Questions

2010. Deputy Colm Burke asked the Minister for Health the cost per hour of home care provided by a home care worker directly employed by the HSE, for the full year 2025 and year to date in 2026 (details supplied); and if she will make a statement on the matter. [42333/26]

2011. Deputy Colm Burke asked the Minister for Health to outline the full set of costs occurred in providing home care through HSE Services for Older People in 2025; if each cost item is accounted for in the budget for this service line, or is a shared service attributable to other parts of the HSE budget; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [42334/26]

2012. Deputy Colm Burke asked the Minister for Health to provide a detailed breakdown of all indirect employment and service-support costs attributable to home care services in 2025, through HSE Services for Older People and other service lines, including disability and mental health, including rostering, care coordination, payroll, HR, training, supervision, audit, clinical governance and quality assurance; and if s…

2013. Deputy Colm Burke asked the Minister for Health the costs to date of the development and implementation of the integrated information and communications technology system for home support services as on page 22 of the 2026 NSP, by year of expenditure; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [42336/26]

2014. Deputy Colm Burke asked the Minister for Health the total non-pay operating costs associated with delivering home care hours across HSE Services for Older Persons, disability, mental health and other service lines (details supplied); and if she will make a statement on the matter. [42337/26]

2015. Deputy Shónagh Ní Raghallaigh asked the Minister for Health the number of WTE consultant breast surgeons posts filled at Beaumont Hospital as of 27 May 2026, in tabular form. [42340/26]

2016. Deputy Shónagh Ní Raghallaigh asked the Minister for Health the number of vacant WTE staff, by job title currently within ophthalmology services via primary care in County Kildare; the estimated timeframe for filling each of those vacancies, in tabular form. [42341/26]

2017. Deputy Shónagh Ní Raghallaigh asked the Minister for Health the number of WTE paediatric neurosurgery registrar posts filled at CHI Temple Street as of 27 May 2026, in tabular form. [42342/26]

2018. Deputy Shónagh Ní Raghallaigh asked the Minister for Health the number of WTE senior metabolic dietitian in paediatric metabolic medicine posts that are currently filled within CHI Crumlin, in tabular form. [42343/26]

2019. Deputy Louise O'Reilly asked the Minister for Health if she will outline in detail the procedure for getting local authority forms signed for medical card holders (specifically HMD1 form); if GPs are required under the GMS contract to sign these forms; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [42400/26]

2020. Deputy Louise O'Reilly asked the Minister for Health the procedures that are in place for a person who is in receipt of a medical card and who needs to get a form for social welfare or local authority signed by a GP in the circumstances where their GP practice is refusing to sign the form and where this signature is absolutely required as the persons' physician and the person with the knowledge of the patient; …

2021. Deputy Peter 'Chap' Cleere asked the Minister for Health if she will explain the policy or clinical guidelines that result in a patient being transported to the nearest hospital for treatment, even where that facility does not have the appropriate neurological services required for the patient's condition; the protocols that are in place to ensure patients with specific neurological needs are directed to suitab…

2022. Deputy Cathy Bennett asked the Minister for Health the staff turnover rate in her Department in the years 2019 to date; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [42427/26]

2023. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Health whether the HSE has now formally approved the establishment of a centralised reporting mechanism to record cases in which healthcare professionals are subject to criminal investigation for serious offences; the governance structure which will oversee that mechanism; the categories of offences to be recorded; whether all HSE-funded agencies and Section 38 and 39 b…

2024. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Health whether the HSE currently maintains any national dataset recording the number of healthcare workers who are on administrative leave, restricted duties, reassigned duties, or precautionary suspension arising from criminal investigations or allegations of serious misconduct; if so, the annual figures from 2020 to 2026 broken down by staff category and HSE region; a…

2025. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Health whether any national written guidance, circular, framework, or policy document governs the application of precautionary measures in cases where healthcare workers are subject to Garda investigation for serious offences; if so, to provide details and copies of same; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [42438/26]

2026. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Health whether the HSE has carried out any review, audit, legal assessment, or governance examination regarding consistency of decision-making across HSE regions in relation to precautionary administrative leave or reassignment decisions involving healthcare professionals under criminal investigation; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [42439/26]

2027. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Health whether the HSE records whether a healthcare professional subject to criminal investigation continues to have patient-facing duties during the course of that investigation; whether any national risk assessment framework applies in such circumstances; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [42440/26]

2028. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Health whether the HSE has identified any governance, legal, HR, or patient-safety risks arising from the absence of a centralised national reporting mechanism for healthcare professionals under criminal investigation; whether the matter has appeared on any internal risk register, audit plan, or governance review; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [42441/2…

2029. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Health whether the HSE or Department of Health has engaged with professional regulators, including the Medical Council, Nursing and Midwifery Board of Ireland, CORU, or Dental Council, regarding information-sharing arrangements where registrants are subject to criminal investigation for serious offences; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [42442/26]

2030. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Health whether any national oversight mechanism exists to monitor the consistency of precautionary measures applied by Regional Directors of People in cases involving serious allegations against healthcare staff; whether any reporting obligations apply to Regional Health Areas; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [42443/26]

2031. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Health whether the Department of Health has considered introducing statutory reporting obligations or mandatory notification requirements where healthcare workers funded by the State are subject to criminal investigation for offences involving patient safety, abuse, sexual offending, exploitation, or violence; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [42444/26]

2032. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Health whether the HSE can confirm that employees in Section 38 organisations are classified as public servants for pay purposes while employees in Section 39 organisations are not; whether any legal or policy review has been undertaken regarding disparities in pay, conditions, pension entitlement, or recruitment impact between directly employed HSE staff and Section 39…

2033. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Health whether the Department or HSE has undertaken any workforce impact assessment regarding recruitment and retention difficulties arising from pay and conditions disparities between Section 38, Section 39, and directly employed HSE disability service staff; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [42446/26]

2034. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Health whether any formal national policy objective exists to achieve parity of pay and conditions between directly employed HSE disability staff and staff employed by Section 39-funded organisations delivering equivalent publicly funded services; whether costings have been prepared; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [42447/26]