Parliamentary questions

997. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Health how many agency staff have been converted to permanent HSE contracts under the July 2025 agency conversion framework, broken down by staff category and location; the estimated savings achieved to date from these conversions; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [32536/26]

998. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Health whether the HSE has set annual or monthly targets for reducing agency staffing expenditure; if so, to provide those targets for 2024, 2025 and 2026 and the actual outturn against those targets; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [32537/26]

999. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Health the average hourly cost of agency staff compared to directly employed staff across key grades within the HSE; and the estimated additional cost incurred through agency staffing in 2024, 2025 and to date in 2026; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [32538/26]

1000. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Health the extent to which agency staffing expenditure is linked to delivery under the Waiting List Action Plan; and whether any analysis has been carried out on the cost-effectiveness of agency staffing in reducing waiting times; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [32539/26]

1001. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Health to provide a breakdown of agency staffing expenditure in the HSE by staff grade and category, including consultants, non-consultant hospital doctors, nurses, healthcare assistants, health and social care professionals, administrative staff and support staff, for 2024, 2025 and to date in 2026, broken down by month and HSE Health Region; and if…

1002. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Health how many agency staff have been converted to permanent HSE employment under the July 2025 agency conversion framework, broken down by staff grade, HSE Health Region and month; the estimated savings achieved to date; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [32541/26]

1003. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Health whether the HSE has set monthly or annual targets for reducing agency staffing expenditure in 2025 and 2026; the target and actual expenditure for each month; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [32542/26]

1004. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Health the average hourly cost to the HSE of agency staff compared with directly employed staff across the main staff categories; the estimated additional cost arising from agency staffing in 2024, 2025 and to date in 2026; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [32543/26]

1005. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Health whether the Department or HSE has carried out any audit, review or evaluation of the July 2025 agency conversion framework; if so, to provide the findings; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [32544/26]

1006. Deputy Seán Ó Fearghaíl asked the Minister for Health if she will address concerns regarding access to primary care services (details supplied); and if she will make a statement on the matter. [32547/26]

1007. Deputy Pádraig Rice asked the Minister for Health further to Parliamentary Question No. 486 of 19 March 2026, the engagements she has had with the Pre-Hospital Emergency Care Council (PHECC) since March regarding the regulatory framework; if she intends to address the shortcomings identified; if she has been provided with a copy of the PHECC’s internal discussion document; and if she will ma…

1008. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Health to provide a copy of any formal written policy, guideline or standard operating procedure governing eligibility decisions under the Treatment Abroad Scheme; and if none exists, to confirm this. [32561/26]

1009. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Health who holds ultimate decision-making authority for approving funding under the Treatment Abroad Scheme, including whether this rests with individual consultants, HSE management, or a defined approval panel. [32562/26]

1010. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Health whether any national clinical criteria, thresholds, or evidentiary standards are formally defined for determining what constitutes a “proven treatment” under the Treatment Abroad Scheme. [32563/26]

1011. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Health whether the Department or HSE has conducted any audit or review of approval decisions under the Treatment Abroad Scheme since 2020; if so, to provide dates and findings. [32564/26]

1012. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Health whether decisions under the treatment abroad scheme are subject to any centralised review, appeal mechanism, or consistency check across cases. [32565/26]

1013. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Health whether any cost ceilings, budget controls, or value-for-money assessments are applied to approvals under the Treatment Abroad Scheme. [32566/26]

1014. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Health whether her Department has considered developing a national policy definition or classification framework for surgical procedures by clinical priority, medical necessity, quality-of-life impact, and elective status; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [32577/26]

1015. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Health whether she accepts the HSE position that there is currently no agreed or standardised definition of a procedure that is not medically necessary; whether her Department intends to address this policy gap; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [32578/26]

1016. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Health whether the Department has issued any guidance to the HSE on how theatre capacity should be prioritised where demand exceeds available capacity; and if she will publish any such guidance. [32579/26]

1017. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Health whether public hospitals are required to record the clinical priority category attached to surgical procedures when theatre time is allocated; and if not, whether her Department intends to require such data collection.; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [32580/26]

1018. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Health whether the Department has assessed the feasibility of introducing structured data fields within hospital systems to record the clinical rationale and priority category for surgical procedures; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [32581/26]

1019. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Health whether her Department receives any regular reporting from the HSE on the allocation of theatre capacity by specialty, urgency category, elective status, waiting-list category, or clinical priority; and if she will provide details of the reporting received [32582/26]

1020. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Health whether she is satisfied that current hospital data systems allow adequate national oversight of how scarce theatre capacity is allocated across the public health system; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [32583/26]

1021. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Health whether any work is underway to create a nationally consistent methodology for reporting theatre utilisation, cancellations, prioritisation, and allocation across public hospitals; and if she will provide a timeline for such work. [32584/26]