The GP chronic disease management programme commenced in 2020 and has been rolled out on a phased basis over four years to adults with either a medical card or, for GMS patients, a GP visit card. The aim of the programme is to prevent and manage chronic diseases. Since 2020, over 680,000 patients have been registered on the programme, including those who have exited the programme. Some 91% of patients now receive rou…
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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| Month | Contributions |
|---|---|
| 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 |
| September 2025 | 7 |
| October 2025 | 59 |
| November 2025 | 56 |
| December 2025 | 11 |
| January 2026 | 57 |
| February 2026 | 9 |
| March 2026 | 51 |
| April 2026 | 45 |
| May 2026 | 11 |
| June 2026 | 14 |
| 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
That is right. It impacts early detection as well. As populations age - which ours is doing - the prevalence of chronic conditions, including multimorbidity, rises. Early protection through the chronic disease management programme prevents the need for more intensive hospital-based treatments. Since 2020, 51% of the new chronic disease diagnoses have been made through elements of this programme. It is not just treati…
I can update the Deputy on the orthodontic waiting lists. As of April 2025, the HSE employs 14 consultant orthodontists and 36 specialist orthodontists nationally. There are almost 35 oral healthcare vacancies at the moment which the HSE is working to fill, including three specialist orthodontist whole-time equivalents, and a further 2.22 dental nurse whole-time equivalents. There are staffing challenges within ortho…
I totally recognise that and I commit today to writing to the Deputy with a full answer on these points. However, as regards the waiting list initiative, there is €8.4 million for this year, provided on an ongoing basis this year to address the primary care waiting lists for children, including in orthodontics. The funding is ongoing rather than one-off and is provided to try to reduce the waiting lists and address i…
General practice plays a vital role in our health service but we need more GPs to improve access to services in some areas. To meet that need, the programme for Government has committed to increasing the number of practising GPs through a combination of increased training places and international recruitment. In part, to attract doctors to practice as GPs here, the Government has significantly increased expenditure o…
What we are talking about is the continued need to expand GP services, as we have pushed more and more services into the community and that is where we want services, such as the chronic disease management programme we discussed, to be delivered. It is the case that the number of GPs is increasing, albeit at different rates in different regions, but we have a particular challenge in rural Ireland. That is one of the …
I agree on the delivery of primary care centres. It is difficult for me to speak in general terms about GPs or other medical staff leaving because there will always be a case of someone who has done that. It is not the general trend of what we are seeing. There is clearly work here. There is the opportunity to set up a business and work in one's own practice. There is the opportunity to work in HSE primary care centr…
The Government is fully committed to the ongoing development of regional hospitals, including Cavan and Monaghan which operate as a single hospital entity, with integrated managerial and clinical governance systems, care pathways and support functions. Since July 2020, significant resources have been invested to meet the needs of patients using Cavan and Monaghan hospitals. The total budget for Cavan Monaghan General…
Waiting times at Cavan Monaghan are improving a lot. Some 35% of outpatient appointments occurred within Sláintecare wait times compared with 25% in the same period last year, which is an improvement that needs to continue. Some 58% of inpatient day cases occur within the Sláintecare wait times, as do 95% of GI scopes, which is an improvement on 87% last year, and 94% to 100% of those waiting for outpatient, inpatien…
I am sure the Deputy has discussed this in detail with the management group already. I wonder what response he got directly.
As I said, staffing at-----
Deputy Carthy is the local representative in Monaghan so I assume he has discussed this in detail with hospital management.
If the Deputy would like me to answer, I will do so.
The reality is that staffing has increased in Cavan Monaghan General Hospital by 26% but the increase in Monaghan has been 70%, so Monaghan is not being left behind. I look forward to going there and discussing all these issues, including the business cases submitted or not submitted by Monaghan hospital, as I am sure the Deputy already has.
I thank the Deputy. I am a huge advocate for the reform and expansion of pharmacy services and the Government is committed to ensuring people can access as much care as possible in the community including in pharmacy, which will play a very large and expanded role in this.
The report of the expert task force to support the expansion of the role of pharmacy was published in August 2024. Its findings provide a framewo…
I am sorry.
The first and most important thing is to take the steps forward to get this going. There was an inertia on that, if I may say, until recently. It has now been progressed and there are detailed negotiations to take the necessary steps forward. I would like to see this in place and operational and then be able to expand it appropriately. I have already said, I think, that the list of common conditions should be expande…
I agree completely with the Deputy, and I thank her for that. While I do not have an update for her today - it was yesterday we discussed it - I have instructed my officials to see what can be done, and I will revert to her on it.
I have to say Deputy Moynihan has got me. I do not know, and I am going to have to find out. I can tell him about estradot patches and so many different things but I cannot tell him about …
On 19 June, CHI advised the Joint Committee on Health that neither Temple Street nor Crumlin hospitals accepted the Dickson report when it was completed in 2017. My Department received a copy of the report on Friday, 20 June and my officials are reviewing it. I will be seeking assurance from CHI that the matters raised in the report have been addressed.
In light of concerns raised in relation to corporate and clinic…
I could say about the summary that it is CHI's view that this is the best it can do, recognising some of the HR and legal constraints. I want to see the report published in the broader public interest but it is not necessarily the case that in every instance it should be published. In particular, I am concerned that this was a HR report where people who might be constituents of the Deputy, and for whom he might take …
I very much respect the Deputy's perspective on that and on the culture piece. I had a good meeting with the new CEO, Lucy Nugent, where I was very clear and reiterated that this is a new CHI for the future with a new executive management team, a new approach and a new culture. She needs that team around her to be able to implement that new culture. She is coming from Tallaght, where there has been good success and w…
What a statement.
Hear, hear.
That is not true
What?
I thank the Deputy for raising this matter. The area of dental services is a particular concern of mine. We are trying to expand the number of training places for more dentists. We also have a difficulty in the number of dentists offering services on the public side, which is impacting. We are trying to find a range of different innovative ways to get dental services to schools more easily and to make it easier for s…
I am happy to meet with the group. This is something that I have worked with Epilepsy Ireland on in the past. I am familiar with the issues. I will very happily meet the group.