Questions

631. Deputy Colm Burke asked the Minister for Health if consideration will be given to extending the special leave with pay scheme (SLWP), and that some form of long term support will be put in place for these workers, particularly given that approximately 166 employees of the HSE are affected by long-Covid since 2020 as a result of working on the frontline during the Covid-19 pandemic; and if she will make a stateme…

1216. Deputy Colm Burke asked the Minister for Health further to Parliamentary Question No. 1099 of 13 May 2025, the position regarding the status of the 732 (15%) of applications which were returned for more information or were previously approved of the 4,813 applications between December 2023 and December 2024; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [48192/25]

1217. Deputy Colm Burke asked the Minister for Health the alternative supports available to an individual diagnosed with type 2 diabetes aside from insulin tablets and injections; the likelihood of access to real-time continuous glucose monitoring devices; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [48193/25]

1218. Deputy Colm Burke asked the Minister for Health the projected growth in type 1 diabetics using CGM sensors under the community drug scheme; the estimated future monthly expenditure of this initiative; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [48194/25]

1219. Deputy Colm Burke asked the Minister for Health the number of type 2 diabetics who receive multiple daily insulin injections; the waiting list times to be considered, for this method of treatment; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [48195/25]

1294. Deputy Colm Burke asked the Minister for Health if consideration would be given to placing the drug known as Mounjaro under the HSE reimbursable items list as a treatment for obesity; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [48667/25]

1349. Deputy Colm Burke asked the Minister for Health if consideration will be given to providing an appointment to a person (details supplied) who urgently requires surgery and has received referral and an updated urgent request from their GP recently; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [49053/25]

1358. Deputy Colm Burke asked the Minister for Health if she will consider establishing a national radiotherapy equipment replacement programme featuring ring-fenced annual funding to support a planned ten-year replacement cycle (details supplied) guided by international best practice; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [49082/25]

1365. Deputy Colm Burke asked the Minister for Health if she will consider establishing a national radiotherapy equipment replacement programme featuring ring-fenced annual funding to support a planned ten-year replacement cycle (details supplied) guided by international best practice; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [49127/25]

2136. Deputy Colm Burke asked the Minister for Health if she will confirm that a product (details supplied) will be placed under the Health Service Executive reimbursable items list so that persons under this scheme can avail of a 2.4mg maximum dosage compared to another product (details supplied) where the maximum dose is 1mg and is only reimbursed for the treatment of diabetes; and if she will make a statement on t…

2187. Deputy Colm Burke asked the Minister for Health the discussions that have taken place regarding the continuing future use of Crumlin Children's Hospital and Temple Street Children's Hospital after the opening of the National Children's Hospital in 2026; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [45014/25]

2188. Deputy Colm Burke asked the Minister for Health whether consideration has been given to using Crumlin Children's Hospital as an elective surgery hospital for Dublin after the opening of the National Children’s Hospital in 2026; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [45015/25]

2189. Deputy Colm Burke asked the Minister for Health whether consideration has been given to using Temple St Children's Hospital as a step down facility following the opening of the National Children’s Hospital in 2026; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [45016/25]

2193. Deputy Colm Burke asked the Minister for Health the measures her Department plans to implement to ensure that each severe asthma clinic has a qualified advanced nurse practitioner; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [45033/25]

2194. Deputy Colm Burke asked the Minister for Health if her Department will commit to allocating funding to universally subsidise inhaled asthma medications on a phased basis; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [45034/25]

2195. Deputy Colm Burke asked the Minister for Health if consideration will be given to reimbursing the financial cost of tezepelumab for asthma patients; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [45035/25]

2196. Deputy Colm Burke asked the Minister for Health if consideration will be given to launching a public campaign to disincentivize smoking and e-cigarette use; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [45037/25]

2197. Deputy Colm Burke asked the Minister for Health if consideration will be given to increasing funding for smoking cessation services, in view of the large demand for the QUIT services currently; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [45038/25]

2198. Deputy Colm Burke asked the Minister for Health if her Department plans to establish a CORU register for physiologists; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [45039/25]

2338. Deputy Colm Burke asked the Minister for Health the timeline for when she expects to see a comprehensive roll out of a full seven-day roster across the hospital network; when she envisages waiting lists can be sufficiently addressed without the need for insourcing and outsourcing initiatives; the additional number of healthcare staff required to achieve full capacity in the health service; and if she will make …

2339. Deputy Colm Burke asked the Minister for Health if she will commission a cost-benefit analysis of a potential policy decision that moves away from procuring insourcing activity in the health service, including any additional investment required to treat the same number of public patients on waiting lists via outsourcing activity; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [45633/25]

2340. Deputy Colm Burke asked the Minister for Health the number of cancer cases that have been diagnosed via insourcing activity between 2021 and 2024; the extent to which cancer appointments have been cancelled because of recent guidance from the Health Service Executive to senior hospital management to immediately limit insourcing activity; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [45634/25]

2341. Deputy Colm Burke asked the Minister for Health when a policy decision on the future use of insourcing activity in the health service will be made; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [45635/25]

2342. Deputy Colm Burke asked the Minister for Health if she will instruct her officials and the HSE to carry out a detailed assessment of the impacts of a phasing out of insourcing activity in the health service, including for patients on hospital waiting lists; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [45636/25]

2343. Deputy Colm Burke asked the Minister for Health the steps she is taking to consult all relevant stakeholders in advance of making a policy decision on the future of insourcing activity, including hospital management, patient advocacy groups and insourcing providers; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [45637/25]