Parliamentary questions

1822. Deputy Grace Boland asked the Minister for Health if her Department will send a delegation to participate in the United Nations Commission on Population and Development (CPD) fifty-ninth session on 13-17 April 2026 and share the unique journey and positive impacts of Ireland's progress with respect to law, policy and practice on reproductive health and rights in Ireland at associated side-ev…

1823. Deputy Mattie McGrath asked the Minister for Health if she will explain the legal basis upon which the HSE and National Ambulance Service have departed from a 15 year established practice of offering permanent contracts to paramedics upon successful completion of their training; if she will address concerns that this departure constitutes a breach of the public law doctrine of legitimate exp…

1824. Deputy Mattie McGrath asked the Minister for Health if she is aware of the email issued by the National Ambulance Service on 18 December 2025 stating that permanent contracts would be offered to the graduating cohort once their degree results were finalised; if she accepts that this communication constituted an explicit promise of permanent employment; if she will outline the reason this com…

1825. Deputy Mattie McGrath asked the Minister for Health if she has assessed the personal, financial, and professional impact on the 76 newly qualified paramedics and others currently in training who relied on the long standing practice of automatic permanent contracts, including those who secured mortgages, started families, or declined other employment opportunities on the basis of this expecta…

1826. Deputy Mattie McGrath asked the Minister for Health the way in which the decision to withhold permanent contracts aligns with the acknowledged staffing shortages in the National Ambulance Service and the planned expansion of the frontline workforce in 2026; and if she will explain how this decision is compatible with the public interest; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [19140…

1827. Deputy Mattie McGrath asked the Minister for Health if she has evaluated the likely impact of this decision on recruitment and retention within the National Ambulance Service, particularly given the demanding nature of the role and the reliance on trainees who work full time while completing an honours degree; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [19141/26]

1828. Deputy Mattie McGrath asked the Minister for Health if she will instruct the HSE and NAS to reverse the decision to withhold permanent contracts from the 76 newly qualified paramedics and to reinstate the long standing practice for all current trainees, in order to uphold the principle of legitimate expectation and ensure workforce stability; and if she will make a statement on the matter. […

1829. Deputy Sorca Clarke asked the Minister for Health if her attention has been drawn to the supply shortages affecting atropine eye drops used in the treatment of progressive myopia in children; the steps being taken to ensure continued access to this treatment; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [19150/26]

1830. Deputy Mark Ward asked the Minister for Health the measures being taken to reduce the cost of hearing aids; her views on whether it is fair for an individuall to pay over €4,000; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [19162/26]

1831. Deputy Conor D. McGuinness asked the Minister for Health if a bus service (details supplied) is facing a reduction of service to only three days a week; if so, the reason for this reduction; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [19173/26]

1832. Deputy Barry Heneghan asked the Minister for Health if, through the HSE West/ North-West Region, she can provide a list of all non-statutory organisations in County Mayo funded to provide the following services for older people by age cohorts 65+ and 75+, the amount of funding provided to each organisation for each service; the basis on which this funding is allocated; the total amount acros…

1833. Deputy Barry Heneghan asked the Minister for Health if, through the HSE West/ North-West Region, she can provide the number of older people in County Mayo brought from their homes to acute hospitals by the National Ambulance Service in each of the past three years; the number of those living alone; the number of older people discharged from Castlebar Hospital after midnight over this period;…

1834. Deputy Michael Lowry asked the Minister for Health the reason for the disparity in discretionary payments under the primary care community services (PCCS) scheme for children with certain eye conditions and/or additional needs who require spectacles; if her attention has been drawn to some families being required to pay in excess of €400 per pair of glasses for young children in certain Comm…

1835. Deputy Michael Lowry asked the Minister for Health if she will provide a breakdown, by CHO area, of the discretionary supports available for children under the PCCS scheme; the criteria applied in each area; the number of children supported in each of the past three years; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [19192/26]

1836. Deputy Paul McAuliffe asked the Minister for Health to provide an update on the neurology appointment for a person (details supplied).; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [19194/26]

1837. Deputy Emer Currie asked the Minister for Health if her Department has conducted an assessment of reports from the UK regarding loopholes in the law there which allow for the modifying of disposable devices by adding non-operational charging ports, or including token removable or refillable pods, and their marketing as "reusable"; and if measures will be introduced to avoid similar loopholes…

1838. Deputy Emer Currie asked the Minister for Health the rationale for distinguishing between nicotine inhaling and nicotine-consumption products in the proposed Public Health (Tobacco Products and Nicotine Inhaling Products) (Amendment) Bill 2026; and the implications of any differentiation in terms of regulatory approaches. [19208/26]

1839. Deputy Niamh Smyth asked the Minister for Health if the case of a person (details supplied) will be reviewed and expedited; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [19233/26]

1840. Deputy Jen Cummins asked the Minister for Health further to the publication of the draft National Drugs Strategy 2026-2029, to outline the proposed governance, funding flows and accountability arrangements for the regional structures within the HSE Health Regions; whether Local Drug and Alcohol Task Forces will retain independent governance and decision-making authority over locally delivere…

1841. Deputy Jen Cummins asked the Minister for Health the way in which funding will be allocated within the proposed regional structures under the draft National Drugs Strategy 2026-2029; if deprivation, social exclusion and patterns of entrenched drug-related harm will be formally weighted alongside population in determining resource allocation; and if she will publish the criteria to be used by…

1842. Deputy Jen Cummins asked the Minister for Health the specific measures which will be put in place to protect the independent, community-led role of Local Drug and Alcohol Task Forces under the proposed regional governance arrangements in the draft National Drugs Strategy 2026-2029; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [19243/26]

1843. Deputy Jen Cummins asked the Minister for Health if, under the proposed regional structures in the draft National Drugs Strategy 2026-2029, all public funding for community-based drug services, including Local Drug and Alcohol Task Forces, will be pooled at HSE Health Region level; that safeguards will be put in place to prevent dilution of funding to areas of high deprivation; and if she wi…

1844. Deputy Shane Moynihan asked the Minister for Health the steps her Department are taking to improve retention in the National Ambulance Service; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [19256/26]

1845. Deputy Jen Cummins asked the Minister for Health the opportunities for funding available to an organisation (details supplied) to continue to provide counselling sessions. [19257/26]

1846. Deputy Barry Ward asked the Minister for Health if her attention has been drawn to concerns related to the low level of financial support available for people that require hearing aids but do not have a medical card; if this is under review; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [19264/26]