Questions

1197. Deputy Eoghan Kenny asked the Minister for Health the basis on which the current levy arising from public expenditure overruns is being calculated and applied to her Department’s Vote; whether any categories of expenditure, including pay, pensions or staffing-related costs, are exempt from the levy within her Department; and if she will provide a breakdown of the areas against which the levy is being applied [3…

1198. Deputy George Lawlor asked the Minister for Health the total amount paid to agencies for the supply of healthcare assistants to all hospitals in the State in each of the years 2023, 2024 and 2025, in tabular form; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [35131/26]

1199. Deputy George Lawlor asked the Minister for Health the total amount paid to agencies for the supply of nurses to all hospitals in the State in each of the years 2023, 2024 and 2025, in tabular form; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [35132/26]

1200. Deputy Roderic O'Gorman asked the Minister for Health if she will include the Varicella-Zoster (shingles) inoculation jab on the drug payments scheme; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [35145/26]

1201. Deputy Keira Keogh asked the Minister for Health if she is considering an expert psychiatric service to be available on 24-hour basis to individuals who may require it, rather than a service only provided through accident and emergency departments; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [35156/26]

1202. Deputy Keira Keogh asked the Minister for Health the steps her Department is taking to support engagement between service providers and service users and their families to enhance the delivery of targeted supports to service users and provide a more impactful service overall; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [35157/26]

1203. Deputy Keira Keogh asked the Minister for Health the steps her Department is taking to consider the provision of mental health service access for people aged 65 years and older, acknowledging that needs extend beyond just dementia care; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [35158/26]

1204. Deputy John Connolly asked the Minister for Health the supports currently available from her Department and the HSE to organisations that raise public awareness of serious illnesses, including meningitis, and that provide information and support including aftercare services to individuals and families affected by such illnesses; whether any recurring or sustainable funding pathways are available to such organis…

1205. Deputy Pádraig O'Sullivan asked the Minister for Health if she will provide details on the number of pharmacy graduates registered with the Pharmaceutical Society of Ireland in each of the past five years; if she will outline what analysis, if any, has been undertaken by her Department on the capacity of the Irish healthcare system to absorb the growing number of pharmacy graduates entering the workforce each y…

1206. Deputy Pádraig O'Sullivan asked the Minister for Health if she will provide details on the number of pharmacy technicians who have completed accredited training programmes in Ireland in each of the past three years; if her Department has assessed demand for pharmacy technician employment across community and hospital pharmacy settings in Ireland, particularly in light of the graduation of approximately 170 phar…

1207. Deputy Pádraig O'Sullivan asked the Minister for Health if she will outline the policy framework governing hospital pharmacy workforce planning in Ireland; if her Department has assessed current and projected demand for clinical pharmacists across acute hospital settings, including Cork University Hospital, which serves as a Level 3 paediatric cardiology centre for the Munster region; and if she will make a sta…

1208. Deputy Pádraig O'Sullivan asked the Minister for Health if she will provide a breakdown by county of the number of pharmacies currently participating in the Common Conditions Service; if she will specifically outline the uptake rate in County Cork; the steps that are being taken to maximise participation among pharmacies that have not yet joined the service; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [3517…

1209. Deputy Pádraig O'Sullivan asked the Minister for Health if her Department has reviewed the findings of previous annual medicine shortages surveys conducted by the Irish Pharmacy Union in collaboration with University College Cork; the specific measures have been taken to address medicine shortages that have been identified as placing additional workload on community pharmacists; if she will outline whether a na…

1210. Deputy Pádraig O'Sullivan asked the Minister for Health if she will provide an update on the timeline for the introduction of legislation to enable pharmacists to prescribe contraception under the free contraception scheme, given that the Heads of this Bill were approved in March 2026 and identified as priority legislation in the Government Summer 2026 Legislative Programme; what consultations have taken place …

1211. Deputy Pádraig O'Sullivan asked the Minister for Health if she will outline the projected number of pneumococcal polysaccharide vaccine administrations expected to be delivered through community pharmacy in 2026 under the new publicly funded service introduced under the Community Pharmacy Agreement 2025; the monitoring arrangements that are in place to evaluate uptake among eligible GMS cardholders over 65 year…

1212. Deputy Pádraig O'Sullivan asked the Minister for Health in light of the recent HIQA recommendation to extend BowelScreen eligibility to those aged 50 to 54, the specific role community pharmacists are envisaged to play in supporting awareness, registration, and patient navigation within the expanded programme; the timeline for formalising this pharmacy involvement as committed to under the Community Pharmacy Ag…

1213. Deputy Pádraig O'Sullivan asked the Minister for Health if she will provide an update on the timeline for pharmacy software vendors to implement the system changes required before community pharmacies can avail of the new electronic record keeping provisions signed into law by her Department in April 2026, effective from 30 June 2026; whether her Department is actively engaging with vendors to prevent a gap bet…

1214. Deputy Pádraig O'Sullivan asked the Minister for Health the total funding claimed through the new Pharmacy Training Grant portal since it went live in March 2026; the number of pharmacy contractors who have submitted claims to date; whether her Department has assessed if the current grant levels are sufficient to meet the professional development needs of pharmacists, particularly in rural communities across Co…

1215. Deputy Pádraig O'Sullivan asked the Minister for Health if she will outline what steps her Department is taking to address the fact that brexpiprazole and lurasidone, two antipsychotic medicines now recommended as first-line treatment options for females with first-episode psychosis in the first international clinical guideline of its kind published in March 2026, are currently licensed in Ireland but not reimb…

1216. Deputy Pádraig O'Sullivan asked the Minister for Health the structured role community pharmacies are envisaged to play in the promotion of organ donation awareness throughout the year, given that the clinical lead of Organ Donation Transplant Ireland (details supplied), has specifically identified Ireland's network of over 1,800 community pharmacies as a significantly underutilised asset in embedding organ dona…

1217. Deputy Pádraig Rice asked the Minister for Health the reason that a supplement (details supplied) has not been made available under the drugs payment scheme; the actions necessary for this supplement to be made eligible for reimbursement under the scheme; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [35192/26]

1218. Deputy Pádraig Rice asked the Minister for Health the date at which the final evaluation of the 18-month pilot phase of the supervised injecting facility in Dublin will commence; the timeline being worked towards in completing that final evaluation;; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [35194/26]

1219. Deputy Pádraig Rice asked the Minister for Health to provide an update on efforts to resolve the access road issue identified at St. Stephen’s Hospital, the proposed site of the elective hospital for Cork; if an agreeable route for a new access road has been identified and agreed; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [35195/26]

1220. Deputy Pádraig Rice asked the Minister for Health if a site has been chosen for a new Helicopter Emergency Medical Service (HEMS) in the West North West Region; the date at which this service is expected to be operational; the proposed crewing arrangements at this new site; the services that will be provided; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [35196/26]

1221. Deputy Pádraig Rice asked the Minister for Health with respect to the proposed new Helicopter Emergency Medical Service (HEMS) in the West North West Region, if pilots and engineers have already been hired; if so, if these are internal or external appointments; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [35197/26]