I thank the Deputy. In 2016 a capital programme for older persons residential centres was developed in response to the introduction of HIQA's national residential care standards for older people and the requirement that all facilities providing long-stay beds be registered with HIQA. This is a programme to replace, upgrade and refurbish community nursing units as appropriate at 89 locations. The new 50-bed community …
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
I will address the delay, such as it is. We want to anticipate the workforce planning is there to ensure it is operational. The delay is one that is essential for HIQA.
On the Deputy's question about the plan, when a HSE-owned property has been vacated by a health service, we have to determine whether it is surplus to health requirements in the area. That involves HSE engagement with other HSE services to establish …
A scoping exercise with regard to the existing Midleton Community Hospital site is under way to identity possible future uses which align with existing service needs. My view is that we need healthcare capacity and we need to think about that in every way. There are multiple stakeholders. The Deputy's voice and view will be important in relation to that. With a rising population, we are trying to increase capacity in…
The Government commits to opening surgical hubs and assessing the business case for a surgical hub in the north west. The HSE is developing that and I have yet to receive it. The factors the HSE will take into account include the population distribution. I had a very good visit to Letterkenny hospital last week and note its funding has increased by over 54% in recent years. The staff number has increased by a quarter…
I am conscious that the Minister of State, Deputy Murnane O’Connor, has responsibility for this. I might ask her to come back to the Deputy directly on the details on this. I know she is very interested in this and has a very strong focus on consultation. I might ask her to come back to the Deputy with her ideas.
I have been told to expect that report from HIQA in May. I have no further details beyond that. We always debate matters in the Dáil, so there is no difficulty with that. I would point out two things. The Deputy is right about Limerick. It is under particular pressure. The opening of the 96-bed block is absolutely essential to alleviate that pressure. Other than that, there are sites of considerable concern that cann…
We are here today because the HIQA review has laid bare significant failures at Children’s Health Ireland, failures that I believe have put children at risk of harm. Children who deserved the very highest standards of care were failed in process, duty and responsibility. We must confront that failure openly, honestly and with a determination to make sure it does not happen again and to regain trust. Every year, hundr…
Forgive me.
My focus is on the opening of the hospital, the detail of the work of improving capacity in spinal surgeries, making sure that the posts we have funded are recruited, making sure that communications are substantially improved that people are not let down in that way, and making sure that people can have confidence.
Of course, I will come to the House at the earliest opportunity that I have received the …
They do not.
I thank Deputies for all of their contributions, both in this debate tonight and in different ways as we work together.
We are having this debate as a direct result of the HIQA report, which dealt with three cases of the incorrect insertion of non-surgical grade materials into the bodies of young children. I was asked this evening whether I had apologised to the families; it was the first line of my statement. The v…
-----or oversight that it might otherwise have. For example, of the 12 members, four are nominated by the Minister, four are nominated by the board itself and approved by the Minister and the chairperson is chosen by the members of the board. Therefore, it is a bit different. My concern is that, whatever happens 16 or 18 months from now, we have a functional governance structure that enables us to do those two most i…
This is completely wrong.
Is this deliberate?
It has not been published.
I move amendment No. 1:
To delete all words after "Dáil Éireann" and substitute the following:
"recognises that:
— Children's Health Ireland (CHI) was made aware through the protected disclosure process of a concern relating to the threshold criteria being used for surgical intervention in relation to development dysplasia of the hip (DDH) September 2023;
— the concern related to different indications for DDH sur…
I thank Deputy Cullinane. I am very happy to look at any case. Deputy Cullinane appreciates I have not formally received the report yet but I am absolutely open to any case being brought to me. I would greatly appreciate if Deputies throughout the House might do so in the earliest course.
Separately on the board of CHI, there is a statutory structure around it. I note the chairperson stepped down yesterday. I need t…
As the House is aware, the Health (Assisted Human Reproduction) Act was signed into law in July 2024. Significant amending work is necessary for that and formal drafting of that Bill, which is largely concerned with the outstanding issues of parentage and citizenship, as well as procedures undertaken abroad, is under way and is a priority area. I am hoping this will be published in June.
I would appreciate it if the Deputy would give me the details of that. We are constantly recruiting in the health service. We have another 6,250 people to recruit just this year and that is after retirements. It is very much against the grain to hear this in Dáil Éireann, considering how much we have invested and how much we continue to invest. Could the Deputy give me the details? I will be happy to look into it. I …
The commitment in the budget last year was to provide for HRT medication to be free. That has been available to be implemented since January. The Deputy is correct to say that there had not been enough dialogue with pharmacists in the context of the implementation of the scheme. I met the Irish Pharmacy Union twice - in early February and again last week - in order to try to resolve the issues relating to the scheme …
I updated the House last week to the effect that I had received the interim report. It has since been published. The report outlines the process that HIQA is going through, including in the context of the submissions that have been made and that are being collated. In the report, HIQA indicates that it will publish the final report in May. We will need to see what that is going to say.
The Deputy is correct that the programme for Government contains a commitment in respect of the establishment of six surgical hubs. We are examining a business case for an additional hub in the north west. I am going through the detail of that. It is extremely important to recognise how additive a surgical hub can be and the support it can provide to a local acute hospital to try to remove some scheduled care in orde…
As the Deputy is aware, there needs to be an amendment to that legislation. There is considerable engagement between the Department of children, the Department of Justice and my Department on it and there has been intensive work. It is on the priority list for the spring legislative programme. I expect that amending legislation to be published in June. My own target is that it will be enacted by December.
There is a…
Really?
That word.
No, you used the word "lies".