Since I was appointed Minister of State at the Department of Health last October, many have asked me whether I felt I had been handed a “poisoned chalice”, or indeed a “hospital pass”?
A previous minister for health is said to have referred to his department as “Angola”, on the basis that it was filled with unexploded landmines.
Health is neither Angola nor a poisoned chalice.
The Government is committed to introducing, on a phased basis, a universal GP service without fees within its first term of office, as set out in the Programme for Government and the Future Health strategy framework.
At its meeting today, the Government approved the drafting of the Protection of Life during Pregnancy Bill 2013.
It has agreed to refer the General Scheme of the Bill to the Joint Oireachtas Committee on Health and Children and to request that it should review the Scheme and report on its deliberations to the Minister for Health.
I welcome the opportunity to address the House to summarise the main points on this important issue from the Government’s perspective. First, and most importantly, the Government has given its support to the passage of Deputy Ó Caoláin’s Bill.
Speech delivered at the opening of Alcohol Forum Conference
I don’t need to tell the people here about the damage that problem drinking can do. It does not only harm the individual drinker, but also harms the lives of those close to them – their partners, their children and their friends.
It is right that so much emphasis is placed on individual responsibility.
Minister of State for Primary Care Alex White T.D has today addressed the 56th Session of the Commission on Narcotic Drugs in Vienna. Minister White, who has responsibility for the National Drugs Strategy, spoke on behalf of the EU Presidency.
I am delighted with the news that the Dublin Bikes Scheme is to be expanded.
I welcome the new guidelines brought forward this week by my Labour colleague, Minister for Education and Skills, Ruairi Quinn TD, that could see significant savings for parents of children in schools operating a book rental scheme.
Textbooks are one of the most costly aspects of sending a child to school.
I am pleased with the news this week that 2,000 additional places will be available on the Community Employment (CE) programme. These new places announced by Minister for Social Protection, Joan Burton T.D., will bring the total number of CE places to 25,300 this year.
Today (18 December 2023) I announced the conclusions of a review of Drugs Task Forces undertaken by the Department of Health.
Drugs Task Forces were set up in areas experiencing the highest levels of drug misuse, particularly heroin, in the late 1990s.
