Jen Cummins (Dublin South Central, Social Democrats)
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1409. To ask the Minister for Health if staffing levels of public health nurses have increased in the past twelve months; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [29543/25]

Jennifer Carroll MacNeill (Dún Laoghaire, Fine Gael)
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Public Health Nurses (PHN) are employed by the HSE to deliver safe, quality and person-centred community nursing care across a person's life.

Several measures have been agreed to support increased intake to the Student Public Health Nursing programme and the number of applicants to this programme has increased in 2024 and into 2025.

In 2024, to attract more nurses to specialise as Public Health Nurses, agreement was reached to allow existing Staff Nurses / Enhanced Staff Nurses who wished to enter the Public Health Nurse Sponsorship Programme to remain on the existing point of their current salary scale. The Public Health Nurse scale was also merged with the Clinical Nurse/Midwife Manager 2 grade along with the extension of the salary scale to one further point and the addition of a Long Service Increment.

In Budget 2025, the Department of Health allocated 26.7 Whole Time Equivalent Public Health Nursing posts and requested the HSE to expedite these posts promptly. As the recruitment of these are an operational matter, I have asked the Health Service Executive to respond to the Deputy directly.

Jen Cummins (Dublin South Central, Social Democrats)
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1410. To ask the Minister for Health when Dublin 12 will return to a full team of public health nurses; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [29544/25]

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.

Shónagh Ní Raghallaigh (Kildare South, Sinn Fein)
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1411. To ask the Minister for Health if she will report on recruitment plans for the position of emergency medical controller; the current status of the panel for this role; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [29545/25]

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