Parliamentary questions

139. Deputy David Cullinane asked the Minister for Health the steps she is taking to end reliance on unregistered consultants; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [17633/26]

140. Deputy Ruth Coppinger asked the Minister for Health to report on her efforts to improve medical training to counter gender bias in the medical profession; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [17501/26]

141. Deputy Ryan O'Meara asked the Minister for Health when the new primary care centre in Nenagh will be opened by the HSE; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [17699/26]

142. Deputy Ryan O'Meara asked the Minister for Health for a breakdown of funding for north Tipperary under the recently announced HSE capital plan; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [17700/26]

143. Deputy James O'Connor asked the Minister for Health for an update on a project (details supplied); and if she will make a statement on the matter. [17850/26]

144. Deputy Colm Burke asked the Minister for Health the current status of the proposed integrated homeless health hub for Cork city; the progress toward the project intended in 2026; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [17537/26]

145. Deputy Cathal Crowe asked the Minister for Health if she will provide clarity on the processes that are under way to identify a potential site for the delivery of the so-called ‘Plan B’ (new hospital building) for the University of Limerick Hospital Group; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [17296/26]

504. Deputy Naoise Ó Cearúil asked the Minister for Health the reason for recent changes (details supplied) relating to paramedics in the National Ambulance Service; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [17926/26]

505. Deputy Michael Cahill asked the Minister for Health to urgently address an issue, whereby the increases in the State pension is pushing many senior citizens over the threshold for a medical card, thus causing the loss of full medical card; if he will consult with the Department of Health to ensure that the medical card thresholds are raised in line with pension rises; and if she will make a s…

506. Deputy Michael Cahill asked the Minister for Health for an overview of the proposed health infrastructure developments in Kerry during 2026; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [17503/26]

507. Deputy Michael Cahill asked the Minister for Health for an update on plans to expand acute bed capacity in University Hospital Kerry; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [17504/26]

508. Deputy Barry Heneghan asked the Minister for Health the current status, from a public expenditure and approvals perspective, of capital projects at Beaumont Hospital including the emergency department, additional inpatient bed capacity and diagnostic infrastructure; whether her Department has identified any delays or blockages in progressing these projects from approval to construction; the s…

509. Deputy Brian Stanley asked the Minister for Health the measures her Department is taking to provide an occupational therapist for Laois, as there has been none in the county since 2023; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [13097/26]

510. Deputy Ruth Coppinger asked the Minister for Health to consider the reintroduction of paid special leave for those public sector workers suffering from long-Covid; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [10739/26]

511. Deputy Martin Kenny asked the Minister for Health if she is satisfied that food imported into Ireland by food processing companies and used in processed foods is correctly labelled with country of origin in relation to the ingredients of such products; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [6779/26]

512. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Health when she expects to make a decision on the report prepared by the expert group established by the HSE to examine the implications of the final review (details supplied) for gender-related healthcare services in Ireland; whether she has received and reviewed that report; whether any recommendations within it relate to safeguarding, clinical stan…

513. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Health the way in which she can defend the development or revision of national policy and models of care for gender identity services for children and young people in circumstances where the Health Service Executive has confirmed that neither her Department or the HSE has any policy governing the collection, verification, or publication of data on ref…

514. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Health the way in which she satisfies herself that public funds are being spent in a manner that meets basic standards of governance, safeguarding, and accountability (details supplied); and whether she accepts that reliance on financial audit alone does not constitute effective oversight. [9969/26]

515. Deputy Niamh Smyth asked the Minister for Health if she will review the correspondence (details supplied); if she will review the current supports available to healthcare workers diagnosed with long-Covid who contracted the illness in the course of their employment during the Covid pandemic; if she will outline the rationale for the cessation of the special leave with pay (SLWP) arrangements …

516. Deputy Eoin Ó Broin 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…

517. Deputy Eoin Ó Broin 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; whether 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 us…

518. Deputy Eoin Ó Broin asked the Minister for Health whether, 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; the safeguards that will be put in place to prevent dilution of funding to areas of high deprivation; and …

519. Deputy Michael Murphy asked the Minister for Health whether there has been a change in policy within the National Ambulance Service regarding the transition of graduating paramedics from specified purpose contracts to permanent positions; the reason for requiring an internal competition process; the number of paramedics which are affected in 2026; and if she will make a statement on the matte…

520. Deputy Mark Ward asked the Minister for Health further to the publication of the draft National Drugs Strategy 2026–2029, 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 delivered programmes; …

521. Deputy Mark Ward 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; whether 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 …