Questions

676. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Health whether her Department has identified any constraints in laboratory throughput, reagent supply, staffing availability, or logistics that would limit surge testing capacity during a public health emergency; and to outline any actions approved to address such constraints. [73503/25]

677. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Health whether the national Outbreak Case and Incident Management System and the National Immunisation Information System are fully operational on a national basis; the dates on which each system became operational; and whether either system has undergone stress testing to assess performance under surge conditions. [73504/25]

678. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Health whether her Department has received any reports identifying risks or limitations in HSE public health IT systems during periods of elevated demand since 2020; and to outline the actions taken in response to any such reports. [73505/25]

679. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Health whether her Department has conducted any assessment since 2020 of infectious disease screening capacity at Ireland’s designated points of entry; the findings of any such assessment; and to explain why reliance is being placed on the EU Public Health Emergency Preparedness Assessment scheduled for 2026 rather than a completed national review. [73506/25]

680. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Health whether any interim actions have been approved by her Department to strengthen infectious disease screening and public health response at ports and airports prior to the 2026 EU preparedness assessment; and to detail those actions. [73507/25]

681. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Health whether her Department holds any internal risk registers, preparedness assessments, or assurance reports relating to infectious disease surge capacity within the HSE; and if so, to outline the main risk categories identified and the mitigation measures in place. [73508/25]

682. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Health whether her Department has conducted any review since 2018 of the regulatory, quality assurance and clinical governance framework applying to health screening conducted outside the HSE, including screening arranged by employers, universities and occupational health providers, and if not, whether she intends to commission such a review. [73509/25]

683. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Health to outline which statutory bodies hold responsibility for oversight, standards setting or enforcement in respect of non HSE health screening, including any role of HIQA, the Medical Council, CORU or the HPRA, and the policy basis on which those responsibilities are assigned. [73510/25]

684. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Health to state, for each of the years 2022, 2023, and 2024, the number of compliance checks carried out by or on behalf of the HSE on non-statutory bodies in receipt of HSE funding; and to outline the categories of checks undertaken in each year. [73513/25]

685. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Health to outline, for each of the years 2022, 2023, and 2024, the number of HSE compliance reviews of non-statutory bodies that identified financial or governance non-compliance; and the actions taken in response, including enhanced monitoring, funding conditions, recovery of funds, or suspension of payments. [73514/25]

686. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Health to state whether her Department receives aggregated reports from the HSE on the results of compliance checks carried out on non-statutory bodies, including trends, recurring issues, and risk ratings; and when the most recent such report was received. [73515/25]

687. Deputy Barry Heneghan asked the Minister for Health the expected timeline for the inclusion of donor assisted fertility treatments within the publicly funded assisted human reproduction scheme; the measures being taken to ensure that same sex couples who undergo fertility treatment abroad are afforded the same legal recognition and parentage as heterosexual couples under Irish law (details supplied); and if she …

688. Deputy Barry Heneghan asked the Minister for Health whether she plans to engage with LGBTQ advocacy organisations in the development and implementation of the expanded assisted human reproduction scheme and associated legislation in order to ensure that their specific needs are adequately addressed (details supplied); and if she will make a statement on the matter. [73523/25]

689. Deputy Pádraig Rice asked the Minister for Health to list all legislative changes recommended by the future of healthcare committee in the 2027 Sláintecare report; the status of each; the progress made to date on each; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [73524/25]

690. Deputy Paul Lawless asked the Minister for Health the number of stillborn births in Ireland in each of the past ten years, in tabular form. [73526/25]

691. Deputy Paul Lawless asked the Minister for Health the number of miscarriages in Ireland in each of the past ten years, in tabular form. [73527/25]

692. Deputy Marie Sherlock asked the Minister for Health the spending by her Department on breastfeeding support between the years 2020 and 2025, and planned for 2026; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [73528/25]

693. Deputy Marie Sherlock asked the Minister for Health the number of individuals who received breastfeeding supports in 2024 per public health nurse services; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [73529/25]

694. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Health whether she accepts that neither her Department nor the HSE currently has any formal performance target requiring occupational therapy waiting times in Cork to fall below 12 weeks for adult or paediatric primary care services; and if so, the reason such a target has not been set as a matter of health policy. [73545/25]

695. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Health her views on whether a waiting time of up to 39 weeks for access to occupational therapy services in Cork are clinically acceptable and consistent with national policy on timely access to primary care; and the evidence or policy basis on which this threshold has been adopted by her Department. [73546/25]

696. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Health the additional whole-time-equivalent occupational therapy posts her Department has identified as necessary in Cork to achieve a maximum waiting time of 12 weeks in adult and paediatric primary care services; whether funding for these posts has been sought by the HSE; and the decision taken by her Department on the funding request. [73547/25]

697. Deputy Sean Fleming asked the Minister for Health the number of activities carried out under a heading in the midlands region in 2024 and to date in 2025; the number of autopsies carried out in Mullingar, Tullamore and Portlaoise; the number of histologies carried out in each of the three hospitals; the number of consultants working on these works in each of these hospitals; and if she will make a statement on t…

698. Deputy David Cullinane asked the Minister for Health the average time to admission, waiting-time distribution, and the number leaving without being seen via emergency departments, for each of the years from 2022 to date in 2025, statewide and by hospital, with separate figures for all patients and patients aged 75 and over, in tabular form.; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [73600/25]

699. Deputy David Cullinane asked the Minister for Health the number of hospital-initiated scheduled care cancellations for each of the years from 2022 to date in 2025,, by hospital and appointment/procedure type, with adult/child breakdowns, in tabular form. [73601/25]

700. Deputy David Cullinane asked the Minister for Health the number of delayed transfers of care, delayed discharges as a percentage of total discharges, and bed days lost as a percentage of total bed days, for each of the years from 2022 to date in 2025, by hospital, in tabular form. [73602/25]