Parliamentary questions

2303. Deputy Liam Quaide asked the Minister for Health the current status of supply of estradot (estradiol transdermal) patches in the State; the duration and cause of any supply disruptions affecting this product in 2024 and 2025; the steps taken by her Department and the HSE to mitigate these shortages; and whether she will provide a timeline for full restoration of supply; and if she will make …

2304. Deputy Liam Quaide asked the Minister for Health if she will review the current dispensing arrangements under the free HRT scheme which limit hormone replacement therapy to one month’s supply at a time; the rationale for this restriction; the impact it has had on continuity of care during ongoing supply disruptions, including for estradot patches; if consideration has been given to allowing …

2305. Deputy James Geoghegan asked the Minister for Health if she will examine the issues outlined in correspondence (details supplied); and if she will make a statement on the matter. [75034/25]

2306. Deputy Erin McGreehan asked the Minister for Health if she will provide an update on the development of a business case for the purchase of the software required for scoliosis surgery at the National Orthopaedic Hospital Cappagh (details supplied); if she will confirm that the HSE does not currently hold the equipment required; and if she will acknowledge that the absence of this software is…

2307. Deputy Shane Moynihan asked the Minister for Health if she will address the lack of recognition of foetal alcohol spectrum disorder, FASD, as a disability within the HSE, which is resulting in a person (details supplied) being denied access to disability services; the reason HSE disability services in some areas such as Waterford, provide supports for individuals with FASD while others do no…

2308. Deputy Emer Currie asked the Minister for Health the position regarding the Programme for Government commitment to advancing the full implementation of the recommendations of the HSE-Dublin City Council joint ambulance service delivery task and finish group; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [75048/25]

2309. Deputy Emer Currie asked the Minister for Health the progress made to date regarding the 15 central recommendations made in a report (details supplied), in tabular form; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [75051/25]

2310. Deputy Ruth Coppinger asked the Minister for Health to consider the Labour Court recommendation to extend special leave with pay to workers with long Covid; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [75062/25]

2311. Deputy Pádraig Rice asked the Minister for Health the reason routine school dental check-ups have not taken place in a primary school in County Kilkenny (details supplied), resulting in a child aged ten years not having received any school dental examination to date; the length of time children in this age cohort are currently waiting for a check-up in the area; the measures being taken to a…

2312. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Health whether her Department considered the procurement of an enhanced influenza vaccine for the 2025–2026 flu season; the advice received from the HSE and the National Immunisation Advisory Committee in this regard; the evidence base relied upon in deciding not to procure such a vaccine; and if she will publish the clinical, cost-effectiveness, and…

2313. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Health the estimated additional cost, in absolute and per-patient terms, of procuring an enhanced influenza vaccine for persons aged 65 years and over for the 2025–2026 flu season; how this cost was weighed against projected hospital admissions, bed-day usage, and emergency department demand associated with influenza; and whether a formal cost-benefi…

2314. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Health whether her Department assessed the potential impact of not procuring an enhanced influenza vaccine on winter infection rates, hospital overcrowding, and emergency department capacity during the 2025 Christmas period; and if so, to outline the findings of that assessment and the mitigation measures put in place. [75077/25]

2315. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Health the influenza vaccination uptake rates to date for the 2025–2026 season, broken down by age cohort and risk group; how these figures compare with the same period in each of the previous three years; and what policy measures her Department has taken to address any identified decline in uptake. [75078/25]

2316. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Health whether budgetary constraints influenced the decision not to procure an enhanced influenza vaccine for the current season; whether a specific budget line was sought or refused for that purpose; and how influenza vaccination policy is prioritised within overall winter-planning and hospital-capacity frameworks. [75079/25]

2317. Deputy Pádraig Rice asked the Minister for Health the measures currently in place for those seeking delayed reconstruction surgery in a timely manner after a mastectomy (details supplied); and if she will make a statement on the matter. [75087/25]

2318. Deputy Pádraig Rice asked the Minister for Health if there is a designated pathway in place to access delayed breast reconstruction surgery after a mastectomy in a timely manner within the public system (details supplied); and if she will make a statement on the matter. [75088/25]

2319. Deputy Pádraig Rice asked the Minister for Health the position regarding a new unit (details supplied) in Cork City; the timeline for hand over of this unit; if an application to register the service has been submitted to HIQA; the expected move in date for residents; if information will be issued to families and advocates with respect to the move in date; and if she will make a statement on…

2320. Deputy Paul Lawless asked the Minister for Health whether she has examined the potential for perceived or actual conflicts of interest in cases where a person who has exhausted a hospital’s internal complaints process is directed to the Ombudsman, and may subsequently require an FOI appeal to the Information Commissioner relating to the same matter, given that both decisions are made by the …

2321. Deputy James O'Connor asked the Minister for Health the number of projects in her Department that were delayed in 2023 and 2024 due to the change of document from the public spending code to the infrastructure guidelines, in tabular form; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [75112/25]

2322. Deputy Mairéad Farrell asked the Minister for Health her plans to streamline the procedure for the drugs payment scheme, to digitalise it, or to make less cumbersome for those using it; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [75120/25]

2323. Deputy Michael Cahill asked the Minister for Health to urgently review the position in respect of staff in the health services that are unable to attend for work on account of having long Covid; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [75136/25]

2324. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Health the number of emergency calls classified as purple and red in each of the past 12 months where the National Ambulance Service response time exceeded 60 minutes, broken down by month and by community healthcare organisation area. [75137/25]

2325. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Health the average and median response times for purple and red emergency calls in each of the past 12 months; and the percentage of such calls meeting the national response time targets set by the Health Service Executive. [75138/25]

2326. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Health the primary factors identified by her Department and the Health Service Executive as contributing to emergency ambulance response times exceeding 60 minutes, including staffing levels, vehicle availability, hospital handover delays, and rostering constraints. [75139/25]

2327. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Health the number of hours ambulances were unavailable for emergency, in each of the past 12 months due to hospital handover delays; and the measures in place to reduce ambulance turnaround times at emergency departments. [75140/25]