Questions

996. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Health if her Department has conducted any financial-impact assessment of the 6,852 funded WTE posts reported as unfilled as of September 2025; the estimated Exchequer underspend arising from these unfilled posts; and the Department’s policy on how such underspends are monitored and reported. [71960/25]

999. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Health the policy under which the HSE does not maintain post-level records of agency or temporary staff assigned to cover funded development posts; the Department’s assessment of how this omission affects expenditure monitoring, audit trails and compliance with public financial-management standards; and whether she will issue a direction that such records now be maintain…

1004. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Health to provide the Department’s policy framework, internal guidance or decision-support documents that informed the assessment of clinical safety, safeguarding and public-expenditure implications when minors were referred abroad for gender-related treatment; and if no such framework existed, to state the reason. [71977/25]

1012. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Health the Department’s policy position on the role of medical inflation, rising living costs and increased clinical need in assessing hardship for people aged over 70 who exceed the income threshold; and to confirm whether the Department plans revisions to hardship interpretation or supporting documentation requirements. [71985/25]

1058. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Health if her Department has undertaken any review since 2020 of the adequacy of the medical card income thresholds for persons aged 70 years and over in light of cumulative inflation and rising living costs; and the findings of any such review. [72242/25]

1089. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Health the governance and policy framework approved by her Department for gender identity services for children and young people; the date of the most recent review; and the steps being taken to ensure full compliance with national safeguarding and clinical governance standards. [72297/25]

1091. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Health her Department’s policy on evaluating international clinical guidance before alignment with national frameworks; the assessments carried out on WPATH Standards between 2018 and 2023; and the timeline for completing a formal review of these standards in light of the Cass Review. [72299/25]

574. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Health the steps her Department has taken to establish a national data and outcomes system to monitor long-term psychological, medical, and service-use outcomes for individuals receiving gender-related healthcare; the expected timeline for implementation; and how this system will support evidence-based policy and clinical governance. [71077/25]

575. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Health whether her Department has approved a national clinical pathway for individuals seeking to discontinue or reverse aspects of gender transition; the governance standards that will apply in this area; the expected timeframe for formalising such pathways within the new Model of Care; and whether associated data on detransition will be collected and published. [71078/…

576. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Health the conflict-of-interest disclosure requirements that apply to officials, clinicians, and advisors involved in drafting the new Model of Care for gender healthcare; whether these declarations will be published for transparency; and the steps her Department is taking to ensure independence from advocacy organisations, external interest groups, or service-provider i…

300. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Health to detail the governance, approval processes and risk assessments used when referring Irish children and young people to external providers, including foreign clinics; and to confirm whether any departmental policy ever permitted or endorsed referral pathways involving private clinics in Antwerp, Belgium. [70453/25]

544. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science if a performance and evaluation framework has been approved for the National Demonstration Park for Modern Methods of Construction at Mount Lucas, including baseline data, target indicators, and reporting mechanisms; and if not, to explain why construction has proceeded in the absence of defined metrics. [689…

102. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Climate, Energy and the Environment to provide a detailed list of all categories of infrastructure falling within the policy remit of his Department under the Climate Action Plan 2025, National Planning Framework, National Marine Planning Framework and renewable energy programmes, including grid development, offshore renewable energy, electricity system reinforcement and…

367. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Finance whether any internal briefing notes, modelling papers or impact assessments were prepared within his Department or by Revenue regarding the effect of higher LPT valuations on homeownership affordability, mortgage applicants, or the private rental market, and if he will publish these documents. [64960/25]

376. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Finance if his Department issued any direction or guidance to the Revenue Commissioners during the 2025 valuation exercise regarding the potential impact of rising valuations on owner-occupier affordability or small landlord viability. [64969/25]

380. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Finance whether his Department conducted any regional or economic distributional analysis of households most at risk of financial strain from increased LPT valuations; and if so, to publish this analysis. [64973/25]

526. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Public Expenditure, Infrastructure, Public Service Reform and Digitalisation the way in which potential conflicts of interest are managed where elected representatives may have personal or financial connections relevant to policy on gender affirming care for children; and in particular, the safeguards that are in place to ensure that policy decisions are evidence based, …

527. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Public Expenditure, Infrastructure, Public Service Reform and Digitalisation to outline the protocols in place to identify and manage potential conflicts of interest when a member of the Government, including Ministers, has personal or familial connections that may intersect with policy areas under their responsibility (details supplied). [59916/25]

787. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Education and Youth the current policy of her Department regarding Garda vetting for volunteers in school-based Parent Associations, in particular volunteers who assist with activities such as school discos, parties, trips or other events outside normal classroom teaching; whether these activities are deemed “relevant work or activities” with children under the terms of …

1370. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Justice, Home Affairs and Migration in view of the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade travel advise warning Irish citizens, particularly women, about safety and security risks in certain countries, how the Government reconciles allowing entry and residence for individuals from those countries, including asylum seekers with the advice given to its own citizens; and …

300. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Education and Youth her Department's working definition of the terms 'man', 'woman', 'male' and 'female' as used in official Departmental documents, policies, teaching materials or curriculum guidelines; if she will confirm whether these definitions are consistent with biological and legal definitions applied elsewhere in Government policy; and if she will make a stateme…

302. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Education and Youth if she will confirm whether schools are instructed, formally or informally, to prioritise biological definitions of sex when teaching about puberty, reproduction, and human development; the way in which her Department ensures consistency between educational content and established medical and legal standards; and if she will make a statement on the ma…

303. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Education and Youth if her Department has consulted medical authorities, such as the Medical Council of Ireland or the HSE's clinical programmes, and legal authorities, such as the Attorney General's Office, when framing definitions or guidance relating to the terms 'man', 'woman', 'male' and 'female' for use in curriculum development or school policies; if she will prov…

253. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Culture, Communications and Sport to confirm which body will have ultimate decision-making authority to determine what constitutes "mal-information" under the National Counter Disinformation Strategy, and whether that body will be Government-led, quasi-independent or fully independent. [49472/25]

254. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Culture, Communications and Sport how "independence" will be defined in respect of the oversight body enforcing the National Counter Disinformation Strategy, and the safeguards will exist to prevent conflicts of interest where such bodies are reliant on State funding. [49473/25]