Questions

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 recruitment timelines …

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 undertaken by her De…

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 oversight; and the step…

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 prioritised given t…

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]

607. Deputy Ann Graves asked the Minister for Health the average waiting times to see a consultant paediatric ENT surgeon at CHI Temple Street for a first appointment. [11485/26]

608. Deputy Peter 'Chap' Cleere asked the Minister for Health if the medicine skyclaris/ omaveloxalone will be reimbursed by the HSE as it is the only drug approved to treat Freidreicsh’s ataxia; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [11491/26]

609. Deputy Pádraig Rice asked the Minister for Health to provide an update on the establishment of the registration board for clinical biochemists; the current phase of development (details supplied); the timeline being worked towards; the reason for the delay; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [11496/26]

610. Deputy Pádraig Rice asked the Minister for Health to provide an update on the establishment of the registration board for orthoptists; the current phase of development (details supplied); the timeline being worked towards; the reason for the delay; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [11497/26]

611. Deputy Pádraig Rice asked the Minister for Health to provide further details with respect to an instruction to the HSE regarding critical illness protocol requests from former recipients of the special scheme of paid leave for healthcare workers with long-Covid (details supplied); to provide a copy of the memo or circular in which this instruction was stated; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [1149…

612. Deputy Conor Sheehan asked the Minister for Health the number of people on waiting lists for physiotherapy and speech and language therapy, broken down by CHO including the number waiting more than two years; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [11502/26]

613. Deputy John Clendennen asked the Minister for Health the current average waiting times, by county, for those awaiting a first-time appointment for occupational therapy, through primary care services; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [11510/26]

614. Deputy John Clendennen asked the Minister for Health the current average waiting times, by county, for those awaiting a first-time appointment for speech and language therapy, through primary care services; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [11511/26]

615. Deputy John Clendennen asked the Minister for Health the current average waiting times, by county, for those awaiting a first-time appointment for physiotherapy services, through primary care services; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [11512/26]

616. Deputy John Clendennen asked the Minister for Health the number of children currently on waiting lists for primary care occupational therapy, speech and language therapy and physiotherapy services, by discipline, by county, and length of time waiting (under six months, six–12 months, 12–24 months and over 24 months); and if she will make a statement on the matter. [11513/26]

617. Deputy John Clendennen asked the Minister for Health the measures currently in place to reduce waiting times for access to primary care occupational therapy, speech and language therapy and physiotherapy services for children; the impact these measures have had to date; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [11514/26]

618. Deputy John Clendennen asked the Minister for Health the number of funded whole-time equivalent posts for occupational therapists, speech and language therapists and physiotherapists in primary care services; the number currently filled; the number vacant, by county; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [11515/26]

619. Deputy Donna McGettigan asked the Minister for Health the hospitals which have and which do not have 24-hour chaplaincy services; the reason for any hospital not having such services; if there is any change to the provision of services envisaged; the actions she r will take to ensure they all have 24-hour services; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [11564/26]

620. Deputy Brendan Smith asked the Minister for Health her plans to increase capacity in a health care facility to reduce waiting lists for procedures (details supplied); and if she will make a statement on the matter. [11573/26]

282. Deputy David Cullinane asked the Minister for Health the data collected by her Department and the HSE relating to disabled drivers and primary medical certificates. [10728/26]

283. Deputy Tom Brabazon asked the Minister for Health the number of persons on the waiting list to see a speech and language therapist for a first appointment at a care centre (details supplied); and the average waiting time for same. [10802/26]

284. Deputy Sorca Clarke asked the Minister for Health when the current pause in recruitment of physician associates is expected to be lifted; when the physician associates review is due to be published; and the HSE CEOs plans for the recruitment and deployment of PAs within the National Service Plan 2026, particularly in the context of an under-resourced and understaffed health service. [10518/26]

285. Deputy Pádraig Mac Lochlainn asked the Minister for Health the measures being taken to fill the staff vacancies in St Joseph's Hospital, Stranorlar, County Donegal, given that a considerable number of beds are empty, while Letterkenny University Hospital is consistently one of the most overcrowded hospitals in the State. [10553/26]

286. Deputy Joanna Byrne asked the Minister for Health the average time to admission, the waiting-time distribution, and the number of patients leaving without being seen via the emergency department at Our Lady of Lourdes Hospital, Drogheda, for each of the years 2022 to 2025 and to-date in 2026, with separate figures for all patients aged 75 years and over, in tabular form. [10575/26]