Ken O'Flynn

905. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality the nature and frequency of formal engagement between her Department and the Irish Human Rights and Equality Commission regarding strategic priorities; whether the Minister has issued any guidance concerning the importance of neutrality and restraint in relation to contested social policy issues; and how the Minister ensures that an independent statutory body funded by the Exchequer does not exceed its advisory mandate. [7664/26]

975. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Health whether she has received, reviewed, or been briefed on the report prepared by the expert group established by the HSE to examine the implications of the final of a review (details supplied) for gender-related healthcare services in Ireland; the date on which she first received or was informed of this report; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [7497/26]

976. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Health whether the expert group report examining the implications of a review (details supplied) contains any findings or recommendations relating specifically to gender-related healthcare for children and adolescents; whether those findings differ from existing Irish clinical practice; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [7498/26]

977. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Health whether she accepts the findings and recommendations of the expert group report examining the implications of a review (details supplied) for gender-related healthcare services; whether she has approved, rejected, or deferred any recommendations arising from that report; and the rationale for her position. [7499/26]

978. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Health whether any changes to national policy, clinical governance, or risk-mitigation measures for gender-related healthcare for minors have been approved by her since the completion of the expert group report; and if not, the reasons no such changes have been made. [7500/26]

979. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Health further to Parliamentary Question No. 503 of 4 December 2025, whether she will provide the total approved pay allocation for funded posts within CHO4 for the year 2024; the total pay expenditure actually incurred in that year; the resulting variance, if any; the reason this information was not furnished in the response; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [7531/26]

980. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Health whether her Department receives, on an annual or monthly basis, data on funded posts, vacancy levels, and unused pay allocations across each Community Healthcare Organisation; whether this data informed the 2024 and 2025 health Estimates; and if she will outline the accountability framework in place to ensure that Exchequer-approved staffing funds are either deployed or transparently reported when unspent. [7532/26]

981. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Health whether she accepts that the absence of publicly available data on the value of unfilled funded posts within CHO4 represents a deficiency in financial transparency; whether she has directed the HSE to standardise reporting of funded vacancies and associated pay underspends across all CHOs; and when such reporting will be made available to the Oireachtas. [7533/26]

982. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Health whether any portion of the unused salary allocation arising from funded but unfilled posts within CHO4 in 2024 was reallocated, surrendered to the Exchequer, or carried forward; the value involved; and the statutory or administrative basis under which such decisions were taken. [7534/26]

983. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Health whether she will commit to publishing, on an annual basis, a national breakdown, by CHO of funded posts, filled posts, vacancies, and associated pay allocations, in order to allow the Houses of the Oireachtas to assess workforce planning effectiveness under Sláintecare and the National Health Workforce Plan. [7535/26]

1016. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Health the number of private residential properties owned by persons in receipt of support under the nursing homes support scheme that were rented out in each year since the Fair Deal rental income reforms came into effect in early 2024; the total number of such properties currently rented; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [7665/26]

1017. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Health the number of properties associated with nursing homes support scheme applicants that were identified by her Department or the HSE as potentially suitable for rental prior to the 2024 Fair Deal rental income reforms; the evidence base used at that time to estimate that thousands of homes would enter the rental market; and if she will publish the underlying analysis. [7666/26]

1018. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Health if her Department has conducted any post-implementation review of the 2024 Fair Deal rental income reforms; whether barriers such as legal complexity, family consent issues, tenancy duration rules, or interaction with wider rental legislation were identified as limiting take-up; and what corrective actions are now proposed. [7667/26]

1019. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Health what engagement has taken place between her Department, the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage, and the HSE to assess the impact of wider rental market reforms on the willingness of nursing homes support scheme participants to rent out their properties; and whether any cross-departmental measures are planned to increase participation. [7668/26]

1020. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Health whether her Department or the HSE has undertaken, commissioned, or reviewed any health economic or cost-benefit analysis on the use of GLP-1 receptor agonist medicines, including tirzepatide and semaglutide, for obesity treatment and the prevention of type 2 diabetes; if so, the details and outcomes of any such analysis; and if not, whether she intends to commission such an assessment in light of evidence on long-term savings to the health service. [7676/26]

1021. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Health the current policy position of her Department regarding the reimbursement of GLP-1 receptor agonist medicines under the Drugs Payment Scheme; whether any review is under way to consider broader eligibility criteria; and the expected timeline for any decision on changes to reimbursement policy. [7677/26]

1022. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Health whether her Department has assessed the potential impact of GLP-1 receptor agonist medicines on reducing the future incidence of type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular disease, and associated complications; whether such preventative outcomes are factored into medicines reimbursement decisions; and if she will outline how prevention-based savings are weighted in funding assessments. [7678/26]

1023. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Health what consideration has been given to the equity implications of high out-of-pocket costs for GLP-1 receptor agonist medicines; whether the Department has examined the risk of access being determined by ability to pay rather than clinical need; and if she will outline any measures under consideration to address this issue. [7679/26]

1110. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Health whether a person with a disability who holds a long-term illness card, and whose prescribed medications are covered under the long-term illness scheme, is entitled as part of that scheme to have those medications dispensed in clinically required blister packs to enable safe administration in a home-care setting; if this service has been funded by the State to date; when any decision was taken to withdraw or limit such funding; the policy rationale for that decision; and if she will confirm that essential medication compliance supports, including pharmacist-prepared blister packing, will continue to be covered where clinically indicated. [8227/26]

1179. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Health whether she has directed, or will direct, the National Ambulance Service to collect and publish monthly data on the number of emergency calls classified as clinical status 1 purple and red where the response time exceeds 60 minutes; if not, the reasons this data is not currently required as part of national performance oversight; and the date from which such reporting will commence. [8611/26]

1180. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Health the rationale for excluding response times exceeding 60 minutes for clinical status 1 purple and red emergency calls from the key performance indicators of the National Ambulance Service; when this policy decision was taken; and whether she considers the exclusion of extreme delays to be consistent with patient safety and international best practice in emergency care governance. [8612/26]

1181. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Health when she was first made aware that the National Ambulance Service does not collate or report data on life-threatening emergency calls where response times exceed 60 minutes; whether this issue has been raised with her Department by the HSE or the NAS; and what actions, if any, she has taken since becoming aware of this gap in oversight. [8613/26]

1182. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Health what formal escalation, intervention, or corrective measures are triggered when national or regional response time targets for clinical status 1 purple and red emergency calls are not met by the National Ambulance Service; whether any such measures were triggered during 2025; and if not, how target compliance is enforced in practice. [8614/26]

1183. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Health whether median response times for clinical status 1 purple and red emergency calls are collected by the National Ambulance Service; if so, to provide the median response times for each of the past 12 months by HSE region; and if not, the reasons median data is not used alongside averages in assessing emergency response performance. [8615/26]

1184. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Health the assessment her Department has undertaken of the persistent variation in emergency ambulance response performance between HSE regions for clinical status 1 purple and red calls; whether staffing levels, fleet availability, or geographic coverage have been identified as contributory factors; and the national actions which are being taken to address regional inequity in emergency response times. [8616/26]