Ken O'Flynn

1007. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Health if her Department will establish a single national reporting structure for all gender-related referrals of minors, including approvals, outcomes and costs, to ensure transparent governance and accountability; and to provide the expected timeline. [71980/25]

1008. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Health the reason her Department issued no updated circulars, guidance or interpretative instructions for the assessment of discretionary medical card applications for people aged over 70 since 2020, despite sustained medical inflation and rising household costs; and to outline the process used by the Department to ensure fairness and consistency during this period. [71981/25]

1009. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Health if her Department conducted any equality, vulnerability or impact assessment on the treatment of discretionary medical card applications for people aged over 70 during 2020 to 2025; and if not, to state the reason such assessments were not carried out. [71982/25]

1010. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Health the work, governance structure, timelines and outputs of the Programme of Work Underway within her Department examining the medical card eligibility framework; and to specify whether this work includes an assessment of approval trends for discretionary medical cards for people aged over 70. [71983/25]

1011. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Health if her Department holds trend analysis or internal reports on discretionary medical card approvals, refusals and approval rates for people aged over 70 since 2020; and to provide a summary of any findings. [71984/25]

1012. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Health the Department’s policy position on the role of medical inflation, rising living costs and increased clinical need in assessing hardship for people aged over 70 who exceed the income threshold; and to confirm whether the Department plans revisions to hardship interpretation or supporting documentation requirements. [71985/25]

1056. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Health the number of applications for a full medical card from persons aged 70 years and over that were refused in each of the years 2020 to 2025, and the income thresholds applied in each year that formed the basis for refusal. [72240/25]

1057. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Health the median and upper-quartile income of applicants aged 70 years and over who were refused a Medical Card in each of the years 2020 to 2025, and the proportion whose means exceeded the threshold by fifty euro per week or less. [72241/25]

1058. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Health if her Department has undertaken any review since 2020 of the adequacy of the medical card income thresholds for persons aged 70 years and over in light of cumulative inflation and rising living costs; and the findings of any such review. [72242/25]

1059. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Health if her Department has assessed whether the continued rise in GP Visit Cards issued automatically to applicants aged 70 years and over indicates unmet need for full medical card coverage within this population; and the actions taken in response at policy level. [72243/25]

1060. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Health if her Department has reviewed the administrative process required of persons aged 70 years and over when applying for a medical card, and whether any reforms are planned to streamline or reduce the documentation burden for older applicants. [72244/25]

1061. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Health the current number of whole-time equivalent vacancies for social workers, social care workers and dietitians in the HSE South/South-West region; the average duration of these vacancies; and the projected contribution of apprenticeship schemes to reducing these vacancies in 2025 and 2026. [72250/25]

1062. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Health the cost per apprentice for social work, social care work and dietetics; the budget provided to support these apprenticeships in 2025 and 2026; and the assessment used to determine whether current intake levels are sufficient to meet workforce needs. [72251/25]

1063. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Health if her Department has set performance indicators or workforce targets for apprenticeships within the South/South-West region; and if so, the targets and the reporting schedule for monitoring progress. [72252/25]

1064. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Health if an evaluation has been carried out on the effectiveness of apprenticeships in retaining qualified staff in the region; and to provide the findings of any such evaluation. [72253/25]

1065. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Health the timeline for approval of the proposed social care worker apprenticeship; the planned intake numbers once approved; and how this aligns with projected shortages in disability services in the South/South-West. [72254/25]

1083. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Health the national datasets her Department is required to hold for governance, planning and oversight of all services funded under the Health Vote; to identify the datasets that are not currently in place; and to set out the timeline to establish full national data coverage across the system. [72291/25]

1084. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Health the governance framework used by her Department to obtain assurance that the HSE and all section 38 and 39 providers comply with national standards on governance, audit and risk; the date of the last full assurance review; and the actions her Department takes when risks are escalated. [72292/25]

1085. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Health the national KPIs approved by her Department for monitoring recruitment activity, vacancy levels, clearance timelines and delivery of development posts; and the date on which full KPI reporting will be operational across all HSE regions. [72293/25]

1086. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Health the controls her Department uses to oversee the €23 billion staffing and pay envelope in the absence of granular national vacancy and pay data; and the measures she intends to introduce to strengthen national visibility and performance monitoring. [72294/25]

1087. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Health the governance structure approved by her Department for oversight of delayed transfers of care linked to housing or home support gaps; the reporting duties placed on the HSE; and the dates and findings of the most recent Departmental reviews. [72295/25]

1088. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Health the reason her Department has not produced a national financial impact assessment of delayed transfers of care arising from housing shortages; and the date by which she will introduce regular cost reporting for this cohort. [72296/25]

1089. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Health the governance and policy framework approved by her Department for gender identity services for children and young people; the date of the most recent review; and the steps being taken to ensure full compliance with national safeguarding and clinical governance standards. [72297/25]

1090. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Health the national datasets her Department requires for planning and oversight of gender identity services for minors, including referral numbers and diagnostic profiles; the datasets that are not yet in place; and the timeline for establishing a national dataset that meets evidence-based standards. [72298/25]

1091. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Health her Department’s policy on evaluating international clinical guidance before alignment with national frameworks; the assessments carried out on WPATH Standards between 2018 and 2023; and the timeline for completing a formal review of these standards in light of the Cass Review. [72299/25]