Parliamentary questions

2122. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Health whether her Department has reviewed whether the health technology assessment methodology applied in Ireland is aligned with that used by comparable agencies internationally, including NICE in the United Kingdom, CADTH in Canada, or PBAC in Australia, particularly regarding the time horizons applied in cost-effectiveness modelling for preventiv…

2123. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Health whether her Department has undertaken any review of whether the methodological assumptions applied in health technology assessments used in Ireland may disadvantage medicines intended to prevent long-term chronic illness by applying short-term modelling horizons; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [20315/26]

2124. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Health whether her Department intends to establish a national policy framework or guidance governing the methodological standards used in health technology assessments for medicines seeking reimbursement by the Health Service Executive, including standards relating to modelling time horizons for chronic disease prevention therapies; and if she will m…

2125. Deputy Aidan Farrelly asked the Minister for Health the amount paid in legal costs to each of the top ten legal firms representing plaintiffs in medical negligence cases in 2024 and 2025; the number of cases payments relate to, in tabular form; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [20318/26]

2126. Deputy Aidan Farrelly asked the Minister for Health the amount paid out in legal costs to each of the top ten named legal firms representing the agency in medical negligence cases in 2024 and 2025; the number of cases payments relate to, in tabular form; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [20319/26]

2127. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Health whether her Department has issued any written policy guidance or governance framework defining what constitutes an unacceptable response time for life-threatening emergency ambulance calls, including clinical status 1 purple or red calls; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [20321/26]

2128. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Health whether her Department has formally approved or endorsed the current key performance indicator framework used by the National Ambulance Service in relation to emergency response times; the date on which that framework was last reviewed by her Department; and whether consideration has been given to introducing a maximum response time threshold …

2129. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Health whether the absence of a defined maximum response time threshold for life-threatening emergency ambulance calls has been assessed by her Department as a governance or patient safety risk; and whether any such assessment has been recorded within the Department’s risk management framework. [20323/26]

2130. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Health whether her Department has required the Health Service Executive to provide any analysis of emergency ambulance response times exceeding 60 minutes for clinical status 1 purple or red calls; whether such analysis has been reviewed at Departmental level; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [20324/26]

2131. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Health whether her Department has considered whether delays exceeding 60 minutes in response to life-threatening emergency calls should automatically trigger review under the HSE Incident Management Framework; and if so, the outcome of that consideration. [20325/26]

2132. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Health whether the Department of Health receives any routine reporting from the Health Service Executive regarding extreme outlier emergency ambulance response times, including delays exceeding 60 minutes for life-threatening emergencies; the format in which such information is reported; and whether this information forms part of Departmental oversig…

2133. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Health whether the Department of Health Enterprise Risk Management Framework currently identifies prolonged emergency ambulance response times as a strategic or operational risk; and if so, the risk rating assigned and the mitigation measures identified. [20327/26]

2134. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Health whether her Department has undertaken or commissioned any review since 2020 examining the relationship between prolonged ambulance response times and patient outcomes in Ireland; and if so, the title and date of any such review. [20328/26]

2135. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Health whether her Department has considered the introduction of national reporting requirements for extreme ambulance response delays for life-threatening emergencies in order to strengthen transparency and patient safety oversight. [20329/26]

2136. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Health whether the governance arrangements between her Department and the Health Service Executive require the HSE to notify the Department where systemic patterns of prolonged ambulance response delays emerge; and if so, the mechanism through which such notification occurs. [20330/26]

2137. Deputy Séamus McGrath asked the Minister for Health to clarify the position with respect to healthcare workers suffering from long-Covid and Critical Illness Protocols. [20331/26]

2138. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Health whether her Department has approved, endorsed or accepted a policy position that emergency ambulance response delays exceeding 60 minutes in life-threatening clinical status 1 purple or red calls do not automatically constitute patient safety incidents requiring review under the HSE Incident Management Framework; and if such a policy position …

2139. Deputy Séamus McGrath asked the Minister for Health the position regarding the planned Douglas Health Centre; and when it is expected to proceed to construction. [20338/26]

2140. Deputy Marie Sherlock asked the Minister for Health the data available on the treatment abroad scheme; to provide a breakdowns per speciality or treatment available; and the reports made to her Department each year on the number of patients and type of treatment undertaken abroad by patients for treatment not available here. [20340/26]

2141. Deputy Marie Sherlock asked the Minister for Health if she considers there to be good data records maintained on the treatment abroad scheme; and if she is satisfied that there is sufficient oversight and transparency of the scheme. [20341/26]

2142. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Health whether her Department or the Health Service Executive has commissioned, received, or reviewed any internal audit, external audit, or independent validation report concerning the accuracy and reliability of patient experience time data used to record emergency department waiting times; the date of the most recent such review; and if she will m…

2143. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Health whether the Health Service Executive has quantified the error rate, margin of error, or data reliability level associated with patient experience time data used to measure emergency department waiting times; whether any formal statistical assessment of data accuracy has been undertaken; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [20359/26…

2144. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Health the governance framework currently in place governing the collection, validation, correction, and publication of patient experience time data used to measure emergency department waiting times at national and hospital level; and whether formal national standards exist governing data accuracy and reporting in this regard. [20360/26]

2145. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Health whether any national policy, guidance document, or standard operating procedure exists governing the way hospitals record, amend, or retrospectively enter timestamps used to calculate patient experience time in emergency departments; and whether such procedures are subject to oversight or compliance review by the Department or the Health Servi…

2146. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Health whether the Department or the Health Service Executive publishes, or intends to publish, any data quality assurance reports, validation summaries, or audit findings relating to the accuracy of emergency department waiting time statistics; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [20362/26]