Niall Collins (Limerick County, Fianna Fail)

On behalf of the Minister for Health, I thank Deputy McAuliffe for raising this important matter. Addressing waiting lists is a high priority for the Government and substantial investment has been made to address waiting lists across a range of acute and community health services. A previous review of audiology services, published by the Health Service Executive in 2011 as the national audiology review group report, identified shortcomings including access issues, poor information flow, inadequate staffing and unacceptable waiting times. The report made recommendations to address these concerns. Most of these recommendations have been implemented, including the roll-out of a national audiology clinical management system for community services, which is facilitating improved waiting list management. The national audiology clinical management system clearly indicates that the demand on HSE audiology services is increasing year-on-year, especially with the ageing demographic of the population as Ireland ages.

The system also provides information to improve the prioritisation of patients according to clinical need. However, there is still much work to do in relation to the community audiology waiting lists. The World Health Organization’s World Report on Hearing, published in March 2021, recommended that governments develop a comprehensive people-centred hearing care plan within their national health care plan. The Minister for Health established the national hearing care plan working group in August 2024. The group is tasked with making recommendations around developing a holistic model of hearing care in Ireland. The group is jointly chaired by the Department of Health and the HSE and membership is drawn from relevant stakeholders, including the Irish Society of Hearing Aid Audiologists, the Irish Academy of Audiology, and the Department of Social Protection.

The group has developed a workstream, including subgroups to progress important matters. The group is considering the current level of hearing care provision in Ireland, current capacity constraints and opportunities within the HSE and the appropriate linkage between public and private provision of care to maximise positive outcomes for patients, including reductions in waiting times. While the work of the group progresses, funding has been allocated in 2025 to address children’s waiting lists as part of the waiting list action plan by using suitable external providers. The HSE advises that the appropriate tender documents have been finalised. The HSE will soon complete the identification of suitable external providers. Once a list of such providers is finalised, the funding will be allocated to each regional executive officer on a pro rata basis to ensure that the longest-waiting children aged four and over are seen as a matter of priority.

Importantly, this will increase capacity within the HSE to prioritise the assessment of adults waiting for community audiology services. This is especially important for older adults as appropriate hearing care is a vital factor in them remaining connected to their families and local communities.

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