Questions

393. Deputy Pádraig Rice asked the Minister for Health if her attention has been drawn to the discrepancy between a job specification and the actual role and renumeration (details supplied); the reason the core specifications previously published have been disregarded; her views on whether this was misleading and may have led to potential candidates not applying; if those recruited have signed permanent contracts yet…

433. Deputy Pádraig Rice asked the Minister for Health if she has investigated if public-only consultants in laboratories in other public hospitals are engaged in private work on site (details supplied); if other public laboratories have service level agreements in place with private facilities; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [54258/26]

738. Deputy Pádraig Rice asked the Minister for Health the arrangements and protocols in place for medical emergencies on offshore islands; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [52818/26]

772. Deputy Pádraig Rice asked the Minister for Health the ratio of midwifes to births in each maternity hospital and unit (details supplied), in tabular form; to identify the sites classified as large units and small units under the Birthrate Plus methodology; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [52965/26]

773. Deputy Pádraig Rice asked the Minister for Health to respond to a decision in the United Kingdom to make a rapid endometriosis test (details supplied) available on the NHS in England and Wales; if there are any plans to make this test available through the HSE; if so, the steps taken to date; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [52966/26]

902. Deputy Pádraig Rice asked the Minister for Health the status of the review of the clinical director role, commissioned by the HSE's Chief Clinical Officer in 2025; the timeline for publication; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [53602/26]

903. Deputy Pádraig Rice asked the Minister for Health to provide an update on a breach of public pay scales identified at a hospital (details supplied); the steps taken to date to ensure that the hospital complies with public pay policy; if this matter has been resolved; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [53603/26]

904. Deputy Pádraig Rice asked the Minister for Health if her attention has been drawn to an issue related to consent for children in need of therapeutic supports (details supplied); if her Department is examining this issue; the plans to address this issue within the current legal framework; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [53606/26]

909. Deputy Pádraig Rice asked the Minister for Health to provide a breakdown of the €180 million in dedicated additional funding invested in women's health since 2020; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [53655/26]

913. Deputy Pádraig Rice asked the Minister for Health further to Parliamentary Question No. 767 of 30 June 2026, the amount spent on outsourcing arrangements in University Hospital Galway to address the laboratory sample backlog in 2024, 2025 and to date in 2026; if these costs can be broken down by the spend on addressing the public samples backlog and private samples backlog under their service level agreements wi…

241. Deputy Pádraig Rice asked the Minister for Health if she has investigated whether public only consultants in the pathology lab in St. Vincent's University Hospital are engaged in private work on site; if the laboratory has any service level agreements in place with private facilities (details supplied); and if she will make a statement on the matter. [52172/26]

242. Deputy Pádraig Rice asked the Minister for Health if she will meet with a group (details supplied) regarding the structural tax issue that is limiting their ability to expand their GP model in underserved communities; to confirm if she has responded to the charity; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [52173/26]

243. Deputy Pádraig Rice asked the Minister for Health if she will review the visual representation of nappies across maternity, pregnancy and parenting resources to ensure that both reuseable and disposable are represented; to ensure reusable nappies are included as a standard option within antenatal education and parenting information; to identify the relevant HSE departments responsible for maternity publications,…

244. Deputy Pádraig Rice asked the Minister for Health if families will be entitled to know if their child's case will be included in any future statutory public inquiry into Children's Health Ireland; if orthopaedic cases outside the scoliosis and spina bifida cohorts will be considered; if, should concerns emerge from the MDT or external expert panel reviews set up following the independent audit on hip surgery thr…

861. Deputy Pádraig Rice asked the Minister for Health to provide further details regarding a review being conducted by the HSE to ensure compliance with the terms of the public only consultant contract (details supplied); the timeline for competition of this review; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [51813/26]

455. Deputy Pádraig Rice asked the Minister for Health the reason Cork University Maternity Hospital does not have a dedicated haematologist providing care for pregnant women (details supplied); if there are plans to provide a dedicated post; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [50444/26]

457. Deputy Pádraig Rice asked the Minister for Health if the independent review of the effectiveness of the regulatory and legislative framework for inspecting nursing homes has been completed and submitted to the Minister of State with responsibility for Older People (details supplied); if so, the date at which the Minister received the report; if the report will be published; and if she will make a statement on th…

458. Deputy Pádraig Rice asked the Minister for Health the plans to extend the Chronic Disease Management Programme (CDMP) to include epilepsy; the assessments under way by the HSE to add epilepsy to the CDMP; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [50454/26]

459. Deputy Pádraig Rice asked the Minister for Health the number of patients who have received appointments and the condition for which they were treated under the HSE's Chronic Disease Management Programme in 2025, and to date in 2026, in tabular form; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [50455/26]

460. Deputy Pádraig Rice asked the Minister for Health the annual cost associated with the implementation of the Chronic Disease Management Programme in 2025, and to date in 2026, in tabular form; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [50456/26]

461. Deputy Pádraig Rice asked the Minister for Health the supports available to residents in an independent living facility, given that they are no longer eligible for blister packs free-of-charge following reforms (details supplied); and if she will make a statement on the matter. [50457/26]

462. Deputy Pádraig Rice asked the Minister for Health the arrangements in place for private eye clinics in University Hospital Galway (details supplied); if these are being run exclusively by consultants on non-public only contracts; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [50458/26]

463. Deputy Pádraig Rice asked the Minister for Health the timeline for the completion and opening of a National Mother and Baby Unit for perinatal mental health care; the current status of the project; the estimated cost; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [50459/26]

464. Deputy Pádraig Rice asked the Minister for Health to provide an update on the timeline for an expansion of the free contraception scheme to all people in reproductive age; to provide any costings that have been carried out by her Department; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [50460/26]

767. Deputy Pádraig Rice asked the Minister for Health if the termination of a service level agreement will lead to the discontinuation of private work across all laboratory services in University Hospital Galway (details supplied); and if she will make a statement on the matter. [48902/26]