882. Deputy Erin McGreehan asked the Minister for Health whether her Department has assessed the impact of the absence of faecal immunochemical testing (FIT) services in County Louth on waiting times for suspected bowel cancer patients attending a hospital (details supplied) in Drogheda; and if she will provide the waiting time from GP referral to colonoscopy for those patients [53434/26]
Parliamentary questions
Questions
TDs ask ministers questions to get answers on the record, most of them in writing. Here is every one asked in the 34th Dáil, by the department it went to and the subject heading it was filed under. How questions work
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Showing questions asked by Erin McGreehan under the heading Health Screening Programmes.
15 questions match, newest first.
883. Deputy Erin McGreehan asked the Minister for Health to provide, for each hospital currently providing faecal immunochemical testing (FIT) for symptomatic patients, the average, median and longest waiting time from GP referral to FIT testing and GP referral to colonoscopy following a positive FIT result, broken down by hospital site; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [53435/26]
1944. Deputy Erin McGreehan asked the Minister for Health the exact date in April 2026 on which newborn screening for Spinal Muscular Atrophy (SMA) and Severe Combined Immunodeficiency (SCID) will commence, and whether this will be a full national roll out or a phased introduction [19687/26]
1945. Deputy Erin McGreehan asked the Minister for Health if the laboratory verification and validation processes for SMA and SCID screening have been fully completed; and if not, when they will be finalised. [19688/26]
1946. Deputy Erin McGreehan asked the Minister for Health whether all newly recruited staff for the expanded newborn screening programme have completed training; and when the finalised screening and treatment pathways for SMA and SCID will be published. [19689/26]
1947. Deputy Erin McGreehan asked the Minister for Health to provide a breakdown of the way in which the €1.4 million allocated in Budget 2024 for SMA/SCID implementation has been spent to date; and whether any additional funding will be required to ensure timely commencement. [19690/26]
1948. Deputy Erin McGreehan asked the Minister for Health the expected timelines and criteria for considering further conditions for inclusion in the National Newborn Bloodspot Screening Programme, in line with the Programme for Government commitment to ongoing expansion. [19691/26]
1955. Deputy Erin McGreehan asked the Minister for Health the immediate actions that are being taken to address the fact that 6,175 people breached the recommended 28-day wait time for an urgent colonoscopy between January and November 2025, given that these are symptomatic patients for whom delayed diagnosis increases the risk of later stage cancer. [19703/26]
1957. Deputy Erin McGreehan asked the Minister for Health the assessment her Department has made of the impact on cancer outcomes arising from delays in accessing urgent colonoscopy. [19705/26]
1172. Deputy Erin McGreehan asked the Minister for Health as Rare Disease Day approaches on 28 February 2026, if she will provide an update on the implementation of spinal muscular atrophy (SMA) screening within the national newborn bloodspot screening programme; whether she will confirm a target date for the rollout of SMA screening to all newborns; to outline the Government’s ongoing commitment to expanding the new…
530. Deputy Erin McGreehan asked the Minister for Health when newborn screening for spinal muscular atrophy (SMA) will commence; the reasons for the more than two-year delay since the decision to add SMA to the national heel-prick programme; and if he will provide a definitive implementation date. [67355/25]
531. Deputy Erin McGreehan asked the Minister for Health if her Department has reviewed the latest European data showing that most EU countries implemented SMA newborn screening within 10-18 months, with 80% of European babies already screened by September 2025; and how Ireland's ongoing delay is being justified in that context. [67356/25]
532. Deputy Erin McGreehan asked the Minister for Health the remaining operational, laboratory, or procurement barriers to the implementation of SMA newborn screening; the work underway to resolve these; and the expected timeline for completion. [67357/25]
533. Deputy Erin McGreehan asked the Minister for Health if her Department has assessed the clinical risk posed by continued delays in SMA newborn screening, given that infants diagnosed after symptom onset face irreversible neuromuscular deterioration and poorer lifelong outcomes; and to publish any related risk assessments. [67358/25]
534. Deputy Erin McGreehan asked the Minister for Health the governance structures in place to oversee the introduction of new conditions to the national newborn screening programme; and the way in which accountability is being ensured in relation to the delayed implementation of SMA screening. [67359/25]