Paul Lawless (Mayo, Aontú)
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2192. To ask the Minister for Health the details of the recent interruption of mammography services in county Mayo; the reasons for this cessation; the measures being taken to reinstate the service; the expected timeline for its resumption; the interim arrangements being made to ensure continued access to breast cancer screening for women in the region; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [45025/25]

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.

Colm Burke (Cork North-Central, Fine Gael)
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2193. To ask the Minister for Health the measures her Department plans to implement to ensure that each severe asthma clinic has a qualified advanced nurse practitioner; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [45033/25]

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.

Colm Burke (Cork North-Central, Fine Gael)
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2194. To ask the Minister for Health if her Department will commit to allocating funding to universally subsidise inhaled asthma medications on a phased basis; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [45034/25]

Jennifer Carroll MacNeill (Dún Laoghaire, Fine Gael)
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Under the Drugs Payment Scheme (DPS), no individual or family pays more than €80 a month towards the cost of approved prescribed medicines. The DPS is not means tested and is available to anyone ordinarily resident in Ireland. The DPS significantly reduces the cost burden for families and individuals with ongoing expenditure on medicines.

There has been a significant focus on improving access to and the affordability of healthcare services over the last few years. This includes reductions in the DPS threshold, expansion of access to free GP care, and the abolition of all public in-patient hospital charges for children and adults. These measures continue to create a health and social care service that offers affordable access to quality healthcare.

Individuals may also be entitled to claim tax relief on the cost of their medical expenses, including medicines prescribed by a doctor, dentist, or consultant. Relief is at the standard tax rate of 20%.

As the Health Service Executive (HSE) has statutory responsibility for medicine pricing and reimbursement decisions, in accordance with the Health (Pricing and Supply of Medical Goods) Act 2013, I have also asked them to respond to the Deputy directly, as soon as possible.

Colm Burke (Cork North-Central, Fine Gael)
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2195. To ask the Minister for Health if consideration will be given to reimbursing the financial cost of tezepelumab for asthma patients; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [45035/25]

Jennifer Carroll MacNeill (Dún Laoghaire, Fine Gael)
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Under the Health (Pricing and Supply of Medical Goods) Act 2013, the HSE has statutory responsibility for decisions on the pricing and reimbursement of medicines and medical devices; therefore, the matter has been referred to the HSE for attention and direct reply to the Deputy.

Colm Burke (Cork North-Central, Fine Gael)
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2196. To ask the Minister for Health if consideration will be given to launching a public campaign to disincentivize smoking and e-cigarette use; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [45037/25]

Jennifer Carroll MacNeill (Dún Laoghaire, Fine Gael)
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The HSE is responsible for the implementation of mass media campaigns in relation to smoking and e-cigarette use. The current focus of mass media campaigns for adults is to encourage smoking cessation and direct people towards the Quit Service.

The HSE is currently developing a youth vaping prevention media campaign. The main focus of the campaign will be on vaping, but other nicotine products (such as pouches) will also be addressed. The HSE intends to carry out research with parents and audiences under 18 to help inform the content and tone of the campaign in the coming weeks, and the campaign will run in Q4 2025 / Q1 2026.

Finally, the Tobacco Free Ireland policy is currently being updated. This will include a review of messaging strategies to support the goal to end the epidemic of smoking-related harm in Ireland.

Colm Burke (Cork North-Central, Fine Gael)
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2197. To ask the Minister for Health if consideration will be given to increasing funding for smoking cessation services, in view of the large demand for the QUIT services currently; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [45038/25]

Jennifer Carroll MacNeill (Dún Laoghaire, Fine Gael)
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Funding for the Quit Programme has greatly increased in the last three years, from €13 million in 2021 to €21 million in 2024.

This includes rolling out free Nicotine Replacement Therapies, doubling the number of clinics to provide behavioural support, and expanding the peer-led ‘We Can Quit’ groups.

This has led to record numbers accessing the service and using safe and effective stop smoking medication, with significant increases in successful quit attempts.

Funding for stop smoking services will be considered as part of the broader Estimates process for Budget 2026.

Colm Burke (Cork North-Central, Fine Gael)
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2198. To ask the Minister for Health if her Department plans to establish a CORU register for physiologists; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [45039/25]

Jennifer Carroll MacNeill (Dún Laoghaire, Fine Gael)
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Regarding establishing a regulatory framework for physiologists, a number of representative bodies for unregulated professions have approached the Department seeking to be regulated. It is important in this context to point out the issues to be considered regarding the proportionate degree of regulatory force required to protect the public are complex.

In light of this, and in line with ongoing work in the Department of Health, the Health Research Board was requested to carry out research on behalf of the Department to assist in policy development in this area. The report, “National Approaches to Regulating Health and Social Care Professions”, examines the approaches to the regulation of health and social care professionals internationally and is publicly available on the Department’s website (www.gov.ie/en/publication/ea62b-national-approaches-to-regulating-health-and-social-care-professions/).

My officials are in the process of drawing from this report and other relevant sources to develop a framework to guide policy on the regulation of health and social care professionals into the future. This framework will also be informed by an evidence and risk-based approach to regulation in line with requirements set out in the EU Proportionality Test Directive, which was transposed into Irish law on 19 August 2022 (S.I. No. 413/2022). Further information on the Proportionality Test Directive can be found here:

There are currently no plans to progress regulation of individual professions until appropriate risk-assessment and evaluation tools are in place in compliance with best practice, international evidence, and the Proportionality Test Directive.