Parliamentary questions

522. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Health whether her Department or the HSE has approved or mandated a national data collection framework, minimum dataset, or outcome monitoring system for gender identity services for children and young people; if not, when such a framework will be introduced; and how clinical outcomes, adverse events and long-term follow-up are currently monitored at …

523. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Health whether a formal methodological review, evidence appraisal, or structured policy evaluation of international clinical guidance, including the WPATH Standards of Care, was undertaken between 2018 and 2023 prior to adoption or application within Irish healthcare services; if so, to provide the title and date of such review; and if not, to explain…

524. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Health the date on which the expert clinical group report examining the implications for Ireland of the Cass review was submitted to the HSE chief executive officer; whether the report has been furnished to her Department; whether she has received or reviewed the report; whether she intends to publish the report in full; and if she will make a stateme…

525. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Health the formal interim clinical governance arrangements, safeguards, or policy instructions currently apply to gender healthcare services for children and adolescents pending completion of the updated national Model of Care; whether any written direction, circular, or instruction has issued since publication of the Cass review; and if she will make…

526. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Health to specify the statutory authority, national clinical guideline, or formally approved policy framework under which gender healthcare services for minors are currently delivered within the public health system; the date on which that framework was approved; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [15854/26]

527. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Health whether her Department has approved a national dataset, reporting framework, or outcome measurement standard for gender identity services provided to children and adolescents; if not, when such a framework is expected to be established; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [15855/26]

528. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Health to outline the formal methodology used by her Department and the HSE when evaluating international clinical guidance prior to consideration or incorporation into national healthcare policy; whether that methodology was applied in respect of the WPATH Standards of Care between 2018 and 2023; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [15856…

529. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Health whether any formal clinical risk assessment, patient safety review, or governance audit has been undertaken since publication of the final Cass review in respect of gender healthcare services for children and adolescents; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [15857/26]

530. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Health whether, under the Health Service Executive National Service Plan 2026 approved by her, her Department requires the HSE to collect, retain and report to the Department the number and percentage of clinical status 1 purple and red emergency calls in which the ambulance response time exceeded 30 minutes, 45 minutes, 60 minutes and 90 minutes in e…

531. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Health whether, in the exercise of its statutory oversight of the Health Service Executive under the Health Act 2004, receives or requests data on the single longest recorded ambulance response time for clinical status 1 purple and red calls in each month nationally and by HSE region; if not, whether she considers the absence of such governance report…

532. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Health whether it is Departmental policy that an ambulance response exceeding 60 minutes to a clinical status 1 purple or red emergency call does not, of itself, constitute a notifiable patient safety incident under the HSE Incident Management Framework; the policy basis for that position; and whether she will review that policy in the context of her …

533. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Health whether her Department has, since 1 January 2023, received any aggregated report, briefing, risk register entry, or governance submission identifying delayed ambulance response as a contributory factor in patient harm or adverse outcomes; the number of such instances recorded; and whether her Department has conducted any formal policy review ar…

534. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Health whether her Department receives regional disaggregated performance data for clinical status 1 purple and red emergency calls as part of the annual Service Plan governance framework; whether her Department undertakes structured comparative analysis of response performance between HSE regions; and the specific policy directives issued by her sinc…

535. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Health whether her Department or the HSE has undertaken any analysis of mortality, morbidity, or adverse clinical outcomes for clinical status 1 Purple or Red emergency calls stratified by response time bands (0–19 minutes, 20–30 minutes, 31–45 minutes, 46–60 minutes, and over 60 minutes) during the period 2023 to date; if so, to provide details of th…

536. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Health whether the National Ambulance Service records the number of clinical status 1 Purple and Red emergency calls where the response time exceeds 30 minutes, 45 minutes, and 60 minutes; if so, to provide the total number in each category for each of the past three years; and if not, the policy rationale for not capturing such data within the State’…

537. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Health whether her Department has issued any policy guidance defining the circumstances in which prolonged ambulance response times constitute patient safety incidents; whether delays exceeding 60 minutes in life-threatening emergencies are automatically reviewed under the HSE Incident Management Framework; and if not, the governance basis for excludi…

538. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Health the approved whole-time equivalent staffing target for the National Ambulance Service for each year 2023 to 2026 under the NAS Workforce Plan; the actual WTE achieved in each year; the variance between target and actual; and the measures being taken to close the current capacity deficit (details supplied); and if she will make a statement on th…

539. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Health whether her Department conducts formal comparative analysis of ambulance response performance between HSE regions; whether any equity standard exists to ensure consistent life-threatening emergency response across regions; and the corrective mechanisms triggered where sustained regional underperformance is identified. [15867/26]

540. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Health how long the National Ambulance Service has operated above NASCAP Level 1 since 2022; the total number of days spent at Levels 2 and 3 in each of the past three years; and whether the Department considers a prolonged state of escalation compatible with stable emergency service governance. [15868/26]

541. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Health whether a national policy exists within the National Ambulance Service requiring that a life-threatening emergency call be allocated to the next available ambulance within a fixed time window, including a 90-second allocation protocol; when this policy was introduced; the clinical or operational rationale underpinning it; and whether she has re…

542. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Health the number of occasions in each of the past three years where an ambulance assigned to a life-threatening emergency call was dispatched from outside the county in which the incident occurred; the average travel distance and time in such cases; and whether her Department has assessed the impact of long-distance dispatch on local ambulance availa…

543. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Health the number of instances in each of the past three years where an ambulance dispatched to a life-threatening emergency call travelled more than 20 minutes, 30 minutes, or 45 minutes before being stood down due to reassignment; whether such redeployments are reviewed for resource efficiency and patient safety impact; and whether national guidelin…

544. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Health whether her Department or HSE has undertaken any cost-benefit or efficiency analysis of the current national dispatch model, including fuel expenditure, crew time utilisation, overtime costs, and opportunity cost arising from cross-regional dispatch and stand-down; and if so, to provide details. [15878/26]

545. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Health whether any formal clinical risk assessment has been conducted in relation to the National Ambulance Service dispatch model where units are assigned across regions under a time-based allocation protocol; whether this model has been benchmarked against alternative international dispatch systems; and whether any review is planned. [15875/26]

546. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Health whether her Department monitors instances where rural or peripheral areas are temporarily left without local ambulance cover due to cross-regional dispatch under national allocation protocols; the frequency of such occurrences in the past three years; and the safeguards in place to mitigate exposure risk in those areas. [15876/26]