Parliamentary questions

547. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Health whether the 90-second allocation protocol forms part of the HSE Enterprise Risk Register; whether it has been subject to independent audit or review since 2020; and whether she is satisfied that the current dispatch framework balances speed of allocation with geographic efficiency and sustained regional capacity. [15877/26]

548. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Health further to Parliamentary Question No. 315 of 11 February 2025, and noting that the National Centre for Pharmacoeconomics completed a full health technology assessment of tirzepatide for the treatment of adults with insufficiently controlled type 2 diabetes mellitus on 9 February 2026, and for weight management on 3 December 2025, whether she ha…

549. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Health whether her Department or the HSE has prepared or received any gross and net budget impact analysis in respect of the proposed reimbursement of tirzepatide and semaglutide for diabetes and weight management indications; the estimated annual gross cost to the Exchequer in each of the first five years of potential reimbursement; any estimated dow…

550. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Health the estimated number of adults nationally who meet the clinical eligibility thresholds outlined in the completed HTAs for tirzepatide for diabetes and weight management indications; the estimated number of adolescents who would meet the subpopulation criteria proposed for semaglutide reimbursement; whether her Department has been advised of pro…

551. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Health whether her Department has undertaken any comparative assessment of the timeframe from marketing authorisation to reimbursement decision for GLP-1 receptor agonists in Ireland relative to other EU Member States; whether she considers the current pharmacoeconomic assessment and negotiation timeline proportionate to the scale of the public health…

552. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Health whether formal commercial negotiations between the HSE Corporate Pharmaceutical Unit and the relevant marketing authorisation holders in respect of tirzepatide and semaglutide are currently active; whether any price proposal has been received following completion of the HTA processes; whether any budget ceiling or access cap has been set as a m…

553. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Health whether her Department has approved, directed, agreed to, or otherwise authorised any performance reporting methodology under the Health Service Executive National Service Plan whereby clinical status 1 purple or red emergency ambulance calls with response times exceeding 60 minutes are excluded, truncated, capped, or otherwise omitted from pub…

554. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Health whether the current National Ambulance Service key performance Indicator (KPI) framework, including the absence of any maximum response time thresholds for clinical status 1 purple and red calls, has been formally approved, endorsed or noted by her Department; the date on which the current KPI framework was last reviewed by her Department; and …

556. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Health whether the Department of Health Enterprise Risk Management Framework identifies prolonged ambulance response times for life-threatening emergencies as a strategic or operational risk; if so, the risk rating currently assigned; and if not, whether she will require that this risk be formally assessed and recorded. [15891/26]

557. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Health whether any internal Departmental briefings, submissions, memoranda or governance reviews since 2020 have considered the question of whether emergency ambulance response times exceeding 60 minutes should be classified or recorded as patient safety incidents; and if so, to outline the conclusions reached. [15892/26]

558. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Health the number of occasions in 2025 on which the National Ambulance Service operated at NASCAP level 3; the duration in days of each such period; whether any escalation to level 4 was considered; and the formal reporting mechanism by which such escalation levels are notified to her Department. [15893/26]

559. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Health whether her Department has undertaken or commissioned any comparative review of international ambulance service performance governance frameworks, including the use of outlier response time reporting, since 2018; and if so, to provide the title and date of such review and the principal findings. [15894/26]

560. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Health further to Parliamentary Question No. 1121 of 7 February 2026,to provide a detailed implementation schedule for each recommendation contained in the Emerging Health Threats Steering Group (ESG) Report published in October 2024, including for each recommendation; the decision taken by her Department; the approving authority, the decision date; t…

561. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Health further to Parliamentary Question No. 1121 of 7 February 2026, to list all funding approvals issued by her Department arising from the ESG Report since October 2024, including for each approval; the programme title; vote and subhead; amount approved for each financial year; whether the funding is current or capital, the approval date, and the b…

562. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Health the governance and reporting arrangements to Government in respect of the Health Threats Advisory Committee established in 2025, including its terms of reference, reporting frequency, the senior official accountable within her Department, and the dates of meetings held to date. [15897/26]

563. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Health the governance, statutory or administrative basis, and reporting structure of the cross-departmental One Health Oversight Committee established in 2025, including the Departments formally represented and the number of meetings held to date. [15898/26]

564. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Health further to Parliamentary Question No. 1121 of 7 February 2026, to provide the approved governance structure, staffing complement, procurement route, budget allocation, and expected operational commencement date for the Evidence Synthesis Hub for Health Emergency Preparedness. [15899/26]

565. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Health the current stage of development of the National Health Threats Preparedness Plan; including the responsible Division; the anticipated publication date; whether draft Heads have been prepared; and whether the Plan will be placed on a statutory footing. [15900/26]

566. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Health further to Parliamentary Question No. 1121 of 7 February 2026, to list the pandemic preparedness simulation exercises that have taken place since 2022; including the date; organising authority; participating State bodies, whether an after-action report was completed, and whether any such reports were submitted to her Department. [15901/26]

567. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Health the key performance indicators her Department uses to monitor national preparedness for emerging health threats; the date each indicator was first adopted; and the most recent reporting date for each indicator to the Minister. [15902/26]

568. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Health the governance framework within her Department for oversight of the Public Only Consultant Contract since its introduction in March 2023; including the responsible Division; the senior accountable official, the reporting frequency; and the titles and dates of any oversight reports received by her since that date. [15903/26]

569. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Health the key performance indicators and outcome measures used by her Department to assess whether the objectives of the Public Only Consultant Contract are being met; and to provide the baseline date and most recent reporting date for each such indicator. [15904/26]

570. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Health whether her Department has issued any formal reporting requirements, policy directions, or data specifications to the HSE in relation to monitoring consultant working patterns under the Public Only Consultant Contract since March 2023, and to provide the date and title of each such direction. [15905/26]

571. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Health whether her Department has commissioned, received, or reviewed any audit, evaluation, or value-for-money assessment of the Public Only Consultant Contract since its introduction, and if so, to provide the title, authoring body, and completion date of each such assessment. [15906/26]

572. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Health what interim monitoring or assurance mechanisms her Department relies upon where complete hospital-group-level reporting of consultant evening, weekend and public holiday hours is not available, and to state the date on which each such mechanism commenced. [15907/26]