Jennifer Carroll MacNeill

I do not believe so. There is a separate portion of money to do that, so I do not believe that. I will check, but it is certainly not my understanding. I remain concerned about the number of children referred, or not referred, for international surgery. As I said earlier it is a source of deep frustration to me that those services are not being utilised. Part of the audit is an analysis of equity …

I updated the House earlier. They should be fully in sympathy. I also recognise that whoever is leading the inquiry will need to clarify the terms and make a final decision on what they need to be. I anticipate a comprehensive and transparent inquiry where the terms of reference are developed in partnership. The Government is one piece. The advocates are another piece, as is the person leading fro…

I thank the Deputy for allowing me to update the house on the new primary care centre in Graiguenamanagh, County Kilkenny. The need for that primary care centre was identified as part of the HSE’s overall primary care centre development programme. It is to be delivered via the HSE operational lease mechanism. As the Deputy is aware, the HSE has advertised for and identified a preferred developer f…

Absolutely. When it is operational, it is expected that it will have GP, dental, community nursing, occupational therapy, physiotherapy, speech and language therapy, dietetics and psychology services, as well as diabetic breathanyl screening and outreach for chronic disease help, all of which are so very important. The Deputy is right when he says that recruitment is a challenge. We have vacancies…

I thank the Deputy. Clearly, we are trying to have a network serving counties Kilkenny and Carlow, and we need the staff. The vacancies are there. We are desperately trying to recruit and make sure the complete suite of services is there for the people of the county.

As the Deputy is aware, the Sláintecare target is 12 weeks for an inpatient procedure. That is how we measure performance across the entire health sector. Some 39% of the children on the active spinal waiting list in CHI were within Sláintecare targets at the end of August 2025, which is an improvement on 28% at the end of August 2024. Additionally, only 7% were waiting over 12 months, which is co…

Yes, that is my intention. It is a partnership approach. At the end of the day, some terms of reference are going to have to be settled and it is absolutely our intention to do that in a partnership approach. The person leading it, of course, must have some knowledge of how it is going to be done and some hand in how best it can be delivered as well. That is an important perspective. It should not…

I did not make any comment on that. I said there was an audit-----

-----so please do not put words with me because I did not say anything in relation to that.

Yes, I would also like to do that, but we have to recognise that there are some children for whom it is suitable and who have had good outcomes. I answered the Deputy's question in relation to medical devices. I said I was referring a concern that I had to HIQA. In relation to the clinical lead, I said that I have commissioned an audit, which is a really important process. I do not wish to step …

I thank the Deputy. I know he has been a very strong advocate for the Gorey primary care centre, the need for which has been well identified. A tender process has been undertaken. As he is aware, a preferred provider had been selected, with a letter of intent issued in 2019. Unfortunately, that selected preferred provider encountered difficulties regarding economic viability resulting in the colla…

My immediate priority following the publication of the Thomas audit on 23 May 2025 was to ensure there was clinical follow-up and care for patients who had undergone pelvic osteotomy surgery. This is a once-off review to assess any complications that may exist and to determine the current clinical state. After this, patients then enter the recommended normal follow-up process. These multidisciplin…

We are imminently close to appointing a lead. I would have preferred to be in a position to do that today, but I am not. It is imminent, essentially. I appreciate what the Deputy said about January. It is for this group of experts to determine their process and not for me to step across that. I expect and hope it would be done within six months but, again, if independent clinical experts tell me …

Yes. We are having the third meeting today. I will meet the hip dysplasia advocacy group on Tuesday, 14 October in Leinster House. I will also make clear to all parents who may not wish to be part of an advocacy group, or be connected to that, I am here to hear from them at any stage as well. It is also important to update the House that a meeting was held with the DDH advocacy group and the HSE …

I thank the Deputy. While we have already invested in the University Hospital Galway campuses, there are significant proposals, as the Deputy is aware, for further investments there. The integrated development control plan, DCP, has been informed by population health needs and clinical demand. That has been developed and now provides a clear masterplan for the sequencing and delivery of new facili…

It is a master plan that is developed sequentially. The Deputy can see the complexity of the work that is going on there with the diversion of underground services. It is incredibly complex work. Deputy Connolly knows the site a great deal better than I do, of course, and it is an old site that requires considerable development work. The last thing I will do is place a timeline on it. I just want …

That seems perfectly reasonable and that is what I would do too. As the Deputy has saved me the background, I will save her reading out all of the trolley figures. I will highlight that unless Galway hospital, and the west and north west generally, start to routinely roster consultants on the public-only consultant contract at the weekends, they will continue to have the trolley difficulties they …

I agree with the Deputy. While in 2024, nearly 1.4 million people accessed therapy services across disciplines including physiotherapy, speech and language therapy, occupational therapy, dietetics, psychology, podiatry and all of that, in many cases waiting times are wholly unacceptable. To tackle this, the Department of Health is working closely with the HSE on a targeted, programmatic approach t…

I thank the Deputy. He might allow me to reflect on that and discuss it with my officials further. What we are trying to do to build capacity in primary care therapy services is this three-part national programme, which I will lay out for the Deputy. Workstream 1 is an analysis of regional productivity to optimise current therapy care to maximise capacity within existing resources. Frankly, there…

I thank both Deputies. There are an additional 320 new training places via the CAO in the different colleges. That is a significant expansion. I will speak to my good colleague the Minister for further and higher education, Deputy Lawless. My responsibility is, of course, in respect of the clinical training places that must go alongside the academic piece. We moved from a sort of apprenticeship mo…

I propose to take Questions Nos. 87, 97 and 101 together. I thank the Deputy. Endometriosis has been under-considered by all of us, including the Department of Health and the HSE, but a significant body of work has happened in recent months. I am pleased to say that the national framework for endometriosis is now ready for publication. I am conscious that the budget is next week and we are trying…

I thank the Deputy. Our thoughts are with Aisling as she goes through her treatment programme. On endometriosis, I want to acknowledge the many different groups that have engaged with endometriosis sufferers and the importance of all of that advocacy work. It was a step change to invite women to come into the Department when many of them feel that the Irish health system has so badly let them dow…

I am happy to update the House on the recently reached community pharmacy agreement and to take an opportunity in this House to recognise the very significant role that pharmacists play in delivering a more accessible and integrated health service across the country. Shortly after becoming Minister for Health in January, I began engaging with the Irish Pharmacy Union, IPU. It was the first repres…

Except for Belfast.

I thank the Deputy, and indeed many Deputies who have raised this issue with me. The HIQA report was published by HIQA just this lunchtime. It is a comprehensive report, 1,200 pages, looking back into the demographic issues in the area. It gives three options. The first two are loaded in terms of giving acute beds in the hospital. The third option, C, is the longer term option of a model 3 hospita…