On Friday the Minister for Health, Dr. James Reilly, announced the establishment of an implementation group on Universal Health Insurance.
The group according to the department will ‘comprise a mix of those with executive responsibilities within our health service and external experts.’
The members appointed
- Dr. Fergal Lynch, Department of Health (Chair)
- Paul Barron, Department of Health
- Tom Heffernan, Department of Public Expenditure and Reform
- Liam Woods, National Director of Finance, HSE
- Dr. Barry White, National Director for Clinical Strategy and Programmes, HSE
- Brian Fitzgerald, Director of Finance, St. James’ Hospital and Joint Director of the HSE Patient Level Costing Project
- Mark Moran, Former CEO of the Mater Private Hospital and former Chairman of the DoH/HSE Working Group on Reference Pricing and Generic Substitution
- Prof. Reinhard Busse and Sarah Thomson, international experts working with the World Health Organisation, the European Observatory on Health Systems and Policies and others
- Dr. Fergus O’Ferrall, Lecturer in Health Policy, Trinity College Dublin
- Dr. Martin Connor, Special Adviser to the Department of Health with international experience in healthcare management (who Sarah Burke has been asking a lot of questions about recently. )
That’s one woman. Out of ten.
The statement says that the group’s membership will will ‘be flexible and will be subject to periodic review as different stages in the implementation process are reached.’
Congratulations to the Minister on achieving such a feat with his first group despite the large numbers of women working in the health services and studying health systems and public administration delivery both here and abroad.
10% the ceiling for all interests considered minority eh? Yes women 50% of population and far higher % of staffing in health and users of the health service across their lives but not needed at decision making table apparently.
Interestingly among the special advisers appointed above recommended rates, not one of them was female.
Disgraceful vaginal ratio.
In my view if you can’t prove a woman with similar/higher qualifications for the role was passed over, you’re just complaining about genital representation.
I’m wondering Conor how you can prove that men with less or equal or more qualifications were appointed? Or is the assumption that male equals best?
Not at all, I’d love greater representation of women, we’d be a better society for it. But those people sound anyway like the top management or leaders in their field. I think asking that group to be 50/50 ignores the point that of the 3 or 4 lead departments listed there, all are male directors. That’s what needs to be tackled a glass ceiling in academia and public service, then “expert bodies” like these will naturally have more female representation. It’s complaining about the egg and ignoring the state of the chicken.
Open FM » Today’s Links // Feb 29, 2012 at 09:41
[...] Healthcare policy in Ireland – a job for the boys On Friday the Minister for Health, Dr. James Reilly, announced the establishment of an implementation group on Universal Health Insurance. The group according to the department will ‘comprise a mix of those with executive responsibilities within our health service and external experts.’ The members appointed Dr. Fergal Lynch, Department of Health (Chair) Paul Barron, Department [...] Uncategorized Facebookfacebook TwitterTwitter stumbleuponstumbleupon del.icio.usdel.icio.us Buzz [...]
Please let me quote from a paper entitled “Evolution of Health Services and Health Policy in Ireland” penned by Brian Harvey, an independent social research consultant and published by the Combat Poverty Agency in 2007.
“The Irish government published a white paper, Outline of proposals for the improvement of the health services [1947], proposing a similar health system in Ireland. In a second white paper, Social security [1949], the government proposed a system of universal social insurance. Between them, these white papers set the Republic on course for a welfare state and a universal, national health service. These years thus marked an important turning point in the development of health and social policy in the Irish state.
However, the health proposals foundered on ferocious opposition from the medical profession, the Catholic Church and the Department of Finance. The social insurance policy also failed, with subsequent governments taking the view that Ireland could not afford a welfare state as extensive as that in Great Britain and Northern Ireland.”
Suzy, you should not be distracted by gender issues. I know it was called universal social insurance sixty years ago but our millionaire Minister, James Reilly has no intention of introducing universal health insurance leading to any potential equality in our health services and, possibly, a diminution of the power and influence exercised by our medical elite. Universal health insurance was just another pre-election promise that will never happen.
Brian J.
The comments from the two men here leave a lot to be desired. Well done Suzy, once again, for highlighting this disgraceful gender imbalance.