Tag Archives: Minister for Health

THE parents of the late Laura Brennan have spoken of their pride at the impact of her campaigning and of the comfort they receive from knowing how many lives will be saved through a vaccination programme named in her memory. They were speaking as Minister for Health Stephen Donnelly announced the opening of the HSE’s online registration portal for the Laura Brennan HPV (human papilloma virus) Vaccination Catch-Up Programme. Eligible people can register on www.hpv.ie for an appointment for a free vaccine which will be administered through HSE vaccination clinics and schools. The programme is supported by Bernie and Larry Brennan, parents of the late Laura Brennan who campaigned for higher uptake of the HPV vaccine before her death from cervical cancer in 2019, aged 26. Free HPV vaccines will be offered to all boys and girls in second-level education who were previously eligible to receive the vaccine and who have not yet received it.  It is also open to young women up to …

AN announcement by the Minister of Health that the HPV vaccine is to be made available free of charge to all women under 25 has been welcomed by the family of the late Laura Brennan. Since Laura’s passing three years ago the Brennan family have fought tirelessly to increase awareness of, and access to, the life saving vaccine. The Brennans are now stepping away from the campaign with Laura’s father Larry saying, “As a family we feel that we have achieved what we set out to do.” Minister for Health Stephen Donnelly has written to the HSE telling it to outline a vaccination programme for women, as well as a catch-up programme for girls and boys in secondary school who missed out for various reasons including the pandemic. In a message posted on social media confirming the move, Minister Donnelly paid tribute to Laura, who died from cervical cancer in 2019, and the Brennan family. “Our goal it to eradicate …

THE Minister for Health is being called on to intervene to save public dentistry in county Clare. A county councillor called on Minister Donnelly to engage with dentists in Clare “to prevent a total collapse” of the Dental Treatment Services Scheme (DTSS) and to ensure funding is available to boost public dentistry in the county in the coming year. Councillor Donna McGettigan raised the issue at the monthly meeting of the County Council. The Shannon councillor outlined, “In Clare there has been a reduction of 46% investment in the DTSS between 2017 and 2021 according to the Irish Dentistry Association.” She continued, “We are also seeing a reduction of dentists signed up to the DTSS scheme resulting in only 16 dentists enrolled in Clare, leaving many Clare patients unable to access dentist care within this county. “Lack of access to timely dental care and delaying necessary treatment is economically unviable as what begins as a routine procedure can lead to …

VACCINATION of young people against HPV should be carried out at the centres currently used to administer Covid jabs, according to one member of the local authority. Councillor Mary Howard received widespread support at the July meeting of the authority for a motion appealing to the Minister for Health to seriously consider using mass vaccination centres to administer the HPV vaccine, and to roll out a free ‘catch-up’ programme for secondary school students. The Fine Gael member outlined how her motion was inspired by time spent with the family of the late vaccine advocate Laura Brennan. “They’ve highlighted their concerns at the pace of the roll-out of the HPV vaccine. Before the pandemic, uptake was over 80%. The programme was paused due to Covid and it’s down to 63% at the moment. Challenges have also been posed by the cyber attack and we now need a meaningful catch-up to get back to 80%. We have all seen how incredibly efficient …

DATA published by the Department of Health show that 83 women with Clare addresses had termination of pregnancy procedures carried out in Ireland in 2020. The figure is an increase of ten on 2019, the first year for which statistics are available on procedures under the Health (Regulation of Termination of Pregnancy) Act. The increase, of almost 14%, bucks the national trend which showed a slight year-on-year decrease from 6,666 to 6,577. Within the Mid-Western region, 278 women with Limerick addresses had terminations in 2020, an increase of 52 on 2019. Those who gave Tipperary addresses accounted for 161 of the national total last year, down 13 on the figure for 2019. Nationally, 97 procedures were carried out last year because of a fatal foetal abnormality; 6,455 in early pregnancy under Section 12 of the Act. Twenty were related to a risk to life or health while five related to a risk to life or health in an emergency. Under …

THE Minister for Health, Stephen Donnelly TD, has today confirmed locations for 37 vaccination centres across Ireland for the COVID-19 Vaccination Programme, including the West County Hotel in Ennis and the Radisson Blu Hotel on the Ennis Road in Limerick. The centres have been confirmed by the HSE, with at least one in every county. These centres will support the vaccination of the general population in a safe and efficient manner. While currently vaccines are being administered in healthcare settings and by GPs, many people will be offered their vaccination in these centres, having self-registered online. All of the centres vary in size and operating hours and have been selected based on population density, ease of access, transport and parking. The design and layout of the centres also incorporates learnings from the COVID-19 swabbing centres. It is important to note that the centres will be of different sizes and operating hours will be based on vaccine supply and catchment area …

Two months after the first case of Covid-19 was confirmed, Clare now has a total of 229 positive cases.. However, despite a rise of 17 cases in the latest figures, Clare still remains one of the counties with the lowest incidences of the virus. The Health Protection Surveillance Centre revealed today that a total of 59 people with Covid-19 have died, of which 45 were laboratory confirmed. There have now been a total of 1,159 Covid-19 related deaths in Ireland. As of 11am Tuesday,, the HPSC has been notified of 229 new confirmed cases of the virus bringing to 19,877 the total number of confirmed cases in Ireland. The HSE is working to identify any contacts the patients may have had to provide them with information and advice to prevent further spread. As of midnight Monday last, 153,054 tests have been carried out. Over the past week, 41,470 tests were carried out and of these 5,335 were positive, giving a …

The Department of Health has launched a public consultation on behalf of the Independent Review Group, established to examine the role of voluntary organisations in publicly funded health and personal social services. Responses to the consultation will help the Independent Review Group to examine how the relationship between the State and voluntary organisations in the area of health and social care should evolve in the future. Dr Catherine Day, chair of the Independent Review Group, said, “The consultation launched today seeks views on the value of the voluntary sector and how to preserve this added value in the future, against a background of changes in Irish society and evolving expectations of how health and personal social care are delivered. It invites comments on a wide range of specific issues which have been raised with us since we began our work last August. I hope many of those interested in these questions will take the time to respond to the consultation …