Questions

551. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality the number of occasions since 1 January 2020 on which substantiated governance or safeguarding failures in publicly funded early years services have been escalated to her Department at senior official level; the categories of concern involved; and whether any resulted in policy review, regulatory amendment, contractual revision, or fundi…

552. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality to set out the formal governance interface between her Department and Tusla in respect of oversight of early years services, including whether a structured compliance reporting template exists, whether trend analysis is conducted centrally, and whether aggregated safeguarding data informs policy development or funding decisions. [14832/2…

553. Deputy Fionntán Ó Súilleabháin asked the Minister for Health if funding will be made available via the mental health capital plan for a specific mental health crisis unit for County Wexford; if so, if she can outline a timeline for same; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [13564/26]

554. Deputy Michael Fitzmaurice asked the Minister for Health the measures in place to inform the public if a product for human consumption is found to contain a cancer-causing substance, or any other human health issue; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [13668/26]

555. Deputy Fionntán Ó Súilleabháin asked the Minister for Health the length of time the CAHMS vacancy for a psychologist for Gorey, County Wexford has been vacant for; the reason this position has not yet been filled; the amount of patients currently waiting to be seen by a member of CAHMS in the vicinity, including a breakdown per year of how long they have been waiting to receive care; and if she will make a state…

556. Deputy Fionntán Ó Súilleabháin asked the Minister for Health the length of time the CAHMS vacancy for an occupational therapist for County Wexford has been vacant for; the reason this position has not yet been filled; the amount of patients currently waiting to be seen by a member of CAHMS in the vicinity, including a breakdown per year of the length of time they have been waiting to receive care; and if she wil…

557. Deputy Fionntán Ó Súilleabháin asked the Minister for Health the length of time the CAHMS vacancy for an assistant psychologist for County Wicklow has been vacant for; the reason this position has not yet been filled; the amount of patients currently waiting to be seen by a member of CAHMS in the vicinity, including a breakdown per year of the length of time they have been waiting to receive care; and if she wil…

558. Deputy Fionntán Ó Súilleabháin asked the Minister for Health the number of vacancies there currently are for CAHMS County Wicklow and County Wexford; the length these roles have been vacant for; the reason this position has not yet been filled; the amount of patients currently waiting to be seen by a member of CAHMS in the vicinity, including a breakdown per year of the length of time they have been waiting to r…

559. Deputy Fionntán Ó Súilleabháin asked the Minister for Health if plans have been completed and funded to develop a liaison service for CAHMS across the south east, as stated in the service plan for 2025; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [13427/26]

560. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Health whether the Primary Care Reimbursement Service holds reimbursement claims data for salbutamol nebules dispensed under the general medical services scheme from 1 January 2025 to date; and if so, to provide the total number of claims and the monthly breakdown [13447/26]

561. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Health whether the Primary Care Reimbursement Service holds reimbursement claims data for alternative nebulised bronchodilator products dispensed under the general medical services scheme from 1 January 2025 to date; and if so, to provide the total number of claims and the monthly breakdown, including identification of the relevant product categories [13448/26]

562. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Health whether her Department or the HSE conducted any national analysis of prescribing substitution patterns arising from reported shortages of salbutamol nebules since 1 January 2025; and if so, to provide details of the methodology used and any conclusions reached [13449/26]

563. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Health the national monitoring framework which is in place within her Department or the HSE to assess the patient impact of essential medicine shortages under the general medical services scheme; and whether this framework includes tracking of clinical substitution, cost impact, or regional variation [13450/26]

564. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Health whether any additional expenditure has arisen under the general medical services scheme as a result of prescribing alternative products due to salbutamol nebule shortages since 1 January 2025; and if so, to provide the estimated amount and the basis of calculation [13451/26]

565. Deputy Colm Burke asked the Minister for Health to provide an update on a new cardiovascular strategy; the expected timeline for its publication; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [13452/26]

566. Deputy Colm Burke asked the Minister for Health whether a new national cardiovascular strategy will be produced; if it will include nationwide screening and early detection of structural heart disease, cardiovascular disease and cardiovascular risk assessment programmes; how Ireland will align with OECD and EU recommendations (details supplied); if dedicated resources will be allocated to prevention and early de…

567. Deputy Niamh Smyth asked the Minister for Health if she will urgently review the case of a person (details supplied) in relation to their personal assistant budget, where an increase was verbally agreed by the HSE but has not been reflected in recent payments; the reason the agreed hourly rate increase has not been implemented; the steps being taken rectify the matter as a matter of urgency; and if she will make…

568. Deputy Joe Cooney asked the Minister for Health to provide the weekly urgent and emergency care reports for each ED from 1 January 2026 to-date; the reason these reports are not available publicly on the HSE website as was previously the case; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [13477/26]

569. Deputy Sorca Clarke asked the Minister for Health the steps she is taking to immediately address the ongoing failures at the Central Mental Hospital, where patients continue to experience unacceptable conditions including heating system malfunctions and service deficiencies; to provide a clear timeline by which all necessary repairs and operational improvements will be completed; and if she will make a statement…

570. Deputy Conor Sheehan asked the Minister for Health the rates of non-attendance for bowel screening appointments for 2023, 2024 and 2025, broken down by individual hospital; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [13491/26]

571. Deputy James Geoghegan asked the Minister for Health if she will outline each section of enacted legislation where the responsibility lies with the Minister to commence that section, which has not been commenced; if she will outline each section of enacted legislation that provides for the making of regulations by the Minister which has not been made by the Minister; if she will outline all sections of enacted l…

572. Deputy John Connolly asked the Minister for Health for the average ambulance response time in County Galway; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [13531/26]

573. Deputy John Connolly asked the Minister for Health the number of ambulance bases in Galway; the location of each; the permanent number of ambulances assigned to each base; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [13532/26]

574. Deputy John Connolly asked the Minister for Health the number of full time paramedic staff with the ambulances service in County Galway; the number of staff permanently located at each ambulance base within Galway; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [13533/26]

575. Deputy John Connolly asked the Minister for Health the number of requests for ambulance service that were not facilitated on 6 February 2026; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [13534/26]