Questions

945. Deputy Ruth Coppinger asked the Minister for Health to consider providing funding to allow IVF clinics to provide separate facilities and equipment for handling gametes from patients with blood-borne viruses; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [71599/25]

946. Deputy Ruth Coppinger asked the Minister for Health her plans to allow patients living with HIV or hepatitis C to gain access to IVF given current issues around this have been raised (details supplied); and if she will make a statement on the matter. [71600/25]

956. Deputy Noel McCarthy asked the Minister for Health her plans to include Alzheimer’s disease as a qualifying medical condition under the long-term illness scheme; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [71717/25]

989. Deputy Ryan O'Meara asked the Minister for Health if her Department has given consideration to the introduction of a baby loss certificate process, similar to that in place in the UK through the NHS; if not, if she will give consideration to the implementation of similar process; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [71932/25]

996. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Health if her Department has conducted any financial-impact assessment of the 6,852 funded WTE posts reported as unfilled as of September 2025; the estimated Exchequer underspend arising from these unfilled posts; and the Department’s policy on how such underspends are monitored and reported. [71960/25]

999. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Health the policy under which the HSE does not maintain post-level records of agency or temporary staff assigned to cover funded development posts; the Department’s assessment of how this omission affects expenditure monitoring, audit trails and compliance with public financial-management standards; and whether she will issue a direction that such records now be maintain…

1004. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Health to provide the Department’s policy framework, internal guidance or decision-support documents that informed the assessment of clinical safety, safeguarding and public-expenditure implications when minors were referred abroad for gender-related treatment; and if no such framework existed, to state the reason. [71977/25]

1012. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Health the Department’s policy position on the role of medical inflation, rising living costs and increased clinical need in assessing hardship for people aged over 70 who exceed the income threshold; and to confirm whether the Department plans revisions to hardship interpretation or supporting documentation requirements. [71985/25]

1030. Deputy Willie O'Dea asked the Minister for Health if she will consider extending special leave with pay or providing a similar measure for those who worked on the frontline during the pandemic and contracted long-Covid and as a result are still suffering from serious health issues; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [72116/25]

1032. Deputy Naoise Ó Cearúil asked the Minister for Health in view of Kilcock's designation as a standalone facility, the investment and staffing measures planned to ensure that Maynooth is adequately resourced and formally recognised within the ARK framework; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [72118/25]

1058. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Health if her Department has undertaken any review since 2020 of the adequacy of the medical card income thresholds for persons aged 70 years and over in light of cumulative inflation and rising living costs; and the findings of any such review. [72242/25]

1089. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Health the governance and policy framework approved by her Department for gender identity services for children and young people; the date of the most recent review; and the steps being taken to ensure full compliance with national safeguarding and clinical governance standards. [72297/25]

1091. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Health her Department’s policy on evaluating international clinical guidance before alignment with national frameworks; the assessments carried out on WPATH Standards between 2018 and 2023; and the timeline for completing a formal review of these standards in light of the Cass Review. [72299/25]

549. Deputy Martin Daly asked the Minister for Health if she will examine measures to improve retention of occupational therapy within the public health service, including structured career pathways, enhanced supports, and strategies to mitigate burnout. [70952/25]

551. Deputy Martin Daly asked the Minister for Health if she intends to introduce advanced practitioner roles for occupational therapists within the HSE. [70954/25]

565. Deputy Pádraig Rice asked the Minister for Health her plans to increase capacity in community hospitals, community nursing units and long-stay facilities in the HSE South West Health Region; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [70971/25]

566. Deputy Pádraig Rice asked the Minister for Health her plans to ensure that hospitals have sight of community bed availability in their areas to support discharge planning; the steps being taken to support timely transfers of care; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [70972/25]

574. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Health the steps her Department has taken to establish a national data and outcomes system to monitor long-term psychological, medical, and service-use outcomes for individuals receiving gender-related healthcare; the expected timeline for implementation; and how this system will support evidence-based policy and clinical governance. [71077/25]

575. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Health whether her Department has approved a national clinical pathway for individuals seeking to discontinue or reverse aspects of gender transition; the governance standards that will apply in this area; the expected timeframe for formalising such pathways within the new Model of Care; and whether associated data on detransition will be collected and published. [71078/…

576. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Health the conflict-of-interest disclosure requirements that apply to officials, clinicians, and advisors involved in drafting the new Model of Care for gender healthcare; whether these declarations will be published for transparency; and the steps her Department is taking to ensure independence from advocacy organisations, external interest groups, or service-provider i…

591. Deputy Conor Sheehan asked the Minister for Health the additional clinical capacity and services she intends to deploy at St. John's, Ennis and Nenagh hospitals in order to relieve pressure at University Hospital Limerick, Dooradoyle; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [71181/25]

300. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Health to detail the governance, approval processes and risk assessments used when referring Irish children and young people to external providers, including foreign clinics; and to confirm whether any departmental policy ever permitted or endorsed referral pathways involving private clinics in Antwerp, Belgium. [70453/25]

310. Deputy Cathal Crowe asked the Minister for Health the main policy achievements of her Department since 22 January 2025; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [70526/25]

815. Deputy Seán Canney asked the Minister for Health her views on whether CORU’s recently published standards for training and practice in psychotherapy represents a decrease in standards, as the proposed regulation would see the removal for personal therapy in training, the elimination of mandatory clinical supervision during training, a dramatic reduction in clinical training hours, the removal of any minimum time…

962. Deputy Emer Currie asked the Minister for Health her plans to establish a register and baby loss certificates for parents who experience loss before 24-weeks; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [62783/25]