Parliamentary questions

4070. Deputy Rory Hearne asked the Minister for Health to provide an update on development of a pathway to timely orphan drug approval; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [59086/26]

4071. Deputy Rory Hearne asked the Minister for Health the steps being taken by her Department to make belzutifan available to patients with von Hippel-Lindau disease; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [59087/26]

4094. Deputy Carol Nolan asked the Minister for Health to provide an update on the status of the HSE assessment of the application for pricing and reimbursement of belzutifan (welireg) (details supplied); to outline the current stage of the application within the HSE's formal assessment and approval processes, including the engagement that has taken place with the applicant; to provide an indicati…

480. Deputy Robert O'Donoghue asked the Minister for Health if an assessment has been carried out on the impact that the cost of the shingles vaccine has on older people in receipt of the State pension; if discussions have taken place with the Department of Health regarding supports for vulnerable pensioners; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [54330/26]

481. Deputy Fionntán Ó Súilleabháin asked the Minister for Health in light of the food safety recalls issued by the Food Safety Authority of Ireland (FSAI) to date in 2026, the number of recalls issued in 2026 and in each of the previous three years, in tabular form; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [54584/26]

482. Deputy Fionntán Ó Súilleabháin asked the Minister for Health the reason for the apparent increase in food recalls from the market to date in 2026 compared with previous years; whether her Department is examining the causes of this increase and engaging with the Food Safety Authority of Ireland; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [54585/26]

483. Deputy Ryan O'Meara asked the Minister for Health the actions her Department has undertaken to examine the feasibility of expanding access to the shingles vaccine to persons over 65 years-of-age; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [54268/26]

484. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Health whether compression stockings or compression socks continue to be available to medical card holders under other HSE-funded scheme; if eligibility has changed, the date on which the change was introduced; the clinical and the financial rationale for the change; the number of patients affected; and whether she intends to restore access for eligib…

485. Deputy Michael Cahill asked the Minister for Health if she is aware that staffing shortages in the south Kerry area are impacting the availability of outreach and home support services for children with complex disabilities; whether additional resources will be provided to increase staffing capacity in the region (details supplied); and if she will make a statement on the matter. [54271/26]

486. Deputy Niamh Smyth asked the Minister for Health if she will review the case of a person (details supplied); if she will address the reduction in the night staff rate under the personal assistant budget; the legal basis for this decision given the concerns raised; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [54295/26]

487. Deputy Robert O'Donoghue asked the Minister for Health if she acknowledges that the cost of the shingles vaccine, currently estimated at approximately €450–€600 for the full course, represents a significant financial burden for many older people, particularly those reliant on the State pension; the measures being considered to improve affordability; and if she will make a statement on the mat…

488. Deputy Robert O'Donoghue asked the Minister for Health if her Department has modelled a phased rollout of a publicly funded shingles vaccination programme, beginning with those aged 75 years and older or those most at risk of serious complications; if she will provide details of any such analysis; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [54326/26]

489. Deputy Robert O'Donoghue asked the Minister for Health if she accepts that many pensioners are effectively being asked to spend the equivalent of up to two weeks of their State pension to access the recommended shingles vaccine; the measures that are being considered to reduce this financial burden; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [54327/26]

490. Deputy Louise O'Reilly asked the Minister for Health if she will request her officials to ensure that a patient (details supplied) will get access to the one-touch incontinence system from their new address; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [54341/26]

491. Deputy Louise O'Reilly asked the Minister for Health the replacement beds and/or services that will be in place following the closure of St. Joseph’s unit at St. Vincent’s, Fairview; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [54344/26]

492. Deputy Richard Boyd Barrett asked the Minister for Health if she will review the case of a person (details supplied) and expedite an appointment; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [54355/26]

493. Deputy Catherine Callaghan asked the Minister for Health for a report on the reasoning behind the delayed response time for the ambulance service in a case (details supplied); and if she will make a statement on the matter. [54356/26]

494. Deputy Michael Cahill asked the Minister for Health to provide a bed in the new Killarney community nursing unit for a Killarney resident (details supplied); and if she will make a statement on the matter. [54364/26]

495. Deputy Ciarán Ahern asked the Minister for Health the legal assurances, representations, warranties, indemnities and other legal protections that were provided, considered or relied upon prior to the signing of a contract (details supplied) for the interim electronic health system currently being implemented under accelerated timelines across the country; the persons, offices and bodies repre…

496. Deputy Paul Lawless asked the Minister for Health when a person (details supplied) will receive an appointment at University Hospital Galway. [54376/26]

497. Deputy James O'Connor asked the Minister for Health if she will consider introducing free shingles vaccinations for persons over 65 years-of-age and for persons who are immunocompromised; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [54378/26]

498. Deputy Mark Wall asked the Minister for Health her plans and the current actions she has undertaken to address the chronic shortage of healthcare assistants; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [54381/26]

499. Deputy Richard Boyd Barrett asked the Minister for Health if she will review the case of an elderly person with dementia (details supplied) including their treatment to date with a view to expediting an MRI scan in order that they can leave hospital and return home; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [54383/26]

500. Deputy Pádraig Rice asked the Minister for Health further to Parliamentary Question No. 461 of 2 July 2026, if a patient who was receiving blister packs free-of-charge prior to the Community Pharmacy Agreement 2025 changes pharmacists, if this patient is still entitled to receive this service free-of-charge (details supplied); and if she will make a statement on the matter. [54384/26]

501. Deputy Pádraig Rice asked the Minister for Health further to Parliamentary Questions Nos. 769 and 770 of 23 June 2026, if a person or body, independent of the HSE, will review the governance failures which left the former HSE CEO unaware of both incidents; the person or unit within her Department or the Department of An Taoiseach responsible for ensuring that governance concerns were answered…