Parliamentary questions

1016. Deputy John McGuinness asked the Minister for Health the efforts being made by the HSE to recruit staff for the home support services being delivered in Carlow and Kilkenny; the estimated number of extra staff required to fulfil all of the demands on the service; the number of frontline staff directly employed by the HSE in the service; the number of agency staff employed for each of the pas…

1017. Deputy Seán Canney asked the Minister for Health for an update on the provision of dental services to medical card holders as thousands of medical card holders across the country cannot currently afford to attend a dentist; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [61551/25]

1018. Deputy Ivana Bacik asked the Minister for Health her views on the need to provide additional supports to persons attempting to quit vaping; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [61568/25]

1019. Deputy Ivana Bacik asked the Minister for Health if she will allocate additional funds to the mental health budget. [61569/25]

1020. Deputy Pat Buckley asked the Minister for Health if an urgent CT scan will be expedited for a person (details supplied) in St. James's Hospital. [61597/25]

1021. Deputy Michael Healy-Rae asked the Minister for Health the status of an application for medication by a person (details supplied); and if she will make a statement on the matter. [61600/25]

1022. Deputy Richard Boyd Barrett asked the Minister for Health if she will roll out the inclusion of a test for spinal muscular atrophy by November 2025, the second anniversary of the announcement that it would be added (details supplied). [61601/25]

1023. Deputy Michael Fitzmaurice asked the Minister for Health if she will address the issue that a national transfer system does not exist for health and social care professionals only for clerical and management grades; when the need for fair mobility across the system will be available; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [61633/25]

1024. Deputy Matt Carthy asked the Minister for Health when a person (details supplied) will receive the treatment at Cappagh Hospital; if she will ensure that the necessary treatment is expedited for this patient; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [61634/25]

1025. Deputy Paul Murphy asked the Minister for Health the baseline budget for Local and Regional Drug and Alcohol Task Forces in each year 2023 to 2026; the breakdown of the core LDATF funding; the additional community-based drug services funding allocated via the Drugs Initiative budget; and temporary or non-baseline allocations. [61646/25]

1026. Deputy Paul Murphy asked the Minister for Health if the €1.7 million additional community-based funding allocated in Budget 2025 has been incorporated into the 2026 baseline for Local Drugs and Alcohol Task Forces; and if not, the reason. [61647/25]

1027. Deputy Paul Murphy asked the Minister for Health the way in which Budget 2026 achieves 'no reduction' in Local Drugs and Alcohol Task Force funding when the overall allocation for the drugs initiative has fallen from €11.6 million to €8.7 million. [61648/25]

1028. Deputy Paul Murphy asked the Minister for Health the funding per capita for Local Drugs and Alcohol Task Forces operating in high-risk areas including Finglas-Cabra, Ballymun, the Canal Communities, Tallaght and the North Inner City; and to compare this with 2008 levels. [61649/25]

1029. Deputy Paul Murphy asked the Minister for Health the reason Budget 2026 contains no emerging needs allocation for Local Drugs and Alcohol Task Forces, despite clear evidence of new patterns of drug use for example, crack cocaine and increased demand for harm reduction services. [61650/25]

1030. Deputy Paul Murphy asked the Minister for Health the way in which her Department reconciles its claim of 'no reduction in allocations' to Local Drugs and Alcohol Taskforces with the 25% variation between Budget 2025 and Budget 2026 reported publicly. [61651/25]

1031. Deputy Malcolm Byrne asked the Minister for Health the level of foresight or future planning that operates within her Department; who is responsible for long-term planning; the input these individuals or teams have into Departmental policy and practice; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [61664/25]

1032. Deputy David Cullinane asked the Minister for Health her plans to maintain special leave with pay for healthcare workers injured on the frontline during the pandemic; if not, if she still plans to end this arrangement at the end of 2025; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [61672/25]

1033. Deputy John McGuinness asked the Minister for Health if an application for continuous glucose monitoring technology submitted to the primary care reimbursement service by the patients diabetes nurse specialist (details supplied) St. Luke's Hospital, Kilkenny, will be reviewed and approved as a matter of urgency. [61678/25]

1034. Deputy Aengus Ó Snodaigh asked the Minister for Health for an update on an urgent appointment for a person (details supplied); and if she will make a statement on the matter. [61690/25]

1035. Deputy John McGuinness asked the Minister for Health for an update in regard to a person awaiting an operation (detail supplied). [61696/25]

1036. Deputy Seán Canney asked the Minister for Health to outline the changes that have been made to the podiatry services in County Galway; if patients are now experiencing longer wait times between appointments; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [61701/25]

1037. Deputy Erin McGreehan asked the Minister for Health to outline the current eligibility criteria for access to continuous glucose monitoring (CGM) devices for people living with diabetes; the number of people currently waiting for a CGM device, disaggregated by age group and CHO area; the average wait time for device approval; and whether he will commit to ensuring equitable access to CGM dev…

1038. Deputy Erin McGreehan asked the Minister for Health the reason people with Type 1 diabetes, who are clinically entitled under national guidelines to access continuous glucose monitoring devices, continue to face prolonged waiting periods; the steps currently being taken to address these delays; and the date by which she expects waiting times to be brought within acceptable clinical standards…

1039. Deputy Erin McGreehan asked the Minister for Health whether the Department or the HSE has commissioned or plans to commission a health technology assessment for the use of continuous glucose monitoring devices for people living with Type 2 diabetes; if not, the rationale for the delay; and if so, to provide a timeline for commencement, completion, and implementation of findings. [61706/25]

1040. Deputy Erin McGreehan asked the Minister for Health to confirm whether multiannual ring-fenced funding for diabetes care will be introduced in Budget 2026 to support the expansion of diabetes specialist teams in both acute and primary care settings, including clinical nurse specialists, dietitians, and diabetes educators; and to provide details of any planned workforce modelling. [61707/25]