Colm Burke (Cork North-Central, Fine Gael)
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1191. To ask the Minister for Health if she will examine the creation of a national sleep programme; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [24363/25]

Jennifer Carroll MacNeill (Dún Laoghaire, Fine Gael)
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As this is a service matter, I have asked the Health Service Executive to respond to the Deputy directly, as soon as possible.

Ruth Coppinger (Dublin West, Solidarity)
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1192. To ask the Minister for Health if provision of PGT-M screening is being considered as part of the consultations referred to in reply to Parliamentary Question No. 2472 of 29 April 2025; if there is an indicative timeline on these consultations; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [24367/25]

Jennifer Carroll MacNeill (Dún Laoghaire, Fine Gael)
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As previously advised to the Deputy, consideration of expanding the publicly-funded, privately-provided AHR treatment initiative is underway. My Department is working with the HSE and relevant specialists in the field of reproductive medicine.

I very much recognise the importance of pre-implantation genetic testing (PGT). This is a very complex area of medicine and it is important that it is considered within the appropriate policy and clinical context.

The Deputy will be aware the Health (Assisted Human Reproduction) Act 2024, which was enacted on 2nd July 2024 but not yet commenced, provides for the regulation of PGT, including pre-implantation genetic testing for single gene disorders, or PGT-M for short. The 2024 Act sets out the legal parameters and framework within which the provision of PGT-M can be permitted. Specifically, the Act stipulates that testing can only be provided founded on the relevant opinion of a relevant specialist that such provision is necessary to detect whether or not there is a significant risk of a child being born with a serious genetic disease. The Act clearly identifies this relevant specialist as a medical practitioner registered on the specialist division of clinical genetics.

Furthermore, the 2024 Act provides for the establishment of a Register of Genetic Diseases under the auspices of the Assisted Human Reproductive Regulatory Authority, which will provide for a list of identified genetic diseases in respect of which genetic testing such as PGT-M will be permitted.

In the case of rare diseases that are genetic in origin, diagnosis can inform case finding within the family and family planning. For certain disorders, prenatal testing is possible and consideration is being given to the development of PGT services, whereby testing could be provided under certain circumstances and as deemed clinically appropriate.

Within the HSE, the identification and clinical need for consideration of PGT-M would be managed directly under the auspices of specialist clinical genetics services as distinct from fertility services. Clinical genetic services factor in the implication and impact of the genetic disorder on the health and well-being of a prospective child in their considerations and recommendations.