Questions

966. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Health whether the HSE publishes an annual statement detailing the value of funds held in patient private property accounts; and whether she will consider introducing a publicly accessible register of unclaimed funds to assist families in identifying entitlements. [14223/26]

1016. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Health whether she has sought or received any audit, validation, or data quality assurance reports concerning the accuracy of Patient Experience Time data used to record emergency department waiting times; the date of the most recent such review; whether error rates or data reliability concerns have been formally quantified; and if she will outline the governance framew…

1017. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Health whether her Department has considered directing the Health Service Executive to publish disaggregated emergency department waiting time bands beyond 24 hours on a hospital-by-hospital basis; whether any policy decision has been taken not to publish such granular data; and the basis on which she satisfies herself that current reporting arrangements provide suffici…

1018. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Health whether her Department has issued any central written policy, circular, internal guidance note, or governance framework applicable across all line units concerning the oversight, compliance, and safeguarding obligations of non-statutory bodies funded directly by her Department, excluding bodies funded through or overseen by the HSE; and if so, to provide the titl…

1028. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Health whether the HSE’s activity-based funding, diagnosis related group (DRG) systems, or other service-line costing methodologies allow for the estimation of aggregate expenditure on pain-medicine outpatient services and interventional pain procedures at national or regional level; whether such aggregate estimates have been compiled in the past five years; and if she …

630. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Health the full list of national workforce Key Performance Indicators currently agreed between her Department and the HSE for 2025; the date on which each KPI was formally approved; the reporting frequency for each; and whether each KPI is published, in tabular form [13740/26]

644. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Health whether her Department has assessed the extent to which population-level disease prevention benefits are reflected in cost-effectiveness evaluations carried out by or on behalf of the Health Service Executive; and whether she intends to issue policy guidance clarifying how such prevention benefits are to be weighted in future reimbursement decisions. [13788/26]

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 …

1026. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Health the total number of residential properties currently owned by the Health Service Executive which are vacant; the number deemed surplus to requirements; the length of time each property has been vacant; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [9367/26]

1027. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Health to outline the policy framework governing the retention, disposal, or repurposing of vacant residential properties owned by the Health Service Executive; when this policy was last reviewed; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [9368/26]

1029. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Health to identify the principal legal, financial, or administrative barriers preventing the timely reuse or disposal of vacant residential properties owned by the Health Service Executive; the steps being taken to address these barriers; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [9370/26]

1030. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Health the annual cost to the State of maintaining vacant residential properties owned by the Health Service Executive, including security, insurance, and maintenance; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [9371/26]

1057. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Health whether her Department receives routine reports from the Health Service Executive on governance, safeguarding, activity levels, and outcomes relating to gender identity services for minors; and if not, the steps she intends to take to ensure appropriate ministerial oversight of services involving children. [9490/26]

390. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Health whether her Department requires the HSE to report, on a routine basis, the number of chronic pain service consultants in post, approved posts, vacancies, and waiting times by site; and if so, to state the reporting frequency and the most recent date on which such a report was received by her Department. [8890/26]

392. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Health whether her Department will direct the HSE and PCRS to implement a temporary national reimbursement protocol, for the duration of the current salbutamol nebule shortages, in order that clinically equivalent substitutes are reimbursed without individual case by case applications under discretionary hardship arrangements; and if so, when this protocol will commence.…

393. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Health whether her Department has received from the HSE or PCRS an estimate of the number of medical card holders who have required alternative reimbursed products due to salbutamol nebule shortages since 1 January 2025; and if so, to provide the estimate and the methodology used. [8893/26]

394. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Health the number of discretionary hardship arrangements applications received by the PCRS for inhaled nebule presentations of short-acting bronchodilators, including salbutamol substitutes, in each month since 1 January 2025; the number approved; the number refused; and the median processing time in each month. [8894/26]

395. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Health whether her Department will require the HSE to publish clear public guidance for patients and pharmacies during shortages of reimbursable medicines, including the exact reimbursement pathway and documentation required; and if so, when this guidance will be published and where it will be accessible. [8895/26]

396. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Health whether her Department has assessed the risk to patient safety arising from requiring medical card holders to obtain GP reassessment or alternative prescribing solely due to a supply disruption of a reimbursable medicine; and if so, to provide the date and conclusions of that assessment. [8896/26]

397. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Health whether her Department has asked the HSE to provide a written instruction to community pharmacies confirming that eligible medical card holders should not be asked to pay privately for clinically required alternatives, where reimbursement is available through hardship or other mechanisms; if so, the date that instruction issued; and the mechanism for ensuring cons…

398. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Health whether her Department will establish an automatic “shortage substitution” reimbursement mechanism within the PCRS for defined categories of essential medicines, where the HPRA has confirmed a shortage and the HSE has identified clinically equivalent substitutes; if so, the timeline for delivery; and whether primary legislation is required. [8898/26]

399. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Health whether her Department maintains a central register of CHI-related reviews and reports, including publication decisions and follow-up actions; when the register was established; who is accountable for it; and whether she will publish it. [8901/26]

400. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Health to set out the terms of reference, membership, and reporting outputs of the CHI Improvement Steering Group, including whether minutes, action logs, or progress reports are provided to her Department; and if so, to provide the most recent progress report received by her Department. [8902/26]

401. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Health further to her stated intention to integrate CHI into the HSE by 2027, the legislative and operational milestones scheduled for 2026, including the responsible unit within her Department; and the timeline for Government decisions required in 2026. [8906/26]

402. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Health if a disabled person who has a long-term illness (LTI) card that covers their medications and prescription charges, is entitled to have their medication provided in essential blister packs under the LTI card. [8908/26]