Pádraig Rice (Cork South-Central, Social Democrats)
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642. To ask the Minister for Health if consideration will be given to Early Onset Parkinson's Disease in Ireland's call for community-based exercise supports (details supplied); if she has any plans to fund these measures; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [68032/25]

Jennifer Carroll MacNeill (Dún Laoghaire, Fine Gael)
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I recognise the significant challenges highlighted by Early Onset Parkinson’s Disease Ireland, particularly the financial and practical barriers to accessing community-based exercise supports.

I’m advised by the HSE that the National Clinical Programme for Neurology (NCPN) programme aims to develop a multispecialty and interdisciplinary pathway for care of people with Parkinson’s Disease in Ireland in collaboration with relevant stakeholders including patient advocates. The pathway will provide a uniform approach that will standardise the care irrespective of geographical location. The working group has held preliminary meetings and this work remains ongoing.

Budget 2025 provided €4m for the recruitment of 5 consultant neurologists and 25 specialist neurology nurses to support the implementation of the Neurology Model of Care and development of the Hub and Spoke Model for neurology services. The 30 WTEs are spread across the Regional Health Area’s (RHAs). It is important to highlight that 5 of these are consultant posts and are part of the first phase of implementation for the Hub and Spoke model. The remaining 25 WTEs consist of Clinical Nurse Specialists (CNS), and Advanced Nurse Practitioners (ANP), and of these, 6 WTEs have been assigned to support patients with Parkinson’s Disease. These posts will play a vital role by increasing access to specialist assessment for newly diagnosed patients and ongoing management of patients with an existing diagnosis including Parkinson’s Disease.

In respect of community-based exercise supports I am advised by the HSE that they do not have a defined or ring-fenced budget to consistently fund delivery of or access to community based physical activity opportunities across the country for prevention or management of chronic disease.

Through the Making Every Contact Count programme the HSE trains healthcare professional to sign-post to community participation opportunities. Many of the opportunities for community participation are funded through other sources, including Sport Ireland, Local Sports Partnerships, and National Governing Bodies. The HSE occasionally funds physical activity programmes on a time limited basis. The HSE is required to adhere to public procurement rules, and a formal tender process has been used to deliver physical activity programmes in the Dublin and Mid East Region.

In 2024, the HSE published Physical Activity Pathways in Healthcare Model, including a 3-year action plan to progress implementation. In parallel, some funding was secured from the Department in 2023 to enable a series of projects to support its implementation. The Physical Activity Pathway in Healthcare programme is a series of steps an individual clinician can take in everyday practice to promote physical activity. This includes screening for inactivity, brief intervention, signposting/referral to participation opportunities outside of health services, and follow-up/review at subsequent appointments.

In relation to tax rebates on gyms I have reached out to the Department of Finance regarding the Programme for Government commitment to consider tax relief for gym membership which was examined as part of this year’s Tax Strategy Group (TSG) process. By way of background, the TSG is not a decision-making body and the papers produced by the Department are options and issues to be considered as part of the Budgetary process. The TSG did not recommend the introduction of tax relief for gym membership for a number of reasons. The full review is included in the Income Tax TSG paper which may be of interest (pages 68 to 79): .

I wish to assure you that I am committed to making further progress on developing services for those with Neurological Disorders such as Parkinson’s Disease and I will continue to work with the HSE to ensure improvements in Neurology services as a whole.