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 representative body I met,…
TDs / Jennifer Carroll MacNeill
Jennifer Carroll MacNeill
Minister for Health
Portrait: © Houses of the Oireachtas (Oireachtas (Open Data) PSI Licence) · source file
0
questions asked
Members of the Government answer questions rather than ask them
182,871
words spoken in the chamber
179,569 as a minister, 3,302 as a TD
355
votes recorded
Each Yes, No or Abstained in a recorded vote
From the Dáil chamber only: committee meetings are not in this archive.
Members of the Government answer parliamentary questions rather than ask them, so this page lists none of theirs.
Month by month
Low months are usually recesses, when the Dáil does not sit. The archive runs to 22 October 2026.
Contributions to debates 710 in all
Dec 2024Oct 2026
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|---|---|
| December 2024 | 0 |
| January 2025 | 0 |
| February 2025 | 19 |
| March 2025 | 40 |
| April 2025 | 20 |
| May 2025 | 52 |
| June 2025 | 52 |
| July 2025 | 44 |
| August 2025 | 0 |
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| April 2026 | 45 |
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| July 2026 | 60 |
| August 2026 | 0 |
| September 2026 | 12 |
| October 2026 | 91 |
Debates they spoke in most
Plus 567 contributions in the regular slots, such as Leaders' Questions and Priority Questions. Speech from the chair is not counted.
Party, constituency and offices
- constituency Dún Laoghaire 29 November 2024 to now
- party Fine Gael 29 November 2024 to now
- office Minister for Health 23 January 2025 to now
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 hospital. HIQA itself prior…
The Deputy will be aware that I updated the House in May that HIQA had looked for an extension of that timeline, and intended to finalise the report in September. I can confirm to the Deputy that I have not received it from HIQA yet. It is the intention of the Government to examine the recommendations of HIQA and take them extremely seriously. I have not seen it and have not received the report yet.
I thank the Deputy. Yes, he wrote to me on this issue and we wrote back. A number of months ago, the Deputy sought confirmation that this was going to revert to a community nursing unit. Obviously, we are discussing that is now happening. There are a number of administrative arrangements that need to take place. Let me not comment on Bartra Healthcare and the transfer of undertakings, but what I can say is that there…
I am grateful to the Deputy for raising this matter. I will discuss it with the chief medical officer. Perhaps, the Deputy will share with me some of the correspondence that he referenced. We are very keen to ban all the inhalation products that we know are bad for people. We are trying to get ahead of that, never mind catching up with it. I would very much welcome a conversation with the Deputy and we will see what …
How? Let us discuss Mayo University Hospital. The first thing is in relation to staffing. Mayo hospital has had a 30% increase over the past five years. When I saw some of these figures I did an analysis of a sample of nine model 3 hospitals. Mayo hospital has the second highest rate of staffing of those model 3 hospitals. The difficulty with Mayo hospital is not the level of staffing. I have also included a maternit…
Before I begin speaking on the national human rights strategy for disabled people, I want to take an opportunity to reflect on the far-too-short life of Harvey Morrison Sherratt and to extend my sincere sympathies in the Dáil to his family, Gillian, Stephen, Lyla and Remy, and his extended family. The pain felt by those around Harvey can never be eased. What we can do now and are determined to do is to drive change, …
It makes no sense.
We are very keen for them to work here. There are three aspects to that. The Nursing and Midwifery Board of Ireland, NMBI, has done good work on improving its registration times and I am confident about that side of things. CORU, for the health and social care professionals more generally, has made very significant progress, although the Taoiseach and I are discussing how we can bring that further in respect of physi…
I move: "That the Bill be now read a Second Time."
I am pleased to introduce the Health (Amendment) Bill 2025, by means of which it is intended to enhance the oversight and accountability of the Health Service Executive to both the Minister for Health and the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality. The Bill addresses a number of goals arising from the Sláintecare implementation plan, which highlighted the ne…
We can do that. I might speak to the Deputy about that matter again.
Section 19 details the obligations of the Minister for Health, the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality, Deputy Foley, and the HSE in relation to the performance delivery plan, which will replace the service plan. The section also outlines the requirements for the preparation, timeline for submission and content and approval of the plan.
…
I will reflect on it.
I will certainly give a copy to the Clerk. I made available copies of prepared notes last night which I expressly said I would not depend on, but they were quoted back to me. I need to reflect on how I provide information. This is a technical Bill. That is one thing. I can certainly do that. At the same time, however, this is a matter arising from what happened last night. We can manage it separately.
As long as that is done accurately.
That is a different matter, and it is the matter at hand.
There is no need. I am not required to do so.
I agree.
It is both.
We should have it.
There is a 32% increase in Mayo.
There is a 32% increase.
You are right.
It is not on my desk.
Deputy Healy-Rae has helpfully set out the difficulty with regard to hospital beds. Let us take Kerry hospital as an example. In the context of staff numbers, in the past five years, Kerry hospital has had an increase in staff of 43%. It has had a budgetary increase of 67% in the past five years also. To provide the breakdown of that staffing increase, Kerry hospital has had a 52% increase in medical staff; a 44% inc…