James Reilly’s well paid advisors
James Reilly, Minister for Health is over his quota of ministerial advisors and without any specific expertise in his priority area of health reform – universal health insurance… (more…)
Reilly’s special advisor paid €160,000 for 80% of his time, works here ‘on average’ 2 weeks a month
Minister James Reilly’s much heralded special advisor Martin Connor, who is the most senior health policy advisor in the Department of Health’s Special Delivery Unit, is also a research fellow in Stanford University, in the heart of the silicon valley in California. (more…)
Waiting for others to die – the only way to get a nursing home bed
HSE figures released today (1 September) reveal that 1,100 older people who are medically in need of a nursing home place and have been through a rigorous financial assessment are languishing on a waiting list for that bed. When the Nursing Home Support Scheme (the so-called Fair Deal) was launched less than two years ago it was heralded as “accessible, affordable and anxiety free”. Obviously it is proving to be none of these (it is not accessible for those on the waiting list, it is not affordable for the State as it as run out of money and it is not anxiety free for the older people and their families who wait for a nursing home bed) so what does the Fair Deal waiting list mean for those on it and why is there a waiting list? (more…)
Uphill struggle ahead as Reilly finishes first term in health
As the political season ends and James Reilly gives an upbeat speech to the MacGill summer school, immense challenges face him now and when the autumn season begins… (more…)
No surprise that ‘Fair Deal’ has run out of money
Just 20 months old, the nursing home support scheme (named the Fair Deal) has run out of money, so what will happen older people in need of nursing home care and why are we only hearing about this now? (more…)
Whither the new children’s hospital?
Today, 12 May 2011, news broke of the resignation of Ailish Hardiman, the CEO of the children’s hospital planning board and co-incidentally Minister Reilly published information of the independent review to be carried out on the cost and location of the hospital. So whither the children’s hospital from here? (more…)
Reilly’s advisors announced
Minister Reilly has some new advisors in place according to an article in yesterday’s Irish Times by Mary Minihan. Sean Faughnan is to be Reilly’s policy advisor and Mark Costigan is his press advisor. (more…)
Reilly takes on the pharmacists
Late on the afternoon the day the long awaited bank stress tests were published (31 March), Minister Reilly took on his first public battle announcing further cuts to fees paid to pharmacists. Under the 2009 Financial Emergency Measures Act, the minister has the right to do this – and previous cuts under Mary Harney results in the pharmacy strike in summer 2009. So these cuts are on top of cuts ready made and seem quite a bold, political move just three weeks into office. (more…)
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