Parliamentary questions

1174. Deputy Micheál Carrigy asked the Minister for Health the reason for the delay in providing a rehabilitation bed at St. Mary’s Mullingar for a person (details supplied); if she is aware that the person was recently transferred to the hospital only to be informed a bed was unavailable; the steps she will take to ensure an immediate transfer to the specialist rehabilitation unit in Mullingar to…

1175. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Health whether her Department has carried out any formal governance, compliance, or performance reviews of the Institute of Public Health in each of the years 2023, 2024 and 2025; and to provide the number of such reviews conducted in each year. [30185/26]

1176. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Health whether any structured audit or review schedule exists within her Department in respect of non-statutory bodies receiving direct Exchequer funding; and if so, to outline the frequency, scope, and methodology of such reviews. [30186/26]

1177. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Health whether her Department relies solely on statutory financial audits conducted under the Companies Act 2014 to discharge its oversight responsibilities in respect of the Institute of Public Health; and if not, to specify any additional governance or performance oversight mechanisms in place. [30187/26]

1178. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Health whether any performance evaluation, value-for-money assessment, or outcome-based review of the Institute of Public Health has been conducted by or on behalf of her Department since 2020; and if so, to provide details. [30189/26]

1179. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Health whether her Department has defined key performance indicators, reporting requirements, or measurable outputs for the Institute of Public Health as a condition of funding; and if so, to outline these arrangements. [30190/26]

1180. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Health whether any internal audit, external review, or independent evaluation has been carried out in respect of the Department’s own oversight arrangements for non-statutory bodies receiving direct funding since 2020; and if so, to provide details. [30191/26]

1181. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Health whether any risk assessments have been undertaken by her Department in relation to governance, financial oversight, or accountability risks associated with the Institute of Public Health in the past three years; and if so, to outline the findings. [30192/26]

1182. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Health to clarify the criteria used by her Department to determine what constitutes a “non-statutory body receiving direct funding”, and whether any bodies receiving funding through intermediary mechanisms, service agreements, or programme allocations are excluded from this classification. [30193/26]

1183. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Health whether she is satisfied that the current oversight arrangements in place for the Institute of Public Health meet the standards expected under the Public Spending Code and wider public financial management guidelines; and if so, the basis for that assessment. [30194/26]

1184. Deputy Martin Daly asked the Minister for Health if she will intervene to ensure that the Health Service Executive urgently prioritises the conclusion of reimbursement negotiations for skyclarys for the treatment of Friedreich’s ataxia, given that it is currently the only available treatment for this progressive and life-limiting rare disease and that Friedreich’s ataxia may be considered as…

1185. Deputy Martin Daly asked the Minister for Health her views on whether the ongoing delay in concluding reimbursement negotiations for skyclarys for patients with Friedreich’s ataxia is consistent with the commitment to “equitable access” set out in the recently launched National Rare Disease Strategy 2025–2030; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [30202/26]

1186. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Health whether any internal dispatch-time performance targets, whether formal or informal, are applied within the National Ambulance Service for the allocation of 999 calls; and to provide details of same. [30204/26]

1187. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Health whether any such dispatch-time performance metrics are documented within the HSE Enterprise Risk Register or any associated risk management framework; and if so, to provide details. [30205/26]

1188. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Health whether any internal or external audits, reviews, or evaluations have examined ambulance dispatch timelines or allocation practices since 2020; and to provide the dates and headline findings of such reviews. [30206/26]

1189. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Health whether her Department has issued any policy direction, guidance, or oversight framework governing ambulance dispatch prioritisation and allocation decisions; and to provide details. [30207/26]

1190. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Health whether she is satisfied that the current ambulance dispatch framework adequately balances response speed with geographic efficiency and regional capacity constraints; and whether any formal assessment of this balance has been conducted. [30208/26]

1191. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Health whether any national or regional performance benchmarks exist for ambulance call allocation times, and if so, how compliance with such benchmarks is monitored and reported. [30209/26]

1192. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Health whether any standardised methodology is used across regions to ensure consistency in dispatch decision-making within the National Ambulance Service. [30210/26]

1193. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Health whether any central dataset is maintained capturing dispatch times from call receipt to resource allocation, and whether such data is reported to her Department. [30211/26]

1194. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Health whether any discrepancies or regional variations in ambulance dispatch times have been identified in the past three years; and how such variations have been addressed. [30212/26]

1195. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Health whether the current dispatch framework has been subject to any international benchmarking or comparison with equivalent emergency medical services systems; and to provide details. [30213/26]

1196. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Health whether the HSE or her Department maintains any oversight mechanism to assess the impact of dispatch timelines on patient outcomes; and to provide details. [30214/26]

1197. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Health whether any formal risk assessments have been conducted regarding delays in ambulance allocation or dispatch; and whether such risks are recorded within the HSE risk management system. [30215/26]

1198. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Health whether ambulance dispatch performance forms part of any key performance indicator framework monitored by her Department; and to provide details. [30216/26]