Questions

1827. Deputy Emer Currie asked the Minister for Health the total number of people on ophthalmology waiting lists as of September 2025, by county; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [58746/25]

1828. Deputy Emer Currie asked the Minister for Health the total number of people on ophthalmology waiting lists as of September 2025; and the number awaiting appointments for medical retina, diabetic eye disease, cataracts, paediatric ophthalmology, glaucoma, cornea and refractive surgery, by county for each. [58747/25]

1829. Deputy Emer Currie asked the Minister for Health if there is a defined timeline and specific areas of expansion planned for the new diagnostic services in hospitals, as referenced in Budget 2026. [58750/25]

1830. Deputy Emer Currie asked the Minister for Health the proportion of her Department's €27.4 billion allocation which will be directed towards the diagnostics expansion initiative. [58751/25]

1831. Deputy Marie Sherlock asked the Minister for Health if Members of Dáil Éireann will be informed as to when the letter of determination will be sent to the HSE and if it will be circulated to Members; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [58753/25]

1832. Deputy Barry Heneghan asked the Minister for Health if she will review the current HSE policy that prevents carers from administering PEG (gastrostomy) feeds to children with disabilities, even where families have trained carers who are competent to safely carry out this routine task; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [58772/25]

1833. Deputy Barry Heneghan asked the Minister for Health if she will clarify the way in which families are expected to utilise allocated homecare hours when no HSE-approved provider can supply staff qualified to perform PEG feeding; the steps she will take to ensure that home support and respite services for such families are practical and meaningful; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [58773/25]

1834. Deputy Cathal Crowe asked the Minister for Health when a person (details supplied) in County Clare will receive urgent dental treatment. [58775/25]

1835. Deputy Barry Heneghan asked the Minister for Health if she will establish a ring-fenced fund of €600,000 to support home care packages for people living with more severe forms of epidermolysis bullosa, to ensure access to secure, flexible, and coordinated care that adapts to their complex and changing needs; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [58784/25]

1836. Deputy Barry Heneghan asked the Minister for Health if she will provide annual funding of €20,000 to enable access to complex care coordination in regional centres for individuals living with severe forms of epidermolysis bullosa, ensuring a central point of contact to coordinate multidisciplinary care and reduce the administrative burden currently placed on patients and families; and if she will make a stateme…

1837. Deputy Barry Heneghan asked the Minister for Health if she will increase funding for psychological support for people living with epidermolysis bullosa (EB) by €30,000 per annum, to expand the clinical psychologist post at St. James’s Hospital from 0.25 to 0.5 WTE, thereby providing dedicated EB-specific psychological care integrated into the dermatology multidisciplinary team; and if she will make a statement …

1838. Deputy Barry Heneghan asked the Minister for Health if she will provide annual funding of €45,000 to extend the existing epidermolysis bullosa outreach nurse service to adults in the community, to ensure integrated continuity of care across acute and community settings, reduce hospitalisations, and improve quality of life for those living with epidermolysis bullosa; and if she will make a statement on the matte…

1839. Deputy Naoise Ó Cearúil asked the Minister for Health her views on the concerns raised by practitioners regarding the recent publication of the Standards and Criteria for Counsellors and Psychotherapists by CORU; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [58789/25]

1840. Deputy Cormac Devlin asked the Minister for Health the number and proportion of students in eligible schools immunisation cohort who received dose 1; completed the HPV vaccination course in each of the academic years 2019-2020 to 2024-2025; the figures in by sex (male/female), county, and CHO, including denominators used for coverage calculations, in tabular form; and if she will make a statement on the matter.…

1841. Deputy Cormac Devlin asked the Minister for Health the estimated number and proportion of the eligible school cohort with no HPV vaccination recorded in each of the academic years 2019-2020 to 2024-2025; the reasons recorded for non-vaccination (no consent, absent on day, contraindication, deferred, other); the actions being taken to reduce the non-vaccinated proportion in 2025-2026; and if she will make a stat…

1842. Deputy Cormac Devlin asked the Minister for Health the number of catch-up HPV vaccinations administered outside the school programme since 1 January 2019 by age band (15-19, 20-26, 27-45 years), sex, CHO, and provider setting (GP, pharmacy, HSE clinic); the number completing full schedules; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [58796/25]

1843. Deputy Cormac Devlin asked the Minister for Health the most recent mid-year uptake snapshot for the 2025-2026 school cohort, to include first-dose uptake and scheduled completion rate by sex and county; the communications and outreach measures funded in 2025-2026 to improve uptake, including targeted engagement with boys/young men, DEIS schools, migrant communities and medically vulnerable groups; and if she wi…

1844. Deputy Cormac Devlin asked the Minister for Health the annual number and age-standardised incidence of HPV-attributable cancers in Ireland over the past ten years, by site (cervix, oropharynx, anus, penis, vulva, vagina) and sex, with the proportion HPV-16 positive where available; the source methodology (e.g. NCRI linkage, p16/HPV genotyping); and if she will make a statement on the matter. [58798/25]

1845. Deputy Cormac Devlin asked the Minister for Health the distribution of stage at diagnosis and median age at diagnosis for HPV-16-positive oropharyngeal and anal cancers over the most recent five years; the median time from first presentation to diagnosis; and the actions being taken to shorten diagnostic intervals in primary care, dental services, and ENT pathways; and if she will make a statement on the matter…

1846. Deputy Cormac Devlin asked the Minister for Health the current laboratory testing policy for head-and-neck, anal and cervical cancers regarding p16 immunohistochemistry, HPV DNA genotyping, and where available E6/E7 mRNA assays; the proportion of relevant tumours tested for HPV status each year; the steps being taken to standardise national reporting to the NCRI; and if she will make a statement on the matter. …

1847. Deputy Michael Cahill asked the Minister for Health to provide an update on the provision of an ambulance base in Killorglin, County Kerry (details supplied); and if she will make a statement on the matter. [58801/25]

1848. Deputy Micheál Carrigy asked the Minister for Health if she will address the ongoing shortage of salbutamol nebuliser solution in community pharmacies; the actions being taken by the HSE, the Medicines Management Programme and the HPRA to stabilise supply; the expected timeframe for restoration of normal availability; the clinical guidance being issued to prescribers and pharmacists regarding safe alternatives …

1849. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Health further to Parliamentary Question No. 845, of 30 September 2025, to provide a breakdown of the gender affirmation surgeries funded abroad by category (male-to-female, female-to-male, non-binary, or other); and to indicate the number of individuals in each category who have received funding in the past five years. [58815/25]

1850. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Health further to Parliamentary Question No. 845 of 30 September 2025, to confirm the age range of individuals who have received HSE funding for gender affirmation surgery abroad, including the number of individuals under 18, between 18–25, and over 25 years of age. [58816/25]

1851. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Health further to Parliamentary Question No. 845 of 30 September 2025, the process through which individuals are assessed and approved for HSE funding for gender affirmation surgery abroad, including which specialists or multidisciplinary teams are involved and whether the HSE independently diagnoses gender dysphoria or relies on external assessments. [58817/25]