Written answers
Tuesday, 25 November 2025
- Departmental Staff
790. To ask the Minister for Health to recognise student nurses as essential workers during placement; provide fair financial support or pay for the hours worked to ensure that no student is... - Departmental Schemes
791. To ask the Minister for Health to provide an update on the implementation of the new transport support scheme to replace the motorised transport grant; and if she will make a statement on... - Departmental Data
792. To ask the Minister for Health the age intervals at which developmental checks of newborns and infants should be offered by public health nurses; the examinations done at each of these... - Addiction Treatment Services
794. To ask the Minister for Health to provide a detailed list of all addiction rehabilitation services currently available in the State; the name and location of each facility; the bed capacity;... - Medicinal Products
801. To ask the Minister for Health if a person with a diagnosed psychiatric disorder can make an advanced directive or decision to the right to taper their medication; if so, the process to do... - Hospital Appointments Status
802. To ask the Minister for Health if an appointment for a person (details supplied) can be expedited. [65152/25] - Health Services
803. To ask the Minister for Health the status of an application (details supplied); and if she will make a statement on the matter. [65153/25] - Hospital Facilities
804. To ask the Minister for Health if additional physical space would be provided to the rheumatology outpatient department at Cork University Hospital as the current lack of adequate... - Hospital Waiting Lists
805. To ask the Minister for Health the steps that will be taken to address the growing waiting lists for treatments at the rheumatology outpatient department at Cork University Hospital, as the... - Departmental Staff
807. To ask the Minister for Health if a neonatal intensive care nurse (details supplied), whose specialty allowance is being taken back, has grounds for appealing this decision; and if she will... - Coroners Service
809. To ask the Minister for Health the alternative arrangements being developed by the HSE to ensure continuity of coronial post-mortem services for the south-east region from 1 January 2026,... - Health Services Waiting Lists
812. To ask the Minister for Health the impact on diagnostic and surgical pathology waiting times at UHW arising from the workload pressures described in the HSE response; whether the unmet... - Departmental Strategies
813. To ask the Minister for Health the national strategy being developed to address the shortage of appropriately qualified autopsy pathologists, as highlighted in the response relating to UHW;... - Departmental Policies
815. To ask the Minister for Health her views on whether CORU’s recently published standards for training and practice in psychotherapy represents a decrease in standards, as the proposed... - Health Services
816. To ask the Minister for Health if the full-time care package for a person (details supplied) promised by the HSE will be put in place immediately; if the disposable sheets and pads required... - Hospital Equipment
818. To ask the Minister for Health further to Parliamentary Question No. 679 of 23 September 2025, whether the ongoing development of radiation oncology services is in line with the National... - Health Services Waiting Lists
820. To ask the Minister for Health for an update on the waiting lists for home support in each CHO area for 2025; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [65239/25] - Departmental Schemes
821. To ask the Minister for Health her plans to extend the public fertility scheme to same-sex couples who are currently excluded from the scheme; the timeline for any such changes; and if she... - Health Services Staff
822. To ask the Minister for Health the number of occupational therapists and physiotherapists, by grade posts filled at Coolock primary care centre in 2023, 2024 and to date in 2025, in tabular... - Mental Health Services
823. To ask the Minister for Health for an update on the establishment of the Traveller mental health specialist group; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [65280/25] - Health Services Staff
824. To ask the Minister for Health the number of WTE consultant nephrologists at Cork University Hospital in the years of 2023, 2024 and to date in 2025, in tabular form. [65334/25] - Mental Health Services
827. To ask the Minister for Health the access which is available for young adults to mental health services in Gorey and North County Wexford; and if she will make a statement on the matter.... - Health Service Executive
829. To ask the Minister for Health the current HSE policy on providing elective, non-medical circumcision procedures in public hospitals, and the decision pathway used to approve or decline such... - Departmental Data
830. To ask the Minister for Health the number of elective, non-medical circumcisions performed in public hospitals in each of the past five years, by hospital, and the number of theatre sessions... - Health Service Executive
831. To ask the Minister for Health whether any national clinical guidelines exist for the provision of non-medical circumcision in public hospitals, and if so who approved those guidelines, when... - Hospital Services
832. To ask the Minister for Health whether public hospitals are authorised to offer non-medical circumcision without a medical indication, and the oversight or audit process in place to track... - Health Service Executive
833. To ask the Minister for Health the estimated cost to the HSE of providing non-medical circumcision in public hospitals in each of the past five years, including consultant time, theatre use,... - Departmental Investigations
835. To ask the Minister for Health whether any risk or capacity assessment has been carried out on the effect of elective, non-medical procedures on waiting lists for paediatric surgery,... - Departmental Reports
836. To ask the Minister for Health whether public hospitals are required to report the volume of elective non-medical procedures they perform, and whether the Department receives regular reviews... - Nursing Homes
837. To ask the Minister for Health if the workforce plan proposed by the management of a nursing home (details supplied) to identify the number and grading of staffing required to safely... - Departmental Schemes
838. To ask the Minister for Health for an update on the consideration within her Department towards the inclusion of caplacizumab on the drug reimbursement scheme; and if she will make a... - Health Service Executive
840. To ask the Minister for Health to outline the updated position of the HSE regarding an extra funding application that was submitted by a school (details supplied) to the HSE, in view of the... - Health Services Staff
841. To ask the Minister for Health the number of WTE consultant in emergency medicine and emergency medicine registrars based within the accident and emergency department of Wexford General... - Departmental Reviews
843. To ask the Minister for Health if she has reviewed the joint statement from groups regarding changing the reimbursement arrangements for high-protein oral nutritional supplements (ONS)... - Departmental Policies
844. To ask the Minister for Health her Department’s plan to deregulate the use of a medication (details supplied) in an effort to help reduce drug deaths; and if she will make a statement... - Hospital Charges
845. To ask the Minister for Health the status of the Programme for Government commitment to reduce hospital car parking charges; if she is aware of a 25% increase in car parking fees in November... - Departmental Staff
846. To ask the Minister for Health the number of WTE clinical geneticists, genetic counsellors and genetic resource associates that have been recruited by the HSE, in 2023, 2024 and to-date in... - Hospital Staff
847. To ask the Minister for Health the number of WTE consultant paediatric gastroenterologists based at University Hospital Limerick in 2023, 2024 and to-date in 2025, in tabular form. [65471/25] - Health Services Waiting Lists
848. To ask the Minister for Health if an appointment for a person (details supplied) will be expedited. [65472/25] - Departmental Funding
849. To ask the Minister for Health the process for service users applying to both the PRSI wig grant and the HSE grant wig allowance; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [65474/25] - Healthcare Policy
850. To ask the Minister for Health the timeline on the establishment of a national genomic medicine centre to process genetic tests nationally; and if she will make a statement on the matter.... - Departmental Staff
851. To ask the Minister for Health if the number of clinical practice tutors for radiography students have increased in line with the increase in university places; and if she will make a... - Hospital Services
853. To ask the Minister for Health the process in place for those seeking timely reconstruction surgery post-cancer treatment; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [65483/25] - Hospital Procedures
854. To ask the Minister for Health if there is a designated pathway in place for timely breast reconstruction surgery post-cancer treatment in the public system; and if she will make a statement... - Medical Cards
855. To ask the Minister for Health if GP visits for patients on chemotherapy treatment needing regular blood tests, who would otherwise have to travel long distances to their treating hospital,... - Health Services Waiting Lists
856. To ask the Minister for Health the number of children waiting for scoliosis surgery that have died. [65500/25] - Departmental Data
857. To ask the Minister for Health the number of scoliosis surgeries cancelled by CHI each year; and the reason given for the cancellations. [65501/25] - Hospital Waiting Lists
858. To ask the Minister for Health the number of children who have been removed from the scoliosis surgery waiting list without their parents' knowledge. [65502/25] - Mental Health Services
861. To ask the Minister for Health the number of persons under the care of Midleton, Youghal, Cobh and Glenville adult mental health teams who have been transferred to continuing care settings... - Health Services Waiting Lists
862. To ask the Minister for Health when a person (details supplied) will receive a procedure given they have been waiting since March 2025; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [65534/25] - Health Service Executive
863. To ask the Minister for Health if the access criteria for IVF through the HSE will be reviewed to make treatment available to more women; and if she will make a statement on the matter.... - Health Services
864. To ask the Minister for Health if adult ADHD services are currently operational within CHO7; the locations in which they are based; the staffing levels assigned; and the number of patients... - Health Services Staff
867. To ask the Minister for Health the number of staff recruited to deliver adult ADHD services in CHO7; the training provided to these staff; and the number of patients who have accessed the... - Departmental Inquiries
868. To ask the Minister for Health the reason for the delay in processing an application for a person (details supplied) under the Northen Ireland Planned Healthcare Scheme; and if she will make... - Health Services Waiting Lists
869. To ask the Minister for Health to urgently address the long wait time for urgent knee replacements for a person, as outlined in correspondence (details supplied); and if she will make a... - Health Service Executive
870. To ask the Minister for Health if the HSE provides car safety harnesses or grants for car safety harnesses for children with disabilities and/or additional needs, such as ASD, as is done in... - Care Services
871. To ask the Minister for Health if she can ensure that person (details supplied) is transferred to a more suitable residential care facility as a matter of urgency. [65654/25] - Departmental Data
872. To ask the Minister for Health the number of midwifery-led clinics operational in Galway currently; and the WTE staff levels in each clinic; and hours each clinic is operational for, in... - Health Services Staff
873. To ask the Minister for Health the number of WTE consultants in respiratory medicine based at Galway University Hospital in 2023, 2024 and to-date in 2025, in tabular form. [65657/25] - Health Service Executive
874. To ask the Minister for Health the locations within CHO2 where HSE substance misuse teams are located; and the number of WTE staff, by job title working in each of those teams, in tabular... - Health Services Staff
875. To ask the Minister for Health the number of WTE speech and language therapists posts that were based at Loughrea primary care centre in 2024 and to-date in 2025, in tabular form. [65659/25] - Hospital Staff
877. To ask the Minister for Health the number of WTE nurses based at Portiuncula University Hospital as of 10 November 2025; and if she will provide the same figures as of 10 November 2023, in... - Care Services
878. To ask the Minister for Health the number of WTE dietitians based at Athenry primary care centre in 2024 and to-date in 2025, in tabular form. [65662/25] - Medicinal Products
879. To ask the Minister for Health if blister-packing of medications by pharmacists will be charged for in the near future (details supplied); and if she will make a statement on the matter.... - Departmental Inquiries
880. To ask the Minister for Health to urgently expedite assistance for a person (details supplied); and if she will make a statement on the matter. [65701/25] - Insurance Levy
881. To ask the Minister for Health the full projected impact of the proposed rise in the health-insurance levy for 2026; the expected increase in annual costs for adult and child policyholders;... - Departmental Budgets
883. To ask the Minister for Health the main cost drivers behind the need for a supplementary estimate for the health budget in 2025, by acute hospitals, primary care, agency staffing, and... - Hospital Staff
884. To ask the Minister for Health the approved whole-time equivalent staffing levels for Arbour House, St Finbarr’s Hospital, for each year 2023, 2024 and 2025, broken down by role, and... - Addiction Treatment Services
885. To ask the Minister for Health the average number of service users assigned to each addiction counsellor in Arbour House in each of the years 2023, 2024 and 2025. [65759/25] - Hospital Appointments Status
886. To ask the Minister for Health the number of service users waiting for an initial assessment in Arbour House who have been waiting more than 12 weeks, more than 24 weeks and more than 36... - Health Service Executive
887. To ask the Minister for Health the number of approved 2024 HSE development posts that are currently filled by temporary staff and by agency staff, broken down by staff grade; the reasons... - Health Services
891. To ask the Minister for Health to examine the case of a person (details supplied) in need of follow-up treatment; her views on whether this is acceptable; the steps the HSE should take to... - Hospital Appointments Status
892. To ask the Minister for Health when a person (details supplied) in County Donegal will receive a haematology appointment in Letterkenny University Hospital; the reason for the delay; and if... - Hospital Waiting Lists
893. To ask the Minister for Health the number of patients awaiting an outpatient haematology appointment in Letterkenny University Hospital to date; and the length of time waiting for an... - Patient Files
894. To ask the Minister for Health the number of patient files the HSE has registered as lost from 2018 to 2025; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [65801/25] - Covid-19 Pandemic
895. To ask the Minister for Health the total cost of unused PPE from the Covid-19 pandemic; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [65802/25] - Departmental Funding
896. To ask the Minister for Health the case for additional funding for low-vision aids for a region (details supplied); if she will provide emergency funding to each of the counties mentioned to... - Hospital Services
897. To ask the Minister for Health if the orthopaedic Department of Tullamore Hospital is currently operating at full capacity; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [65806/25] - Hospital Waiting Lists
898. To ask the Minister for Health if Tullamore Hospital is currently prevented for outsourcing work to clear the orthopaedic waiting list, which holds 297 people; if, as a result, patients are... - Mental Health Services
899. To ask the Minister for Health when a person will finally get an assessment in order that they can be seen by CAMHS (details supplied). [65871/25] - Hospital Services
900. To ask the Minister for Health to outline the specific measures being taken at Our Lady of Lourdes Hospital, Drogheda, in preparation for the winter 2025-2026 season; whether any additional... - Hospital Staff
901. To ask the Minister for Health the number of permanent job offers that Naas General Hospital offered newly graduated physiotherapists in 2024 and 2025; and of the new job offers, the number... - Hospital Waiting Lists
904. To ask the Minister for Health the number of people waiting to access CT scans in counties Cavan and Monaghan, by county and by period of time waiting, in tabular form; and if she will make... - Departmental Inquiries
908. To ask the Minister for Health to expedite a respite bed or short-term bed in respect of a person (details supplied); and if she will make a statement on the matter. [65928/25] - Departmental Data
909. To ask the Minister for Health the amount that has been received from the cumulative savings through reduced medicine reimbursements and pharmacy fee remuneration since 2009; the way in... - Hospital Staff
910. To ask the Minister for Health if she will consider reviewing the current pension payment schedule for nurses, which is paid monthly, to explore the possibility of issuing pension payments... - Dental Services
912. To ask the Minister for Health the number of WTE dental hygienists and senior dental nurses posts that were filled within the Kerry dental services form for the years 2023, 2024 and to date... - Hospital Staff
913. To ask the Minister for Health the number of WTE consultant plastic surgeons based at University Hospital Kerry in the years 2023, 2024 and to date in 2025, in tabular form; and if she will... - Ambulance Service
915. To ask the Minister for Health if there are any proposals or plans to change the number of ambulances based in Kenmare community nursing unit; the number of ambulances currently using it as... - General Practitioner Services
916. To ask the Minister for Health to give favourable consideration to increasing the number of GP cards being issued to the public; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [65990/25] - Departmental Staff
917. To ask the Minister for Health the number of former secretary general’s, retired civil servants, directors of service, retired city and county managers or those of a similar grade in... - Disability Services
918. To ask the Minister for Health the number of applications for equipment for children with disabilities by CHO, RHO and CDNT; the number approved; and the average waiting time for a decision,... - Eating Disorders
919. To ask the Minister for Health for an update on the rollout of the national clinical programme for eating disorders; the number of multidisciplinary teams currently operational; the timeline... - Hospital Waiting Lists
923. To ask the Minister for Health the number of people on the waiting list for the audiology service, including the routine adult waitlist, in tabular form; the average waiting time to be seen;... - Departmental Schemes
924. To ask the Minister for Health if she will consider a reimbursement scheme or a support mechanism for women who used the private sector to seek a diagnosis for endometriosis due to the lack... - Departmental Data
926. To ask the Minister for Health further to Parliamentary Question No. 2919 of 29 July 2025, to quantify the costs presented further (details supplied); and if she will make a statement on the... - Departmental Expenditure
927. To ask the Minister for Health the total expenditure on contracting out radiotherapy treatment for public patients to private providers to date in 2025, by hospital, in tabular form; and to... - Departmental Data
928. To ask the Minister for Health her plans to mitigate the expected costs of outsourcing radiotherapy to private providers as a result of ageing machinery and expected breakdowns in Cork and... - Departmental Expenditure
929. To ask the Minister for Health the amount her Department and any body under her aegis have spent on the services of a company (details supplied), by year and organisation in the years 2020... - Departmental Funding
935. To ask the Minister for Health the amount of Section 39 funding made available to organisations in CHO2 each year from 2007 to 2025, with the corresponding number of organisations to benefit... - Departmental Inquiries
940. To ask the Minister for Health when a person (details supplied) will receive a surgery date for an operation in Mayo University Hospital. [66156/25] - Health Service Executive
941. To ask the Minister for Health if her Department or the HSE will provide current funding for a service (details supplied); and if she will make a statement on the matter. [66166/25] - Hospital Staff
942. To ask the Minister for Health the current and known upcoming vacancies at Cavan and Monaghan Hospital group per centre (Cavan and Monaghan separately); the dates on which the vacancies... - Hospital Services
943. To ask the Minister for Health the official opening hours of the minor injuries unit, MIU at Monaghan Hospital; whether there is a check-in policy that prevents access for patients within... - Covid-19 Pandemic
944. To ask the Minister for Health to urgently review long Covid among HSE workers (details supplied), the long-term consequences; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [66180/25] - Disease Management
945. To ask the Minister for Health the public-health risk assessments completed since 1 January 2020 concerning communicable-disease risks among persons arriving into the State, including... - Medical Register
946. To ask the Minister for Health that the recently published standards and criteria for counsellors and psychotherapists by the Counsellors and Psychotherapists Registration Board of CORU (the... - Health Service Executive
947. To ask the Minister for Health if she will direct each HSE community healthcare organisations and hospital group to provide information with regard to HSE clinicians undertaking overseas... - Primary Care Centres
948. To ask the Minister for Health the vacancy in clinical posts in Cherry Orchard primary care centre, in tabular form; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [66223/25] - Hospital Waiting Lists
949. To ask the Minister for Health if she will report on the HSE delays in ophthalmology routine surgical waitlists at Royal Victoria Eye and Ear Hospital; the number of vacant consultant... - Health Services
950. To ask the Minister for Health her response to the HIQA review on urgent and emergency healthcare services in HSE midwest; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [66261/25] - Departmental Expenditure
951. To ask the Minister for Health to provide the Department’s annual expenditure on State Claims Agency costs for the years 2020–2025. [66361/25] - Health Services Staff
952. To ask the Minister for Health the number of occupational therapists currently employed by the HSE in the southeast region; the number of OT’s approved; and if she will make a...
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