Parliamentary questions

1001. Deputy Claire Kerrane asked the Minister for Health where the HSE and National Ambulance Service currently stand on delivering the recognition that has been promised to paramedics for several years; the HSEs views on the reason recent pay and recognition proposals are being repeatedly rejected by paramedic staff; whether she accepts that these proposals fail to adequately reflect the clinica…

1002. Deputy Pádraig Mac Lochlainn asked the Minister for Health when a carer will be appointed to fulfil an approved home care package in respect of a person (details supplied); and if she will make a statement on the matter. [7593/26]

1003. Deputy Pádraig Rice asked the Minister for Health if she expects the Strategic Review of General Practice to be completed in 2026 or 2027; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [7595/26]

1004. Deputy Marie Sherlock asked the Minister for Health the total number of emergency department admissions per each emergency department in the country; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [7598/26]

1005. Deputy Marie Sherlock asked the Minister for Health the total number of presentations per each emergency department that do not have a GP referral; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [7599/26]

1006. Deputy Marie Sherlock asked the Minister for Health the share of presentations per each emergency department that do not have a GP referral; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [7600/26]

1007. Deputy Máire Devine asked the Minister for Health the rationale for the proposed establishment of regional structures under the National Drugs Strategy and to clarify the governance, funding and accountability arrangements for these structures; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [7601/26]

1008. Deputy Máire Devine asked the Minister for Health the way in which the population-based planning, that will be used for new National Drugs Strategy structures, will address deprivation and local need; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [7602/26]

1009. Deputy Máire Devine asked the Minister for Health the consultation that has taken place with local drug and alcohol task forces and communities ahead of the proposed regional structures under the National Drugs Strategy; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [7603/26]

1010. Deputy Máire Devine asked the Minister for Health the way in which the independent, community-led nature, and preventative role, of task forces will be protected in the new proposed regional structures under the National Drugs Strategy; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [7604/26]

1011. Deputy Aindrias Moynihan asked the Minister for Health the Food Safety Authority of Ireland’s procedure for the testing of beef and other meat products entering the Irish market for banned hormones; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [7606/26]

1012. Deputy Aindrias Moynihan asked the Minister for Health if the presence of oestradiol was found through routine testing in relation to the beef from animals treated with oestradiol, which was recalled by the Food Safety Authority of Ireland in December 2025; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [7607/26]

1013. Deputy Aindrias Moynihan asked the Minister for Health if she has had engagement with the Food Safety Authority of Ireland regarding the reason Brazilian beef was allowed to enter the Irish market in December 2025, while the results of the tests for oestradiol were not yet known; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [7608/26]

1014. Deputy David Cullinane asked the Minister for Health to provide an update on the work of the Covid-19 evaluation panel; the timeframe for completion; the costs to date; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [7614/26]

1015. Deputy Pádraig Rice asked the Minister for Health the changes she has implemented to address the issues identified in reports on the nursing home sector (details supplied); the further actions she intends to take to reform the way in which nursing homes are regulated and funded; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [7618/26]

1016. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Health the number of private residential properties owned by persons in receipt of support under the nursing homes support scheme that were rented out in each year since the Fair Deal rental income reforms came into effect in early 2024; the total number of such properties currently rented; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [7665/26]

1017. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Health the number of properties associated with nursing homes support scheme applicants that were identified by her Department or the HSE as potentially suitable for rental prior to the 2024 Fair Deal rental income reforms; the evidence base used at that time to estimate that thousands of homes would enter the rental market; and if she will publish t…

1018. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Health if her Department has conducted any post-implementation review of the 2024 Fair Deal rental income reforms; whether barriers such as legal complexity, family consent issues, tenancy duration rules, or interaction with wider rental legislation were identified as limiting take-up; and what corrective actions are now proposed. [7667/26]

1019. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Health what engagement has taken place between her Department, the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage, and the HSE to assess the impact of wider rental market reforms on the willingness of nursing homes support scheme participants to rent out their properties; and whether any cross-departmental measures are planned to increase parti…

1020. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Health whether her Department or the HSE has undertaken, commissioned, or reviewed any health economic or cost-benefit analysis on the use of GLP-1 receptor agonist medicines, including tirzepatide and semaglutide, for obesity treatment and the prevention of type 2 diabetes; if so, the details and outcomes of any such analysis; and if not, whether sh…

1021. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Health the current policy position of her Department regarding the reimbursement of GLP-1 receptor agonist medicines under the Drugs Payment Scheme; whether any review is under way to consider broader eligibility criteria; and the expected timeline for any decision on changes to reimbursement policy. [7677/26]

1022. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Health whether her Department has assessed the potential impact of GLP-1 receptor agonist medicines on reducing the future incidence of type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular disease, and associated complications; whether such preventative outcomes are factored into medicines reimbursement decisions; and if she will outline how prevention-based savings are …

1023. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Health what consideration has been given to the equity implications of high out-of-pocket costs for GLP-1 receptor agonist medicines; whether the Department has examined the risk of access being determined by ability to pay rather than clinical need; and if she will outline any measures under consideration to address this issue. [7679/26]

1024. Deputy Liam Quaide asked the Minister for Health the number of approved occupational therapy posts, per population, in psychiatry of later life services across each health region; if there are integrated health areas that currently do not have approved occupational therapy posts, in tabular form [7685/26]

1025. Deputy Liam Quaide asked the Minister for Health the number of approved social work posts, per population, in psychiatry of later life services across each health region; if there are integrated health areas that currently do not have approved social work posts, in tabular form [7686/26]