I cannot believe this.
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
Show as a table
| 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
Sure.
The €5 is the top fee that is paid under the current structure. The €6.50 is the once-off fee for contraception. I gave pharmacists the option to charge above €6.50 - €7, €8, €9 or €10, whatever they wanted - and they refused that. It is a very interesting position for the Deputy to have adopted this evening. I am trying to give every option possible to deliver for the women of Ireland, but I am hearing IPU speaking …
I thank the Deputy for his ongoing work on this.
Safeguarding adults who may be at risk of abuse is a very important objective for me, my Department and all health and social care services. A framework of standards, policies and procedures for safeguarding adults in the health and social care sector is already in place. This includes a national safeguarding office in the HSE, specialist safeguarding and protection t…
I agree with the Deputy. I also want to reflect the work of the Law Reform Commission report in this regard. I hear what the Deputy is saying with regard to policy. Of course, the policy analysis is to bring us to the legislative path, because that has to be agreed across the different Departments with regard to that. It is also important to note, though I know the Deputy is already aware, that while legislation is i…
I agree and accept that. The health (adult safeguarding) Bill is in the current legislative programme, but the policy must be considerably settled and developed on a cross-departmental basis. This is as much a question for the committees on disability and children as for the Joint Committee on Health-----
-----because the roles of the Departments are equally important in how we take this forward and they must be clearly working together on it. This would be an important piece of work for the committee and I look forward to working with it on it.
The programme for Government commits to ensuring a transgender healthcare service that is based on clinical evidence, respect, inclusiveness and compassion. A new model of care is currently under development to strengthen and standardise care, ensuring safety and best practice. My Department provided €770,000 in budget 2025 to support this. The clinical lead has been appointed, a cross speciality clinical advisory gr…
I fully hear what the Deputy is saying. His feedback is important to me, as is everyone's. I did not congratulate him on his new position as Chair of the Oireachtas Committee on Health. I look forward to working with him on this and many other issues. We have a similar approach to these issues.
It is important to recognise that demand for transgender healthcare services has increased and I acknowledge that the curre…
I agree with the Deputy and the person-centred approach is what we want to get to. Everyone is entitled to healthcare. I agree completely with him on the points he raised and I hear his important perspective on the national gender service. It is important that it be articulated here this evening and I hear him clearly on it.
I do not want to get distracted by the WHO definition, which is slightly more technical and …
I thank the Deputy for her question. It is timely, as I will visit University Hospital Galway, UHG, on Thursday as it happens.
The Deputy will be aware of proposals for further significant capital investment there. That includes additional bed capacity, a new emergency department, new paediatric and maternity facilities, a new helipad, replacement laboratories and a cancer centre at UHG. A surgical hub is under cons…
Deputy-----
I appreciate the Deputy's frustration. I appreciate that there needs to be a major plan. I also appreciate that this has to be done in a sequencing way so that the hospital can continue to function. The information I have for her is that it will be presented to the HSE board for approval at the end of this month. I cannot put it further than that.
I am attending the hospital, as I attend many hospitals, not to take …
Sure.
I know.
I appreciate that the Deputy has been raising this for many years. I appreciate the reasons for that, and I have huge respect for that. This is the approach that has been taken. From my perspective as Minister, I will be keen to see this move forward as quickly as possible with what sits within my control. I am concerned about the interaction with the infrastructure guidelines and the revision process that is ongoing…
I thank the Deputy. The Government is committed to the ongoing development of Sligo and our other regional hospitals. As he said, I am aware that there were issues with water leaks at the hospital and that in particular on 18 April, the leak led to the temporary closure of the orthopaedic theatre for eight days to allow for cleaning and air sampling to be undertaken, and I am told that additional monitoring is ongoin…
The HSE's capital plan for 2025 details the planned infrastructure investments for Sligo University Hospital. We have discussed the roof but there are also plans for a multi-service block development that will encompass a wide range of services, including a theatre department. Plans for that multi-service block are currently at detailed design stage. There has been significant investment in Sligo in recent years, inc…
I agree with the Deputy. It is my intention to do that, along with expanding surgical capacity more broadly in the north west, which we will speak about further. I agree about the need for an innovative approach. Already, some measures have been put in place in that regard. I want to see the immediate issues resolved very quickly in order that the surgeons are not dealing with them going into the autumn this year. Th…
The Government approved the preliminary business cases for Cork and Galway, and the preferred sites for the two Dublin facilities. Following a public tender competition, the HSE appointed a design team and project controls team at the end of 2024. The design team is progressing design and engagement to inform statutory planning submissions and the regulatory approvals required. I go back again to my infrastructure po…
I completely agree. It is important to note that engagement with planning authorities is under way on agreement in regard to the principle of design once, build four times. I really cannot overstate that there is no room for local variation or perspectives. This is about doing something in the most efficient way and also having the ability to move between the different elective hospitals without any difficulty whatso…
While I agree with the Deputy, local issues that come up, including site selection and other questions like that, all delay the delivery of the different hospitals. We simply need to move forward with all of them in the most efficient way.
In Cork, the HSE is progressing that enabling package in advance of the main construction, including pitch and putt relocation, site clearance and demolition work, site access, ro…
The Government is committed to the implementation of the national cancer strategy and to improving the services patients receive. Infrastructural developments are a key enabler of timely cancer detection and treatment. Since the launch of the strategy in 2017, more than €140 million has been invested in capital infrastructure. This funding has improved cancer facilities throughout the country. It has delivered the ne…
The Deputy raised a number of issues, which I will try to take in turn. On medicines, approval for reimbursement by the HSE was given for 74 cancer drugs between 2021 and 2024. The total spend on cancer drugs in that period exceeded €645 million. We have launched an application tracker and have recruited an additional 34 staff, which is a 100% increase. I expect to see that move more quickly. It is also important tha…
I agree with the Deputy. The point about diagnostics is important. It is one of the reasons it is important for me to visit different hospitals and understand the efficiency of their work. Sligo hospital, for example, has two CT machines beside each other, which allows staff to move back and forth between them and thereby increase the number of scans being conducted. Some hospitals use their CT machines between 8 a.m…