Questions

400. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Health whether the HSE's service level agreement with SouthDoc specifies approved methods for collecting patient fees; whether doctors providing services through SouthDoc are permitted to accept payments into personal accounts, including Revolut; what financial recording, auditing and accountability arrangements apply to such payments; whether SouthDoc is required to pro…

459. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Health whether consideration has been given to providing a statutory definition of a specialist retailer of nicotine inhaling products, distinguishing premises whose primary business is the sale of such products from general retailers, in view of the difficulty in defining a vape shop identified by the Minister of State with responsibility for public health; whether her …

894. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Health the reason Addison’s disease, a chronic condition requiring lifelong hormone replacement therapy and ongoing medical monitoring, is not included in the long-term illness scheme; whether her Department has assessed the financial burden placed on patients who must pay for essential prescribed medication and related treatment; whether consideration will be given to a…

921. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Health the steps being taken to measure the time from first presentation to diagnosis of endometriosis as a national performance indicator, in view of the HSE confirming that this figure is not routinely reported; the current waiting times at the supra-regional endometriosis centres at Cork University Maternity Hospital and Tallaght University Hospital; the care pathway …

841. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Health if applications for reimbursement under the Cross Border Healthcare Directive are processed in chronological order by date of receipt; if not, the circumstances in which applications are processed out of sequence; the number of applications for procedures other than lipoedema treatment received in 2026 that have been reimbursed while lipoedema applications receive…

619. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Health the reasons the DOMINO midwife-led service at Cork University Maternity Hospital is being suspended from October to December 2026; who took the decision; the date the decision was taken; if the suspension is linked to midwifery vacancies or the absence of HSE approval to fill posts; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [70278/26]

695. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Health the steps being taken to protect and expand midwife led continuity of care services, including the Domino scheme and home birth service at Cork University Maternity Hospital, in line with the National Maternity Strategy; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [70595/26]

713. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Health further to Parliamentary Question No. 65824/26, if the HSE operates a written protocol or policy on succession or continuity planning for established clinical services on the retirement of a Consultant; if so, if she will publish same; if not, if she will direct that one be developed; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [70651/26]

854. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Health further to Parliamentary Question Nos. 60224/26 and 60228/26 of 7 September 2026, whether a formal mechanism exists to record instances of non-compliance by the Institute of Public Health with its Oversight Agreement; to state yes or no; the number of occasions since 2020 on which non-compliance has been identified; whether the grant suspension provision in the Ov…

1107. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Health if her Department intends to establish any criteria, mechanism or review process to ensure equivalence of assessment criteria for publicly funded procedures across hospitals and specialties; the timeframe for doing so; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [64212/26]

1251. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Health further to Parliamentary Question Nos. 691 of 28 May and 723 of 14 July 2026, to specify the stakeholder and advocacy group representatives who fed into the work led by the HSE Quality Improvement Lead on the Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services consultant post concerned; and to confirm whether any external advocacy input, as distinct from documented clini…

742. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Health further to the reply to Parliamentary Question No. 1011 of 16 June 2026, whether a costed implementation plan exists for the national model of care for obesity; the estimated total funding required for full implementation; the funding allocated to date; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [50982/26]

503. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Health to confirm directly whether the Health Service Executive has ever conducted an analysis of referral concentration, repeat provider usage, or high-cost treatment clustering under the treatment abroad scheme since 2020; if no such analysis has been conducted, to state the reason; and if one has been conducted, to provide the date and findings. [50583/26]

504. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Health to confirm whether the Health Service Executive maintains any record of treatment abroad scheme applications escalated beyond the treatment abroad office in Kilkenny; if such a record exists, to provide the number of escalated cases by year since 2020; and if no such record exists, to confirm this directly. [50584/26]

510. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Health further to Parliamentary Question No. 535 of 28 May 26, the names and professional roles of each member of the expert group convened by the HSE Chief Clinical Officer to examine the implications of the final Cass Review; the group's full terms of reference; the number of times it has met to date; and the date on which its report will be published or laid before th…

841. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Health to confirm whether any external professional body, advocacy organisation, or international clinical body was consulted on the wording of the 2019 CAAC application; and if none were consulted, to confirm this directly. [49260/26]

842. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Health to confirm whether any evidential appraisal framework, systematic evidence review, or comparable methodology was applied before WPATH standards of care version seven was referenced in the 2019 CAAC application; and if no such framework exists, to confirm this directly. [49261/26]

843. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Health to name the specific HSE governance structure, committee, or officeholder that approved the inclusion of WPATH standards of care version seven in the 2019 CAAC application, given that the HSE reply of 23 June 2026 described the post’s approval but did not identify any approving body or individual. [49262/26]

844. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Health to confirm whether the HSE holds documentary records, including minutes, memoranda, or internal correspondence, relating to the inclusion of WPATH standards of care version seven in the 2019 CAAC application; and if such records exist, to confirm under the retention policy and the duration of period they are held. [49263/26]

845. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Health if any clinical safety, medico-legal, or child safeguarding assessment was carried out prior to the reference to WPATH Standards of Care Version 7 in the 2019 CAAC application; and if no such assessment was carried out, to confirm this directly. [49264/26]

853. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Health the specific decision-making process by which the HSE determines that a drinking water exceedance constitutes a potential danger to human health requiring public-health intervention; the named office or role responsible for making that determination; and whether a documented threshold, beyond the WHO guideline value, triggers mandatory intervention. [49288/26]

857. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Health further to Parliamentary Question No. 996 of 19 May 2026, to explain the basis for the 2024 figures provided in reply, which show zero applications and zero approvals for paediatric gender-related treatment abroad scheme referrals in that year alongside 13 S2 authorisations issued and expenditure of €62,127.47; and to clarify whether this reflects multi-year proce…

864. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Health whether the absence of a national definition of clinical necessity has been assessed for risk to patient safety or consistency of approvals across the State. [49310/26]

1802. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Health whether the HSE or any State-funded service currently collects national data relating to minors presenting to gender-related healthcare pathways, including age profile, biological sex, referral source, and whether co-occurring neurodevelopmental, mental health, trauma-related, or safeguarding concerns are recorded; and if they will provide details of the datasets…

1803. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Health whether the HSE records the number or proportion of minors presenting to gender-related healthcare pathways who have a diagnosed autism spectrum disorder, diagnosed ADHD, diagnosed anxiety disorder, diagnosed depressive disorder, diagnosed trauma-related condition, or other identified neurodevelopmental or mental health comorbidity; and if they will provide the a…