Parliamentary questions

608. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Health the number of voluntary hospitals that have formally indicated concerns or objections regarding integration into the Integrated Financial Management System; and the issues raised during consultations. [64875/25]

609. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Health when the Department expects to finalise the roll out schedule of the Integrated Financial Management System to voluntary hospitals; and the factors delaying the finalisation of the timetable. [64876/25]

610. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Health the additional staffing or ICT resources required to support the deployment of the Integrated Financial Management System to voluntary hospitals; and the total estimated cost of these supports. [64877/25]

611. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Health the steps she will take to ensure real-time oversight of financial reporting across voluntary hospitals once the Integrated Financial Management System is fully deployed; and how this data will be used to strengthen governance and auditing. [64878/25]

612. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Health the projected timeline for eliminating duplicate financial reporting requirements across the HSE and voluntary hospitals once the Integrated Financial Management System is operational in all sites. [64879/25]

613. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Health if she will confirm whether the recent €10 weekly increase in pension payments will be matched by an equivalent increase in medical card income thresholds for older persons, to ensure that pensioners do not lose eligibility as a result of the pension adjustment. [64880/25]

614. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Health the number of persons aged 70 or over projected to lose entitlement to a medical card or GP visit card in 2025 and 2026 due to pension increases not being reflected in updated medical card income thresholds. [64881/25]

615. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Health the year in which medical card income thresholds for persons aged 70 and over were last revised, and the rationale for not indexing thresholds to inflation, pension adjustments or cost of living changes. [64882/25]

616. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Health if her Department conducted an equality or social impact assessment on the effect of raising pensions without adjusting medical card thresholds, particularly for older persons living alone. [64883/25]

617. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Health the number of older persons who received a discretionary medical card in each of the past five years due to being above the income threshold but facing high medical or living costs. [64884/25]

618. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Health the number of applications from persons aged 70 or over rejected for a medical card or GP visit card in each of the past five years due to exceeding the income thresholds. [64885/25]

619. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Health if the HSE has issued any internal guidance to staff to ensure that older applicants with modest increases in pension income are not denied a medical card where there are evident medical needs or high living costs. [64886/25]

620. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Health the total number of persons aged 70 or over who have lost their medical card or GP visit card in the past three years due to being marginally above the income thresholds. [64887/25]

621. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Health if her Department will consider aligning medical card thresholds with annual pension increases as part of future budget cycles; and if this option has been costed. [64888/25]

622. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Health the projected annual cost of increasing medical card thresholds for older persons in line with the most recent pension increase; and the estimated number of additional medical card holders such a measure would support. [64889/25]

623. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Health the public health advice her Department has issued to the Department of Justice since 2020 regarding infectious disease screening of persons entering or residing in the State, and if she will publish this advice. [64900/25]

624. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Health if her Department has completed any public health risk assessments since 2020 relating to tuberculosis, measles, polio, hepatitis or other communicable diseases among persons arriving into the State, and if she will provide copies of these assessments. [64901/25]

625. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Health the number of infectious disease cases recorded by the HSE in each of the past five years that were epidemiologically linked to recent arrivals into the State, broken down by disease type. [64902/25]

626. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Health if any recommendation has been made by the Chief Medical Officer or the Health Protection Surveillance Centre to reintroduce or expand health screening protocols for persons entering or residing in the State. [64903/25]

627. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Health the screening, vaccination or health evaluation measures that were in place for new arrivals to the State before 2020, the date these measures ceased, and the reason the Department ended or amended those protocols. [64904/25]

628. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Health if her Department has provided any resourcing, staffing or operational plans to the HSE to support expanded infectious disease screening at ports of entry or reception centres, and if she will outline these proposals. [64905/25]

629. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Health the number of internal memos, circulars or directives issued by the Department since 2020 concerning infectious disease risks associated with inward migration, and if she will publish the dates and recipients of those communications. [64906/25]

630. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Health if the HSE currently has the capacity to conduct infectious disease screening for all persons entering the State in circumstances where public health advice recommends such screening, and the number of staff available for this work. [64907/25]

631. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Health the estimated cost of reintroducing mandatory or enhanced infectious disease screening for persons entering or residing in the State, including staffing, clinical resources and laboratory capacity. [64908/25]

632. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Health if her Department has raised any concerns with the Department of Justice regarding infectious disease risks associated with international protection applicants or other new arrivals in the past five years. [64909/25]