limerick actually got to amber once, which is a big step for Limerick.' This hospital was 'one of the first' to make changes to rostering, she added. She pointed to virtual wards and other digital changes as other ways pressures could be eased. In a speech, INMO president Caroline Gourley called on Ms Carroll MacNeill to support patients and staff. 'Minister, this requires three things on the part of the State,' she said. 'Ensuring we focus on the true underlying principles of universal healthcare through Sláintecare, looking after healthcare workers to ensure they can look after the most vulnerable, and getting staffing right.' Ms Gourley also said: 'We are thinking of course of our colleagues in Palestine. 'This summer we will welcome six paediatric nurses from Palestine to Dublin, so they can learn from colleagues in the Irish health service. Their workplaces should be off limits. 'Those who target healthcare workers or their workplaces must be held accountable and brought to justice under international humanitarian laws.'
