Parliamentary questions

1008. Deputy Brian Stanley asked the Minister for Health if clarity will be provided regarding positions that were approved for primary care occupational therapy posts in Laois (details supplied); and if she will make a statement on the matter. [14563/26]

1009. Deputy Paul McAuliffe asked the Minister for Health to provide an update on a speech and language assessment for a child (details supplied). [14587/26]

1010. Deputy Paul Lawless asked the Minister for Health if she will review the current system for accessing CPAP machines for patients with sleep apnoea, in light of cases where families are paying €118 per month in rental fees in addition to monthly medication costs, with limited support available under the drugs payment scheme; if she will consider introducing a model similar to Northern Ireland…

1011. Deputy Paul Lawless asked the Minister for Health if she will examine the financial burden placed on working families who do not qualify for a medical card but who face essential, lifelong medical costs such as CPAP rental and associated medication, particularly where the cost of supporting children in third-level education further reduces disposable income (details supplied); and if she wil…

1012. Deputy Erin McGreehan asked the Minister for Health her plans to expand access to ADHD assessment services for adults in County Louth; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [14613/26]

1013. Deputy Conor Sheehan asked the Minister for Health in inappropriate nursing home settings through the ‘Under 65 Programme’, by county, in each of the years 2023 to 2025, in tabular form; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [14667/26]

1014. Deputy Conor Sheehan asked the Minister for Health the number of people who exited inappropriate nursing home settings through the ‘Under 65 Programme’, by county, in each of the years 2023 to 2025, in tabular form; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [14668/26]

1015. Deputy Conor Sheehan asked the Minister for Health the total budget allocated to the ‘Under 65 Programme’ to get people out of inappropriate nursing home settings in each of the years 2023 to 2025, in tabular form; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [14669/26]

1016. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Health whether she has sought or received any audit, validation, or data quality assurance reports concerning the accuracy of Patient Experience Time data used to record emergency department waiting times; the date of the most recent such review; whether error rates or data reliability concerns have been formally quantified; and if she will outline t…

1017. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Health whether her Department has considered directing the Health Service Executive to publish disaggregated emergency department waiting time bands beyond 24 hours on a hospital-by-hospital basis; whether any policy decision has been taken not to publish such granular data; and the basis on which she satisfies herself that current reporting arrangem…

1018. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Health whether her Department has issued any central written policy, circular, internal guidance note, or governance framework applicable across all line units concerning the oversight, compliance, and safeguarding obligations of non-statutory bodies funded directly by her Department, excluding bodies funded through or overseen by the HSE; and if so,…

1019. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Health what formal mechanisms exist at Secretary General or Management Board level to ensure consistency of governance, reporting, and compliance standards across different departmental line units when administering direct funding to non-statutory bodies; whether such oversight arrangements are documented; and whether any consolidated compliance repo…

1020. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Health the statutory, contractual, or policy basis her Department requires non-statutory bodies that are not aegis bodies of the Department to operate in line with the Code of Practice for the Governance of State Bodies; whether any internal legal advice was obtained regarding the applicability of that Code to such bodies; and whether any formal dete…

1021. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Health whether her Department conducts documented risk assessments prior to awarding direct funding to non-statutory bodies; whether a standardised risk assessment template is used; and whether such assessments are subject to review by the Department’s Internal Audit Unit. [14677/26]

1022. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Health in the absence of an internal audit or evaluation since 2020 of the adequacy of governance and oversight arrangements for non-statutory bodies funded directly by her Department, if any review is now planned; and, if so, to state the anticipated timeframe and scope. [14678/26]

1023. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Health the capital cost of the extension at Heather House, Cork University Hospital; the date construction was completed; the date on which the additional 19 high-dependency beds were certified as physically ready for use; and the planned date for operational opening [14685/26]

1024. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Health the total number of funded beds at Heather House; the number currently operational; the number temporarily or permanently closed; and the reasons for any non-operational capacity [14686/26]

1025. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Health whether recruitment approval has been granted for staffing of the 19-bed high-dependency unit at Heather House; the number of WTE posts required; the number filled; and the timeline for full staffing [14687/26]

1026. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Health when HIQA registration was sought for the new high-dependency unit at Heather House; whether any conditions or compliance issues were raised; and the expected date of regulatory approval [14688/26]

1027. Deputy David Cullinane asked the Minister for Health the number of children in the care of Children's Health Ireland who were assessed for, offered and received spinal treatment abroad in 2024 and in 2025. [14696/26]

1028. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Health whether the HSE’s activity-based funding, diagnosis related group (DRG) systems, or other service-line costing methodologies allow for the estimation of aggregate expenditure on pain-medicine outpatient services and interventional pain procedures at national or regional level; whether such aggregate estimates have been compiled in the past fiv…

1029. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Health whether her Department has assessed whether the absence of programme-level expenditure analysis for high-prevalence chronic conditions, including chronic pain, is consistent with public financial management standards and performance-based budgeting principles; whether any review of this matter has been undertaken since 2020; and if she will ma…

1030. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Health whether her Department has conducted any formal review, risk assessment, or governance oversight exercise since 1 January 2024 specifically concerning systemic governance, patient-safety risk indicators, or organisational controls at Children’s Health Ireland; if so, to state the date of each such review, the division of her Department respons…

1031. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Health if her Department has not conducted any formal review of governance or patient-safety risk indicators at Children’s Health Ireland since 1 January 2024, to state the reason no such review has been undertaken at Departmental level. [14726/26]

1032. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Health whether her Department maintains a centralised internal register, inventory, or tracking mechanism recording reviews, audits, investigations, or independent reports concerning Children’s Health Ireland; if so, to state when it was last updated; and if not, to confirm that no such centralised register exists within her Department. [14727/26]