Ken O'Flynn

1032. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Health whether the assessment of the final Cass Review completed by the HSE-appointed expert group will be treated as binding clinical guidance, advisory evidence, or background material only for the purposes of national healthcare policy; whether she has issued or intends to issue any direction regarding its status within the development of the national Model of Care for Gender Healthcare; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [9414/26]

1033. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Health what interim clinical governance, safeguards, or policy instructions are currently in place for the provision of gender healthcare services to children and adolescents pending the publication and consideration of the completed expert group assessment of the Cass Review; whether any changes to clinical practice have been paused, amended, or permitted during this interim period; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [9415/26]

1034. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Health to outline the Department’s formal policy and methodology for evaluating international clinical guidance prior to its consideration or adoption within national healthcare frameworks; whether any such formal evaluation was undertaken in respect of the WPATH Standards of Care between 2018 and 2023; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [9416/26]

1039. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Health the governance framework under which funding for chronic pain services is currently allocated, given that the HSE has confirmed that funding decisions are made at regional level without national expenditure data; when this decentralised approach was approved by her Department; and the oversight mechanisms her Department has in place to ensure consistency and equity of access to chronic pain services nationwide. [9472/26]

1040. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Health if she accepts that the absence of national-level expenditure data for chronic pain services represents a gap in financial oversight; when her Department last formally requested national expenditure data from the HSE for chronic pain services; and the actions she is taking to ensure that comprehensive national financial reporting is put in place. [9473/26]

1041. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Health the date by which her Department will require the HSE to implement mandatory national reporting on chronic pain services, including expenditure, activity, and outcomes across all health regions; and whether this reporting will be standardised and published as part of the National Performance Report. [9474/26]

1042. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Health whether her Department has specified, or intends to specify, a minimum national dataset for chronic pain services, including waiting times, consultant capacity, referral pathways, and treatment modalities; and when such standards will be issued to the HSE. [9475/26]

1043. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Health what assessment her Department has made of regional variation in access to specialist chronic pain services following the establishment of the six health regions; and the measures she will take to prevent inequitable access to care based on geographic location. [9476/26]

1044. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Health whether she intends to ring-fence funding within chronic pain services for older adults, in light of evidence showing high prevalence of untreated chronic pain in this cohort; and if not, how her Department will ensure that the needs of older people with chronic pain are prioritised consistently across all health regions. [9477/26]

1045. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Health whether the Health Service Executive records the actual duration of trolley waits exceeding 24 hours for emergency department patients; if not, whether such information is captured within hospital patient administration or emergency department information systems but not collated centrally; when the Minister became aware that maximum trolley wait times are not recorded or reported; and whether he considers the absence of this data compatible with effective patient safety oversight and hospital performance management. [9478/26]

1046. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Health what national information systems are used by the Health Service Executive to record emergency department patient flow and trolley wait times; whether those systems are technically capable of recording precise wait durations beyond 24 hours; and if so, the reason such data is not routinely extracted, analysed, or published on a hospital-by-hospital basis. [9479/26]

1047. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Health whether he has issued, or intends to issue, any direction to the Health Service Executive to begin recording and publishing maximum trolley wait times by hospital for emergency department patients; if not, the reason for this decision; and whether he will commit to implementing such reporting as part of national urgent and emergency care oversight. [9480/26]

1048. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Health whether he accepts that the failure to identify and monitor the longest emergency department trolley waits limits the ability of the Health Service Executive and the Department of Health to detect extreme delays that may present patient safety risks; and the alternative safeguards are relied upon in the absence of maximum trolley wait-time data. [9481/26]

1049. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Health whether his Department has examined emergency department wait-time reporting standards in comparable health systems; whether the non-recording of maximum trolley wait durations aligns with international best practice; and if not, what steps are planned to address this gap. [9482/26]

1050. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Health whether her Department has formally approved any national governance or clinical policy framework for gender identity services for children and young people provided by the Health Service Executive; if so, the date of that approval; and if not, the reason no Department-approved framework is currently in place for services involving minors. [9483/26]

1051. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Health the date of the most recent Department-led review, audit, or evaluation of governance and safeguarding arrangements for gender identity services for children and young people; whether that review was internal or external; and whether its findings were provided to her Department for policy or regulatory action. [9484/26]

1052. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Health whether her Department has issued mandatory national safeguarding, clinical governance, or diagnostic standards for gender identity services for children and young people; whether compliance with such standards is a condition of service provision; and how compliance is monitored or enforced at national level by her Department. [9485/26]

1053. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Health whether her Department is aware that structured national datasets for gender identity services for minors, including referral volumes, diagnostic profiles, treatment pathways, and outcomes, are not currently in place; and whether she considers the absence of such datasets compatible with evidence-based healthcare planning and safeguarding obligations. [9486/26]

1054. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Health whether she has issued, or intends to issue, a ministerial policy direction requiring the establishment of national datasets for gender identity services for children and young people; and if so, the proposed scope, governance arrangements, and timeline for implementation. [9487/26]

1055. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Health whether she accepts that responsibility for national policy, safeguarding standards, and governance frameworks for services involving children rests with her Department rather than with clinical programmes established by the Health Service Executive; and how that responsibility is exercised in the context of gender identity services for minors. [9488/26]

1056. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Health whether her Department has assessed the evidence base underpinning current or proposed models of care for gender identity services for children and young people; whether international reviews or guidance were considered in that assessment; and whether any such assessment has been formally documented. [9489/26]

1057. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Health whether her Department receives routine reports from the Health Service Executive on governance, safeguarding, activity levels, and outcomes relating to gender identity services for minors; and if not, the steps she intends to take to ensure appropriate ministerial oversight of services involving children. [9490/26]

1058. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Health the mean and median waiting time, by hospital group, for a first outpatient assessment in publicly funded chronic pain services at end-December 2025; and the number of persons on those waiting lists in each hospital group. [9503/26]

1059. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Health the number of persons waiting longer than six months and longer than twelve months, by hospital group, for a first outpatient assessment in publicly funded chronic pain services at end-December 2025. [9504/26]

1060. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Health the longest waiting time recorded nationally at end-December 2025 for a first outpatient assessment in publicly funded chronic pain services; and the hospital group and hospital in which that longest waiting time occurred. [9505/26]