Parliamentary questions

234. Deputy Colm Burke asked the Minister for Health whether she plans to facilitate exchanges between the European Commission, Council officials, Member State health attachés and public-health stakeholders, including through workshops, technical meetings or Presidency events, to support a comprehensive and expedited revision of the Tobacco Products Directive and Tobacco Advertising Directive; and…

235. Deputy Colm Burke asked the Minister for Health whether Ireland intends to seek council conclusions, a Presidency statement, or another formal Presidency output during its EU Council Presidency calling for stronger EU action on tobacco control, including action on novel nicotine products, youth vaping, cross-border marketing, flavours, packaging and online sales; and if she will make a statem…

236. Deputy Barry Heneghan asked the Minister for Health whether her Department or the HSE has assessed the impact of restrictions on overnight stays by partners or chosen support persons in maternity hospitals on the postnatal experience of mothers, including maternal wellbeing and recovery; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [52145/26]

237. Deputy Barry Heneghan asked the Minister for Health whether her Department is considering the introduction of national guidance on overnight access for partners or chosen support persons in maternity hospitals during the postnatal period, with due regard to clinical needs and family-centred maternity care; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [52146/26]

238. Deputy Barry Heneghan asked the Minister for Health whether maternity hospitals are encouraged to provide flexibility in relation to overnight partner or chosen support person access for women recovering from caesarean section, traumatic birth, or where additional clinical or emotional support is required; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [52147/26]

239. Deputy Barry Heneghan asked the Minister for Health whether her Department has sought information from maternity hospitals on their policies regarding overnight partner or chosen support person access following childbirth; whether there is significant variation in practice between hospitals; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [52148/26]

240. Deputy Carol Nolan asked the Minister for Health further to Parliamentary Question No. 2125 of 9 June 2026, to provide details of the costs paid to GPs for the provision of session clinics and consultations in 2024 and 2025 (details supplied); and if she will make a statement on the matter. [52158/26]

241. Deputy Pádraig Rice asked the Minister for Health if she has investigated whether public only consultants in the pathology lab in St. Vincent's University Hospital are engaged in private work on site; if the laboratory has any service level agreements in place with private facilities (details supplied); and if she will make a statement on the matter. [52172/26]

242. Deputy Pádraig Rice asked the Minister for Health if she will meet with a group (details supplied) regarding the structural tax issue that is limiting their ability to expand their GP model in underserved communities; to confirm if she has responded to the charity; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [52173/26]

243. Deputy Pádraig Rice asked the Minister for Health if she will review the visual representation of nappies across maternity, pregnancy and parenting resources to ensure that both reuseable and disposable are represented; to ensure reusable nappies are included as a standard option within antenatal education and parenting information; to identify the relevant HSE departments responsible for mat…

244. Deputy Pádraig Rice asked the Minister for Health if families will be entitled to know if their child's case will be included in any future statutory public inquiry into Children's Health Ireland; if orthopaedic cases outside the scoliosis and spina bifida cohorts will be considered; if, should concerns emerge from the MDT or external expert panel reviews set up following the independent audi…

245. Deputy Cian O'Callaghan asked the Minister for Health the percentage of mental health spending in regard to the total health budget for 2026; if she can provide a breakdown of the services and supports that have received an allocation of funding under this budget in the Dublin 3, 5, 13, and 17 areas, in tabular form; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [52181/26]

246. Deputy Cian O'Callaghan asked the Minister for Health to detail the waiting times for accessing mental health supports in the North Dublin area, broken down by postcode, in tabular form; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [52182/26]

247. Deputy John Paul O'Shea asked the Minister for Health if a current contract is in place in the HSE South for a company (details supplied); if so, the amount paid for this service by the HSE South since the contract began; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [52224/26]

248. Deputy Conor Sheehan asked the Minister for Health to provide an update on the appointment of the chair of the board and the appointment of the full board for the new hospital in Limerick; if she will commit to the inclusion of a sexual assault treatment unit in the new hospital; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [52230/26]

249. Deputy Sean Fleming asked the Minister for Health to provide a schedule of all contracts with an estimated value in excess of €5 million awarded by her Department, Health Service Executive, and all Voluntary Hospitals (Section 38 Bodies) which fall under the remit of either her Department or HSE over the period 2021 to date in 2026 for services (details supplied); and if she will make a state…

250. Deputy Colm Burke asked the Minister for Health her views on the fact that while the number of NHDs has risen by 52% between 2012 and 2021, the number of hospital consultants has risen by 44% over the past decade, while the number of nurses and midwives has risen by 36% and the number of administrators and managers has risen by 50%, the number of dentists employed by the HSE has in fact falle…

251. Deputy Colm Burke asked the Minister for Health to provide an estimate of the accumulated total in cuts in spending on the dental treatment service scheme since 2010 when compared with the baseline annual total spent in 2009; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [52251/26]

252. Deputy Colm Burke asked the Minister for Health to provide an estimate of the amount which would have been spent on the dental treatment service scheme in 2025 if spending had been maintained at the level spent in 2009 with CPI applied in the intervening period, taking into account the current number of eligible medical card holders; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [52252/26]

253. Deputy Gillian Toole asked the Minister for Health the Departmental analysis of vitamin and mineral supplements that is being carried out to determine recommended daily amounts vis-à-vis the "typical" nutrition content of Irish diets, in advance of any European Union limit setting of nutrients; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [52320/26]

692. Deputy Aidan Farrelly asked the Minister for Health the safeguards that exist to prevent vulnerable adults being effectively excluded from routine medical and financial decisions due to overly rigid interpretations of consent requirements in everyday settings such as GP surgeries, dental clinics, and financial institutions. [51595/26]

693. Deputy Jen Cummins asked the Minister for Health the percentage of all CervicalCheck samples that will be now processed in the National Cervical Screening Laboratory; the percentage that will be sent abroad; and the laboratories they will be sent to, in tabular form. [50772/26]

694. Deputy Jen Cummins asked the Minister for Health the percentage of all CervicalCheck samples over the past five years that have been processed in Ireland; the percentage that have been sent abroad; and laboratories they have been sent to, in tabular form. [50773/26]

695. Deputy Jen Cummins asked the Minister for Health the contingency arrangements that exist if the Dublin CervicalCheck lab experiences cyberattack, staff shortage, or equipment failure. [50774/26]

696. Deputy Jen Cummins asked the Minister for Health the percentage of CervicalCheck slides that undergo double reading or secondary review. [50775/26]