Parliamentary Affairs: A Working Guide For Staff. Parliamentary Affairs Division

Transcription

1 Parliamentary Affairs: A Working Guide For Staff

2 Foreword This document is intended to outline in Question and Answer format briefly what the work of the HSE ( PAD ) entails and to provide in particular guidelines in dealing with Oireachtas members parliamentary questions, representations, oral day questions, topical issue debates, commencement matters and leaders questions, Dáil Committees and Local Government. The Oireachtas consists of the President and two houses: Dáil Éireann (the Taoiseach, Ministers and all TDs) & the Seanad (Senators). It is recognised that managers throughout the service also receive representations directly from Oireachtas members and local public representatives as well as from the central PAD office and some of the guiding principles in this document may also be helpful in dealing with them. This guide brings together in a single document all of the good practice and learning to date and includes additional information which it is hoped will enhance and further improve the service to the Oireachtas members and all elected representatives. The guide will be reviewed and updated on an ongoing basis. We hope that staff will find this updated guide useful and helpful when involved in this area of work. Ray Mitchell Assistant National Director Head of 1 P a g e

3 Table of Contents Introduction What is its role? What is its Function? What is the Office Structure? Parliamentary Questions and Representations What is a Parliamentary Question and what is a Representation? How is a PQ/Rep processed? Do the Ministers answer PQs/Reps? Handling PQs for direct reply to an Oireachtas member What do I do when I receive a PQ from PAD for direct reply to the Deputy? How much time do I have to answer a PQ? What do I do if it takes longer than 10 working days? Will the PQ be closed on the HSE National database system if I send an interim reply? What format should I use when replying directly to a PQ? Who should authorise responses to PQs? How should PQ responses be sent? Handling Representations Oral Questions What are Oral day Questions? Topical Issues & Commencement Matters What are Topical Issue Debates? What is the HSE process for Topical Issues? What is a Commencement Matter? What is the process for a Commencement Matter? Leaders Questions What is a Leaders question? What are the time lines for Leaders questions? What is the process for dealing with Leaders Questions? Oireachtas Committees Does the Oireachtas establish Committees? What Oireachtas Committees does the HSE deal with? Does the type of committees ever change? P a g e

4 4.8 What is the process for dealing with the Oireachtas Committees? Where can I get information about the Oireachtas committees? What is the HSE s responsibility to local government? What is the process for dealing with the Regional Health Forums? Conclusion Appendices Appendix 1 - PQ reply letter template Appendix 2 - HSE Central Contact Details Appendix 3 - Example Check List for staff answering PQs Links to information on Oireachtas members: P a g e

5 Introduction This document is intended to outline in Question and Answer format briefly what the work of the HSE entails and to provide in particular, guidelines in dealing with Oireachtas members parliamentary questions, representations and queries, oral day questions, topical issue debates, commencement matters and leaders questions. The Oireachtas consists of the President and two houses: Dáil Éireann (the Taoiseach, Ministers and all TDs) & the Seanad (Senators). A number of documents have been attached to the Guide which includes a standardised layout format for responding to PQs and Representations, a list of the PAD contacts and a check list. Finally as part of our work to improve the quality and standard of replies we have undertaken an analysis (draft) of a cross sample of answers to PQs and the findings from this analysis have informed the development of this Guide. There will be on going analysis of replies and the quality and standard of those replies will be assessed against the quality and standards set out in this guide. 4 P a g e

6 What is its role? The primary role of the is to manage the interface between the HSE, Department of Health and the Oireachtas by organising, developing and monitoring the efficient conduct of Parliamentary Affairs by the HSE. 2.1 What is its Function? The functions of the PAD include among others: Co-ordinate and disseminate to the National Corporate Divisions, Hospital Groups and Community Healthcare Organisations (CHO S) all Parliamentary Questions and Representations received from the Department of Health or queries directly received from Oireachtas members. Maintain records and performance indicators of response rates and turnaround times and liaise with the Department of Health in this regard. Prepare performance reports for the Department of Health and the HSE leadership team. Co-ordinate Oral day responses. Coordinate and manage the preparation for and follow up to Oireachtas Committees; inter alia the Joint Committee on Health (JCH), the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) and the Committee on the Future of Healthcare Provide support for HSE input to the Cabinet Committee on Health (CCH) and the Senior Officials Group (SOG) Arrange briefings and other interfaces with Oireachtas as required. Liaise with the Ceann Comhairle s Office, Department of Health and other relevant parties. Co ordinate briefing material for the Ministers / Ministers of State. 3.1 What is the Office Structure? The PAD office structure and contact details are included in Appendix 1. 5 P a g e

7 2. Parliamentary Questions and Representations 1.2 What is a Parliamentary Question and what is a Representation? A parliamentary question (PQ) is a question raised by a TD for oral or written answer in the Oireachtas. The question is generally submitted for answer by the Taoiseach, the Tánaiste, a Minister or Minister of State of the Government. A parliamentary question can relate to any policy issue, - in the case of health, questions can relate to the health services, individual personal matters or general matters of public interest. A representation is an issue raised by an Oireachtas member (generally in writing) on behalf of a constituent or group of constituents. 2.2 How is a PQ/Rep processed? In the case of PQs, the TD sends the question to the questions office in the Oireachtas which sorts them and sends them to the relevant Government Department. The Department of Health send relevant PQ s to the HSE central PAD office via replication from their database across to the HSE national database. The central PAD office disseminates the questions to the relevant HSE National Corporate Division, Hospital Group / individual hospitals or to the Community Healthcare Organisation (CHO) / local CHO Area. In the case of representations, these are received by central PAD from the Department of Health, The Director General s Office, from individual Oireachtas members and from other elected public representatives. The representation is normally made via to reps@hse.ie. They are disseminated by central PAD in much the same way as PQs. 3.2 Do the Ministers answer PQs/Reps? Yes, the Ministers answer PQs/Representations. The Ministers will answer questions which relate to broad issues of policy and may from time to time answer other PQs/Reps in relation to issues of topical interest. In those instances the Departments may request a report (briefing material) from the HSE in order to draft a reply for the relevant Minister and where this happens the response to the Departments should be in a report format and not in the format of a letter reply and be submitted within the time deadlines given. Other PQs/Reps are sent to the HSE as appropriate, and the HSE will be requested to reply directly to the Oireachtas member. 6 P a g e

8 3. Handling PQs for direct reply to an Oireachtas member 1.3 What do I do when I receive a PQ from PAD for direct reply to the Deputy? When you receive a PQ from PAD for direct reply to an Oireachtas member the following steps should be taken: Firstly very carefully examine the Question and make sure you are absolutely clear about 1) what information is being requested and 2) if it is appropriate for you to process/answer. If not sure of the answer to either of these two issues then ask your line manager and if it is still not clarified at that point, you can contact central PAD for assistance/guidance. It is important that if the question is not for you then you should immediately notify central PAD so that it can be quickly routed to the appropriate person. Once established that you are going to answer the PQ, you should then check the following: Check your PQ answers records to see if a similar question has been asked and answered before. If so, you may be able to update it to answer the current question or use it as a guide. Check the HSE website parliamentary section to see if a similar question was asked and answered by one of the other areas of the HSE or corporately. Again if so they may be helpful in answering your PQ. Please note that a search on the website can be refined by entering PQ+number or PQ+ keyword in to the search box. Check for a similar representation Check for a complaint on a similar topic Check with the national or local communications offices to see if a press release nationally or locally has been issued that might assist in answering the PQ. Press releases are archived on the website Check with the Consumer Affairs Office to see if there was an FOI request on the issue raised in the PQ. Again this information may be very helpful in answering the PQ. Otherwise commence the process of gathering the information and reply to the PQ as quickly as possible. Remember to use appropriate protocol in the reply i.e. The Taoiseach to be addressed as Dear Taoiseach, Ministers and Ministers of State should get the title Dear Minister, Deputies should be addressed as Dear Deputy, Senator, Dear Senator and Councillor Dear Councillor. 7 P a g e

9 2.3 How much time do I have to answer a PQ? Dáil Éireann passed a standing order (42A) in June 2016 which became effective from September The standing order obliges the HSE (and all other State Agencies) to respond in full to all (100% of) PQs referred to them by a Minister within 10 working days. Standing order 42B which is also in effect from September 2016 allows members to put down PQs twice during the Dáil summer recess (for the first occasion not later than the fifth day following the adjournment of the Dáil and for the second occasion, not later than the tenth day preceding the date set for the resumption of the Dáil after the recess) Where the Minister is going to answer a PQ, either fully or partially, a request will be issued from the relevant Department to the central PAD indicating this and requesting a report. Where this request is made it will specify the deadline in the request. Note: It is important that the report is supplied within the deadline indicated so that the relevant Department can prepare an urgent response for the Minister. Under no circumstances should the report be sent directly to the Deputy who has placed the PQ, rather it should be sent to the Department of Health official who requested it. 3.3 What do I do if it takes longer than 10 working days? If on occasion you receive a PQ and it is clear that the level and detail of information required to answer the PQ is going to take longer than 10 working days to obtain then you should deal as follows: Check what information is readily available. Contact the TD and advise that what information is readily available (if any) and that it will take a certain amount of time (give estimate) to get the remaining information. You can also check with the TD if he/she is satisfied to take what is readily available or if he wishes to take the available information and await a reply to the remaining information sought. If the TD agrees to accept the available information and wants the remainder to be sent when available you should then send an interim reply to the TD providing the available information and advising when the remaining information is likely to be made available. It is important that this is followed up and provided as soon as possible. The PQ remains open until the final response is closed off. If there is no available information and a response to the PQ simply can t be provided within 10 working days, then you send an interim reply acknowledging the PQ and indicate the reason why it will take longer to reply to the PQ and give an indicative date as to when the reply will issue to the TD. 4.3 Will the PQ be closed on the HSE National database system if I send an interim reply? No, PQs are only closed when a final response is issued. 8 P a g e

10 5.3 What format should I use when replying directly to a PQ? As indicated at (3 a) above, firstly read the question very carefully satisfying yourself that you are clear on what is required. Then set out your response in the standard template/format (this is appended to this guide Appendix 1). The response in reply to the PQ should: Have the parliamentary question written at the top of the letter, PQ number and date for answer and the name of the TD who put down the question. Be clear, courteous and answer what has been asked and do not include unnecessary information. Only include additional information if it helps in understanding the reply or is deemed necessary as background to the reply. Indicate if information does not exist or is not easily obtainable. An interim reply or partial response should indicate when the full reply will be issued. Be approved and signed off by the relevant senior manager. 6.3 Who should authorise responses to PQs? In order to ensure that good quality and accurate replies are issued National Directors, Hospital Group CEO s and Chief Officers of CHO s should put the appropriate arrangements in place for signing off on PQs etc and as a guide a PQs etc should be signed by a staff member at General Manager Grade or above. 7.3 How should PQ responses be sent? Responses should be sent via through the PQ National Data Base System (unless otherwise agreed with individual Oireachtas members). The following guidelines should apply: Responses should be on headed paper and sent as an attachment to the . An indication should be given in the subject line that this is a response to a PQ or a representation Please note that if any Oireachtas member requests correspondence by post, we must oblige. A copy of the response should be attached by the person processing the PQ on the HSE national database system so that it is closed off. 9 P a g e

11 4. Handling Representations Representations should be dealt with in a similar way to PQs as outlined above with the following exceptions. It is important to note that there are 2 main types of Representations: Reps for report to the Departments of Health are identified by a reference number in the format REPR/year/rep number (Example: REPR/17/0001). As these reps will be responded to directly by the Minister or Minister of State the full (briefing) information only, is required. This information should be submitted to central PAD within the timeframe stipulated who will in turn forward it on to the relevant person in the relevant government Department. Note: Under no circumstances should the report be sent directly to the person (TD, Senator, Councillor or MEP) who has placed the Rep with the Minister. Reps for direct response to the Oireachtas member are identified by REPDR/year/rep number (Example: REPDR/17/0001). The responses to these reps are sent directly to the member and the person processing the rep attaches a copy on the HSE national database so that it is closed off. Note: The Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform issued a Protocol for the Provision of Information to Members of the Oireachtas by State Bodies under the aegis of Government Departments effective from September DPER Circular 25/2016 mandates that each State Body must comply with target deadlines and standards in terms of acknowledgements and substantive responses to queries, as follows: Response time for acknowledgement of a query is 3 working days. Acknowledgement should include contact details for the staff member dealing with the query. Target response time for substantive reply is 15 working days. Bodies should of course seek to surpass the target response times where possible 10 P a g e

12 5. Oral Questions 1.5 What are Oral day Questions? Oral questions are scheduled on a regular basis annually for each Government Minister and (almost) immediate replies are imperative to allow the Minister or Minister of State where appropriate to speak on the issues raised. The Department of Health normally have 3-4 weeks advance notice of the forthcoming Oral day and will notify the HSE as soon as confirmed to the Department. However these dates can be subject to change to take account of a Minister s availability. The PAD office will notify all contacts of these dates. Approximately 70/80 questions will be put down for Oral answer. Up to a further 100 questions may be put down for written answer on the same day. Only a limited number of questions can be answered orally because of the time available. The questions which will be answered by the Minister standing and reading a reply in the Oireachtas are determined by a lottery and listed on the Dáil Order paper. The Department must prepare replies and associated briefing material for the first 20 Questions and any priority questions (normally 5, see definitions below) on the list to ensure that the Minister can give an oral response in the Dáil chamber and also that he/she can immediately answer any supplementary questions asked by the Deputy. Not all oral questions in the top 20 / priority list are referred to the HSE, only those that require some input from the HSE in order that the Department can prepare a full response to the question. Those (relevant to HSE) questions not taken as oral questions will revert to written or ministerial response questions, and responses must be issued in the usual manner over the following 10 working days for written responses and in the specified time for ministerial response questions. Priority Orals: On Oral day, the first five questions for answer by the Minister or Ministers of State are put down by opposition spokespersons as Priority Questions. The first 30 minutes of the Ministers oral question time is set aside for Priority Questions (i.e. 5 Questions x 6 minutes). Substitute Priority: Deputies may put down alternative or Substitute Priority questions in the event of a priority oral being disallowed or transferred to another Department. In terms of preparation of briefing, these substitute questions should be treated as Priority Questions Each oral reply consists of circa 200 words and the accompanying brief consists of short paragraphs of background material addressing where appropriate: The current position in relation to the issue raised by the Deputy, How the issue manifested itself. The positive steps which have been taken by the HSE in the policy area Details of any revenue / staffing resources applied or in the pipeline 11 P a g e

13 Plans by the HSE to address any shortfalls/to remedy a problem or to effect change. The issue/actions being taken by the HSE in the context of the Executives Service Plan It is important that any information supplied is accurate and up-to-date. The Department will require information for the top 20 oral replies within a short timeframe because of the necessity to submit the reply and briefing material to the Minister as early as possible. Please note that all replies/reports for Oral Day questions must be submitted by the latest two days in advance of Oral day. There can be no exception to this. 12 P a g e

14 6. Topical Issues & Commencement Matters 1.6 What are Topical Issue Debates? Topical Issue Debates arise when an Oireachtas member puts down an issue of national importance. The Department of Health is frequently selected for Topical Issue Debates. Topical Issue Debates normally take place at the close of ordinary business in the Dáil on Dáil sitting days (Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays) Because of the tight time scale, requirement for briefing material (necessary to enable the Department to prepare a script of 500 words) might only be notified by the Department to the HSE a couple of hours in advance of the debate. It is critical therefore that a reply issues swiftly to the Department. The Department is required to produce a 5/600 word response to a question selected for a Topical Issue Debate. This is a 5 minute speech which the Minister or a Minister of State will deliver orally on the floor of the Oireachtas in response to a speech by the Deputy who put down the question on the Topical Issue Debate. The timeframe between the receipt of notice of the matter being raised and the deadline for completion of the script is quite tight. Line units would have between 2-3 hours to prepare and clear a response once a question has been selected. The quality of the HSE s input to responses is critical to the adequacy of the final script produced by the Department for the Minister. Information needs to be accurate, addressing the issue raised and reflecting national health policy as well as corporate HSE perspective where appropriate. The material must also be signed off at the appropriate senior level in the HSE and be returned to the Line division in good time (see below). A report should include the following elements as appropriate: The current position in relation to the issue raised by the Deputy. How the issue manifested itself (i.e. if the HSE is aware of any recent event or issue that may have triggered the request for the debate). The positive steps which have been taken by the HSE in the policy area and or to resolve the particular issue. Details of any capital/revenue / staffing resources applied or in the pipeline Plans by the HSE to address any shortfalls/to remedy a problem or to effect change. The issue/actions being taken by the HSE in the context of the Executive s Service Plan. Any relevant or related good news that can be incorporated in the report. Name and contact details of HSE official who prepared report and signed off on same. All reports should be sent to the relevant Unit in the Department. 13 P a g e

15 2.6 What is the HSE process for Topical Issues? The process for dealing with a request from the Departments line divisions for a report for a Topical Issue is as follows: Because of the tight time frame the line division in the Department will contact the relevant senior manager/s directly in the HSE (National Divisions, Hospital Group CEO s or Chief Officers of CHO s rather than going through the PAD office, and request the report for the particular debate. (Please note that Topical Issue requests do not come through PAD because of the tight time deadlines but are sent directly by the line division in the Department to the relevant HSE office). As soon as the HSE staff member receives the request he/she must very quickly get the information together in line with the guide above and if he/she is not approved to sign off the reply, get the line manager to approve and sign off and then return to the line division in the Department. Again because the time available is short it is important that the document submitted to the Department has all of the required information. It is also important to include your name, phone number and on the submitted report in the event that the Department staff member needs to contact you about the report. 3.6 What is a Commencement Matter? A Commencement Matter is an issue of national importance put down by a member of the Seanad (Senators). Commencement Matters are taken in the Seanad as the first item on Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays. The time for commencement of Seanad sittings is 2.30 p.m. on Tuesdays, a.m. on Wednesdays and Thursdays. 4.6 What is the process for a Commencement Matter? The same issues in terms of timelines, briefing notes etc attach to Commencement Matters as to Topical Issues and the process outlined above (6a and 6b) for Topical Issues should be followed when processing and providing information for a Commencement Matter. 14 P a g e

16 7. Leaders Questions 1.7 What is a Leaders question? On certain days the Ceann Comhairle may, at his discretion, permit a brief question not exceeding 2 minutes from each Leader of the Opposition to the Taoiseach about a matter of topical public importance. 2.7 What are the time lines for Leaders questions? There is little or no notice of a matter to be raised under Leaders Questions Briefings on major public issues need to be prepared, cleared and issued to the Taoiseach s office immediately. It can occur that there is as little as 30 minutes available to the Department to provide briefing notes TIP If there is a major incident or issue of public concern in the public arena or likely to come into the public arena then it is highly likely it will be on Leaders Questions and a request from the DoH for briefing material should be anticipated 3.7 What is the process for dealing with Leaders Questions? The Departments standing instructions require each briefing note to be: o not more than one page o in the form of bullet points (5/6) o provide the key response in the first bullet point o be typed in size 18 point Because the time line is so short the Departments division will contact the relevant senior HSE manager directly to obtain the information on the issue, which should be returned in the above format. Where time or circumstance does not allow for a written response, the bullet points can be agreed over the phone with the relevant Department division personnel with an of the points submitted as soon as possible after the phone call. 15 P a g e

17 8. Oireachtas Committees 1.8 Does the Oireachtas establish Committees? Yes, the Oireachtas establishes a number of Joint, Select and Standing Committees. 2.8 What Oireachtas Committees does the HSE deal with? In the case of the HSE the committees that it primarily deals with are: Committee of Public Accounts (PAC) Joint Committee on Health (JCH) Committee on the Future of Healthcare (CFHC) 3.8 Does the type of committees ever change? Yes. It should be noted that with the exception of standing committees such as the Committee of Public Accounts the Oireachtas following the election of a new Dáil and Seanad may vary the number and type of committees it establishes, for example the last Dáil (32 nd ) introduced the Committee on the Future of Healthcare. 4.8 What is the process for dealing with the Oireachtas Committees? The following should be noted with regard to how the committee work is dealt with: The Director General of the HSE is the accountable officer to the Oireachtas Committees. Given the requirement to ensure the efficient and effective support of the committees with their work, the HSE s central PAD alone coordinates the work of all of the Oireachtas Committees on behalf of the HSE and all contact with the Oireachtas Committee Secretariat is via the central PAD office only. If for some reason you are contacted directly by the Secretariat to a Committee by phone you should advise them to contact PAD and give them the contact details if necessary. If you are contacted by them via , letter, fax etc you should immediately pass this to the central PAD office who will contact the Secretariat and follow up the matter. No arrangements or agreements should be made with the Secretariat of a Committee without the prior knowledge of the central PAD. 5.8 Where can I get information about the Oireachtas committees? Information about the committees and their membership and transcripts of the committee meetings can be found on 16 P a g e

18 Local Government 1.9 What is the HSE s responsibility to local government? The HSE is required to respond to a representation on a health matter from a local elected representative. In addition, Under Part 8, section 42 of the Health Act 2004 and Statutory Instrument No 797 of 2005, four Regional Health Forums were established. The HSE is required to provide administrative support to the Forums and representatives of senior management from the HSE, Hospital Groups and Community Healthcare Organisations are required to attend the meetings of the Health Forums to provide information on the range of health and personal social services in the Forums functional area and to respond to questions and motions from the members. 2.9 What is the process for dealing with the Regional Health Forums? Local administrative offices provide administrative support to the Forums and in consort with the Hospital Groups and Community Healthcare Organisations arrange the meetings of the Forums. 10. Conclusion These guidelines are not to be taken as exhaustive and clarification if required should in the first instance be sought from your line manager. Information and clarification can also be sought from the central PAD office at Tel: (01) or pad@hse.ie. 17 P a g e

19 11. Appendices 1.11 Appendix 1 - PQ reply letter template Date 2017 HSE Address Phone No address Deputy, Dáil Éireann, Leinster House, Kildare Street, Dublin 2 Re: PQ /17 To ask the Minister for Health. and if he will make a statement on the matter Dear Deputy/Dear Minister, The Health Service Executive has been requested to reply directly to you in the context of the above Parliamentary Question, which you submitted to the Minister for Health for response. I have examined the matter and the following outlines the position. I trust this information is of assistance to you but should you have any further queries please contact me. Yours sincerely, Name Title 18 P a g e

20 2.11 Appendix 2 - HSE Central Contact Details Name Area of Responsibility Telephone Ray Mitchell Assistant National Director,, Health Service Executive, Parkgate Business Centre, Parkgate Street, Dublin 7 Landline: (01) Mobile: ray.mitchell@hse.ie Noel Taylor Office Manager (01) noel.taylor1@hse.ie Bryan O Toole Grade V (01) bryan.otoole@hse.ie Stephen Benson Grade IV (01) stephen.benson1@hse.ie Lisa O Neill Grade IV (01) lisam.oneill@hse.ie pquestions@hse.ie Pamela Jensen Grade IV (01) pamela.jensen@hse.ie Linda Cummins Grade IV (01) linda.cumins@hse.ie Fax Number: (01) pquestions@hse.ie pad@hse.ie reps@hse.ie 19 P a g e

21 3.11 Appendix 3 - Example Check List for staff answering PQs PQ no: P.Q.description: Steps taken Comment Date completed PQ or Rep examined and deemed appropriate for the section PQs cross checked with PQs on website, local database, FOI database and Communications. PQ forwarded PQ to relevant Manager with other available information Set reminder to contact Manager(s) in 4/5 days Database updated on progress of PQ. Any delay flagged Response finalised. Recommended template used for final response. Area senior manager or other delegated senior officer has approved / signed off on response Response issued to appropriate Deputy / Department contact by within timeframe Links to information on Oireachtas members: - 32 nd Dáil: & 25th Seanad: The Links include members contact details with dynamic selection options by Name, Party and Constituency or Panel (as appropriate). * Updated 24 th of April 2017: * 20 P a g e