Parliamentary questions

1022. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Health whether the absence of a standardised definition of medical necessity in surgical care creates a governance risk in relation to waiting lists, theatre access, and resource allocation; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [32585/26]

1023. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Health whether she will request the HSE to prepare options for improved reporting on theatre-capacity allocation, including reporting by specialty, urgency, elective status, and clinical priority; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [32586/26]

1024. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Health the title, scope, date, reporting line, and final report reference of the 2022 Comptroller and Auditor General audit of the Treatment Abroad Scheme referred to by the HSE in correspondence to this Deputy; whether the report is publicly available; and if not, whether she will arrange for a copy to be provided. [32588/26]

1025. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Health whether her Department received, reviewed, or was briefed on the 2022 Comptroller and Auditor General audit of the Treatment Abroad Scheme; the date on which any such briefing or report was received; and what follow-up actions were required by the Department. [32589/26]

1026. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Health whether any recommendations, observations, management letters, internal control issues, expenditure concerns, or governance issues arose from the 2022 Comptroller and Auditor General audit of the Treatment Abroad Scheme; and if she will provide a summary of each such matter and the action taken. [32590/26]

1027. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Health whether any internal audit, external audit, Comptroller and Auditor General review, value-for-money review, or expenditure-control review of the Treatment Abroad Scheme has been completed since the 2022 audit; and if so, the date, scope, findings, and recommendations of each review. [32591/26]

1028. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Health what formal audit schedule, risk assessment, or expenditure-control framework applies to the Treatment Abroad Scheme; who is responsible within her Department for oversight of that framework; and whether the Scheme is subject to periodic value-for-money review. [32592/26]

1029. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Health to set out in detail the accounting methodology applied by the HSE under the Treatment Abroad Scheme for attributing expenditure to a given financial year, including whether expenditure is recorded on a cash, accrual, or episode-of-care basis; the point at which expenditure is recognised in the accounts; and the mechanisms in place to link eac…

1030. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Health whether any internal audit, external audit, or review by the Comptroller and Auditor General has examined the financial recording, traceability, and year attribution of expenditure under the Treatment Abroad Scheme since 2020; if so, to provide the findings; and if not, whether such an audit will now be commissioned. [32599/26]

1031. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Health whether the HSE maintains a patient-level dataset under the Treatment Abroad Scheme that links each individual approval to associated expenditure, treatment dates, and payment dates; and if not, how financial accountability and verification of expenditure is ensured. [32600/26]

1032. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Health the total value of expenditure recorded under the Treatment Abroad Scheme in 2024 that relates to approvals granted in previous years; and the proportion of 2024 expenditure not attributable to approvals issued in that same year. [32601/26]

1033. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Health whether she will establish a national policy framework to define and classify elective procedures based on clinical necessity, including low-value or non-essential interventions; the timeline for same; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [32606/26]

1034. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Health whether her Department or the Health Service Executive will introduce mandatory structured data fields within health information systems to record the clinical rationale for elective procedures; the estimated cost, implementation timeline, and governance oversight arrangements for such a measure; and if she will make a statement on the matter.…

1035. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Health how the Health Service Executive currently assesses value for money in respect of elective procedures in circumstances where no standardised definition of clinical necessity exists and where the clinical rationale for procedures is not captured in centralised datasets; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [32608/26]

1036. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Health whether any internal audit, external audit, or examination by the Comptroller and Auditor General has assessed the appropriateness, clinical necessity, or value for money of elective procedures funded by the State in the absence of standardised definitions and centralised data capture; if so, to provide details and findings; and if she will ma…

1037. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Health whether her Department has undertaken any benchmarking or comparative analysis of international models used to identify, classify, and reduce low-value or clinically unnecessary procedures; whether there are plans to adopt or adapt such models within the public health system [32610/26]

1038. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Health whether the absence of standardised definitions, national policy, and centralised data collection in respect of elective procedures has been formally recorded as a governance or financial oversight risk within her Department or the Health Service Executive risk registers [32611/26]

1039. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Health what mechanisms are in place to ensure consistency in clinical decision-making across hospitals and regions in respect of elective procedures where no national definition of clinical necessity exists; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [32612/26]

1040. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Health whether any review has been undertaken to assess the potential scale of elective procedures carried out without clear medical indication within the public health system; if so, to provide details; and if not, whether such a review will be commissioned [32613/26]

1041. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Health whether the Health Service Executive collects any data, formally or informally, on patient-requested procedures or procedures undertaken primarily for quality-of-life rather than clinical necessity reasons; and if so, to provide details of how such data is used for governance and planning purposes; and if she will make a statement on the matte…

1042. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Health further to Parliamentary Question No. 953 of 24 March 2026, whether the national guideline for the diagnosis and management of lipoedema referenced will include provision for surgical intervention; if not, the policy basis for excluding surgical treatment from the national care pathway; and whether patients will be supported to access surgical…

1043. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Health the estimated number of persons living with lipoedema in the State; the projected demand for services under the proposed national care pathway; and the current and planned service capacity within the public health system to meet this demand. [32621/26]

1044. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Health the total budget allocation assigned to the development and implementation of the national lipoedema care pathway; the costings associated with clinical services, education programmes and patient supports; and whether dedicated funding has been ring-fenced for this purpose. [32622/26]

1045. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Health the governance framework underpinning the national lipoedema care pathway, including the identity and role of the clinical lead, reporting arrangements to the Department, and whether a formal audit, evaluation, or outcomes monitoring mechanism will be established. [32623/26]

1046. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Health whether patients requiring surgical treatment for lipoedema are currently being referred abroad under the Treatment Abroad Scheme; the number of such referrals and associated expenditure in each of the past five years; and whether this pathway is subject to review. [32624/26]