Parliamentary questions

611. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Health whether the Department has assessed the medico-legal and patient safety risks associated with delayed SCAN assessments where the 72-hour KPI is not achieved. [36086/26]

612. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Health whether her Department will commission national projections of overweight and obesity prevalence to 2030 and 2040 as part of the next Obesity Policy and Action Plan; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [36089/26]

613. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Health whether her Department will commission a full economic model of the annual cost of overweight and obesity to the public health service and wider economy; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [36090/26]

614. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Health whether the next Obesity Policy and Action Plan will include a national outcomes framework with standardised metrics for prevention, treatment, pharmacological interventions and bariatric surgery; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [36091/26]

615. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Health whether her Department will require the HSE to publish an annual national obesity services report covering expenditure, access, waiting times, outcomes and service capacity; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [36092/26]

616. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Health whether her Department has assessed the adequacy of the dedicated obesity-related budget line given the estimated direct healthcare cost of overweight and obesity; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [36093/26]

617. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Health the average waiting time from GP referral to first SCAN assessment for persons under 18 years of age in each Regional Health Area in 2025 and to date in 2026; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [36124/26]

618. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Health the number of referrals made to under-18 SCAN services in each Regional Health Area in 2025 and to date in 2026; the number accepted for assessment; the number redirected to emergency departments; the number referred onward to CAMHS; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [36125/26]

619. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Health whether national performance indicators or outcome measures exist for under-18 SCAN services, including response times, follow-up engagement rates, repeat presentations and onward referral outcomes; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [36126/26]

620. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Health whether her Department or HSE has undertaken any assessment of regional inequality in access to under-18 SCAN services arising from the absence of dedicated services in certain Regional Health Areas; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [36127/26]

621. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Health the number of funded under-18 SCAN posts currently vacant; the duration of each vacancy; the regions affected; and the measures being taken to accelerate recruitment into these services. [36128/26]

622. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Health whether the HSE has conducted any evaluation of the effectiveness of SCAN services in reducing emergency department presentations, repeat crisis episodes, hospital admissions or self-harm presentations among persons under 18 years of age; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [36129/26]

623. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Health the projected timeline for the operational commencement of the additional SCAN posts funded under Budget 2026 in Linn Dara, Kildare, Dublin South City, Galway, Kerry and Limerick; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [36130/26]

624. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Health whether the HSE maintains a national dataset on the number of persons under 18 years of age assessed through SCAN services who subsequently require CAMHS intervention, inpatient admission or emergency department presentation within six months; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [36131/26]

625. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Health whether the absence of SCAN services in the HSE Mid West area has been classified by her Department or the HSE as a service gap or patient-safety risk; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [36132/26]

626. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Health the reason no SCAN service posts are currently funded within the HSE Mid West area despite the national rollout of the National Clinical Programme for Self-Harm and Suicide Related Ideation [36133/26]

627. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Health whether the HSE has established a target date for full national coverage of Suicide Crisis Assessment Nurse services; and if not, the reason no implementation deadline has been set. [36134/26]

628. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Health the estimated total number of SCAN posts required to achieve full national coverage under the National Clinical Programme for Self Harm and Suicide Related Ideation. [36135/26]

629. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Health whether a workforce planning assessment has been undertaken regarding the recruitment and retention challenges affecting rollout of SCAN services nationally; and if so, if she will provide details. [36136/26]

630. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Health whether waiting times, referral numbers, service utilisation rates, or outcomes data are centrally collected for SCAN services; and if she will provide the available data by county and Regional Health Area. [36137/26]

631. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Health whether any equality-of-access assessment has been conducted regarding geographic disparities in access to Suicide Crisis Assessment Nurse services; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [36138/26]

632. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Health the number of GP referrals made to SCAN services in each county in 2024 and to date in 2026. [36139/26]

633. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Health whether the HSE has assessed the impact on emergency departments in areas where SCAN services are unavailable; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [36140/26]

634. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Health the amount allocated under Budget 2026 for expansion of SCAN services; how much of that allocation has been drawn down to date; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [36141/26]

635. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Health whether any national performance indicators were in operation for Suicide Crisis Assessment Nurse services prior to the commencement of national SCAN data collection in 2025; and if so, to provide details of such indicators and the manner in which they were monitored. [36144/26]