Parliamentary questions

283. Deputy Pádraig Rice asked the Minister for Health the number of healthcare workers, formally in receipt of the special scheme of paid leave for healthcare workers with long-Covid, who have applied for the critical illness protocol; the number approved; the number rejected; the number awaiting a decision; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [31220/26]

284. Deputy Pádraig Rice asked the Minister for Health the number of healthcare workers who were in receipt of the special scheme of paid leave for healthcare workers with long-Covid when it ceased on 31 December 2025; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [31221/26]

285. Deputy Pádraig Rice asked the Minister for Health further to Parliamentary Question No. 881 of 24 March 2026, if the terms of reference for the external expert panel have been published; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [31222/26]

286. Deputy Pádraig Rice asked the Minister for Health further to Parliamentary Question No. 884 of 24 March 2026, if the external expert panel will be in a position to verify, using contemporaneous records, if cases were discussed at MDT prior to surgery; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [31223/26]

287. Deputy Malcolm Byrne asked the Minister for Health whether an assessment has been undertaken of where patient data would reside under the recent Government approved plan for a national electronic health record system; how legal control over that data would be exercised; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [31255/26]

288. Deputy Malcolm Byrne asked the Minister for Health whether, in the context of Ireland’s implementation of the EU AI Act and the forthcoming European Health Data Space, if her Department has assessed the potential jurisdictional implications of selecting a non-EU headquartered supplier for critical national health data infrastructure, including the possible interaction of foreign legislation w…

289. Deputy Pearse Doherty asked the Minister for Health the number of vacant adult occupational therapy positions in County Donegal; if a recruitment embargo is in place; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [31327/26]

290. Deputy Pearse Doherty asked the Minister for Health the number of vacant child occupational therapy positions in County Donegal; if a recruitment embargo is in place; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [31328/26]

291. Deputy Natasha Newsome Drennan asked the Minister for Health the number of delayed transfers of care and bed days lost from St. Luke's Hospital Kilkenny in each full year 2023, 2024 and 2025, in tabular form.; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [31329/26]

292. Deputy Natasha Newsome Drennan asked the Minister for Health the number of people on home care waiting lists in Kilkenny and Carlow waiting for approval of funding and waiting for allocation of a carer; the number with a partial allocation awaiting full hours, in tabular form; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [31330/26]

293. Deputy Natasha Newsome Drennan asked the Minister for Health the number of step-down beds in Kilkenny and Carlow, by location for each year 2023, 2024 and 2025; the number which are public; the number which are leased from private nursing homes, in tabular form; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [31331/26]

294. Deputy Barry Ward asked the Minister for Health the position regarding the mechanisms in place to support agencies under her remit with the increased costs of employing staff; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [31363/26]

295. Deputy Barry Ward asked the Minister for Health the position regarding the mechanisms in place to support agencies under her remit to manage the increase in the minimum wages in recent years; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [31381/26]

296. Deputy Barry Ward asked the Minister for Health the position regarding the mechanisms in place to support agencies under her remit to manage increasing operating costs including insurance, energy and fuel; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [31399/26]

297. Deputy Barry Ward asked the Minister for Health the steps she is taking to assess the effect of early onset dementia for people aged 30 to 50 years-of-age; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [31426/26]

298. Deputy Barry Ward asked the Minister for Health the position regarding any assessment carried out to calculate the level of early onset dementia in people under 50 years-of-age; if comparative work is done to assess this on a year-by-year basis; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [31428/26]

299. Deputy Barry Ward asked the Minister for Health the position regarding any measures put in place to enhance treatment options for people with early onset dementia; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [31429/26]

300. Deputy Barry Ward asked the Minister for Health her views on whether dementia should be classed as a disability; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [31430/26]

301. Deputy Keira Keogh asked the Minister for Health when a long-awaited post (details supplied) will be officially advertised in County Mayo following its announcement in December 2025; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [31450/26]

302. Deputy Mark Wall asked the Minister for Health the progress her Department is making to legally recognise both parents of children of same-sex couples; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [31457/26]

303. Deputy Naoise Ó Muirí asked the Minister for Health if she will provide an update on the review of a number of nursing homes (details supplied); and if she will make a statement on the matter. [31462/26]

304. Deputy Ruth Coppinger asked the Minister for Health the way in which the Mental Health Act 2024 will be interpreted and applied in relation to adult trans people seeking gender-affirming hormone therapy; whether informed consent through a GP, with appropriate information, can be the default pathway, without the requirement of a prior psychiatric or psychological assessment; and if she will ma…

305. Deputy Robert Troy asked the Minister for Health if she will urgently expedite an appointment for surgery for a person (details supplied). [31490/26]

997. Deputy Sean Fleming asked the Minister for Health further to her announcement on 5 February 2026 of Government approval of a national electronic health record (EHR) system, the governance model that will apply to the national EHR programme; whether it will be subject to enhanced oversight arrangements through her Department's Major Projects Advisory Group; the way accountability will be maint…

998. Deputy Jen Cummins asked the Minister for Health the number of children engaged with the primary health care facilities for disabilities who are in need for an appropriate school place. [30983/26]