Parliamentary questions

582. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Health her views on whether the National Ambulance Service performance framework in which 55 percent of clinical status 1 red emergency calls fail to meet response time targets represents an acceptable standard of emergency care; the clinical or policy basis on which the current red call target was set; and whether any review of that target has been u…

583. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Health the formal escalation, intervention, or corrective measures which are triggered when the National Ambulance Service response time targets for clinical status 1 purple or red emergency calls are not met at national or regional level; whether any such measures were triggered during 2025; and if not, the way in which compliance with emergency resp…

584. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Health whether median response times for clinical status 1 purple and red emergency calls are collected by the National Ambulance Service; if so, to provide the median response times for each of the past 12 months by HSE region; and if not, the methodological reasons median response times are not used alongside averages in assessing emergency ambulanc…

585. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Health the number of persons awaiting commencement of a home support package in Cork City and County, by Community Healthcare Network area, at the end of each month from January 2024 to date; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [11400/26]

586. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Health the number of existing home support recipients in Cork City and County who are awaiting additional approved hours; the average waiting time for those hours to be delivered; and the steps being taken at national level to reduce these delays. [11401/26]

587. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Health the total number of persons on home support waiting lists nationally, by CHO area, at the most recent reporting date; the criteria used by her Department to assess regional equity in home support provision; and whether Cork has been identified as a high-pressure area requiring targeted intervention. [11402/26]

588. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Health the assessment her Department has undertaken of home support workforce capacity in Cork City and County, including recruitment, retention, and attrition rates; how these factors are impacting waiting lists; and what workforce planning measures are being implemented to address shortages. [11403/26]

589. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Health the number of home support hours funded nationally and in Cork city and county for each year from 2022 to date; the number of hours actually delivered; the gap between funded and delivered hours; and the reasons identified for any persistent underspend or delivery shortfall. [11404/26]

590. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Health whether her Department has assessed the extent to which delays in home support provision are contributing to premature admission to long-term residential care; whether any cost-comparison or value-for-money analysis has been conducted; and if she will publish any such assessment. [11405/26]

591. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Health the governance mechanisms which exist within her Department to monitor home support waiting lists; how frequently data is reviewed at ministerial level; and what accountability measures apply where waiting lists remain persistently high. [11406/26]

592. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Health whether national targets exist for maximum waiting times for home support services; if not, whether she intends to introduce such targets; and the timeline for achieving measurable reductions in waiting lists in Cork city and county. [11407/26]

593. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Health the way in which current home support waiting list levels align with Sláintecare commitments to care in the community; whether her Department accepts that prolonged delays undermine that policy objective; and what corrective actions are planned. [11408/26]

594. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Health what population-based demand modelling her Department uses to project future home support needs; whether Cork’s ageing profile has been factored into capacity planning; and whether additional funding or staffing allocations are planned for 2026. [11409/26]

595. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Health to provide, for each year from 2020 to 2025 inclusive, the total gross expenditure met from Vote funding under the treatment abroad scheme in respect of patients aged under 18 years; the number of prior authorisations approved in each year for this age cohort; and the aggregate expenditure per year associated with those approvals. [11439/26]

596. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Health whether her Department categorises or tracks treatment abroad scheme expenditure by treatment type or clinical category, including gender-related healthcare; and if so, to set out the categories used, the year in which such categorisation commenced; and how this information is used for expenditure control and policy oversight. [11440/26]

597. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Health the expenditure-control framework applied by her Department to the treatment abroad scheme since 2020, including whether any annual or multi-annual budget ceilings, control totals, or sanction limits have been set at Departmental level; and if not, the reason no such ceilings apply to this area of Vote expenditure. [11441/26]

598. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Health to detail the governance and approval chain within her Department and the HSE for managing treatment abroad scheme expenditure, including the name of the responsible Division in her Department, the budget holder accountable for TAS expenditure, and the role of the Department’s Eligibility Unit in monitoring or approving budget variances. [11442…

599. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Health to list all audits, reviews, or value-for-money examinations conducted since 2020 by or on behalf of her Department, the HSE Internal Audit function, or the Comptroller and Auditor General that included the treatment abroad scheme; and for each audit to provide the year conducted, scope, principal findings, and whether any recommendations were …

600. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Health whether she accepts that neither her Department nor the HSE currently operates any national key performance indicators governing recruitment clearance timelines, including Garda vetting, occupational health clearance, HR approval stages, or the time from job offer to commencement; whether she considers the absence of such KPIs compatible with e…

601. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Health whether she will issue a formal policy direction to the HSE to introduce mandatory national key performance indicators for recruitment clearance and appointment timelines, including external candidate onboarding; whether such KPIs will apply uniformly across all health regions; and the quarter and year by which full national KPI reporting on re…

602. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Health whether her Department has assessed the impact of recruitment control measures introduced in 2023 and 2024 on clearance delays, vacancy persistence, and service delivery; whether the absence of clearance-timeline KPIs has limited the State’s ability to quantify those impacts; and if she will publish any internal reviews, analyses, or briefings …

603. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Health the way in which national accountability for recruitment performance is maintained following the establishment of six health regions under Sláintecare, in circumstances where recruitment clearance timelines are not measured at national level; whether she accepts that devolving workforce autonomy without national clearance benchmarks weakens ove…

604. Deputy Sorca Clarke asked the Minister for Health the current waiting list for CAMHS services at the end of January 2026, by county; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [11458/26]

605. Deputy Paul Lawless asked the Minister for Health when a person (details supplied) will receive an appointment to see the paediatric spinal neurosurgery service at Beaumont Hospital; if she is aware of the delay in scheduling a consultation despite clinical findings indicating a suspected tethered spinal cord and progressive neurological deterioration; and if she will ensure that this case is…

606. Deputy Ann Graves asked the Minister for Health the number of WTE emergency department nurses at Beaumont Hospital as of 3 February 2026; and if this number will be further increased during the first half of 2026. [11484/26]