Questions

2403. Deputy Pádraig Rice asked the Minister for Health for an update on the Programme for Government commitment to ‘provide a career pathway for healthcare assistants’; to outline the work carried out to date to progress this commitment; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [44031/26]

2404. Deputy Pádraig Rice asked the Minister for Health her views on a survey published in May 2026 (details supplied); if she will commit to implementing the three recommendations in the survey; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [44032/26]

2405. Deputy Ruairí Ó Murchú asked the Minister for Health the extent to which consumer-directed home support models are currently available through the HSE for people aged over 65 with neurological conditions; the total value of funding allocated to such models in the current HSE budget; the total number of home support hours provided under them to date in 2026; the number of persons who have benefited from them to …

2406. Deputy Ruairí Ó Murchú asked the Minister for Health the extent to which personal budget arrangements and personal managed funds are currently available through the HSE for people aged over 65 with neurological conditions; the total value of funding allocated to these arrangements in the current HSE budget; the total number of home support hours provided under them so far this year; the number of persons who ha…

2407. Deputy Ruairí Ó Murchú asked the Minister for Health the way in which the pilot programme for personal budgets has been undertaken by the HSE; the main conclusions arising from it; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [44045/26]

2408. Deputy Ruairí Ó Murchú asked the Minister for Health the eligibility criteria that apply to consumer-directed home support models for people aged over 65 with neurological conditions, including whether access is limited by diagnosis, assessed level of need or geographic area; and separately; the eligibility criteria that apply to personal budget arrangements and personal managed funds for the same cohort; and i…

2409. Deputy Ruairí Ó Murchú asked the Minister for Health the home care providers most commonly used under consumer-directed home support models for people aged over 65 with neurological conditions; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [44047/26]

2410. Deputy Ruairí Ó Murchú asked the Minister for Health the providers or organisations most commonly used under personal budget arrangements and personal managed funds for people aged over 65 with neurological conditions; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [44048/26]

2411. Deputy Ruairí Ó Murchú asked the Minister for Health whether there are plans to extend consumer-directed home support models on a national basis for people aged over 65 with neurological conditions; whether there are plans to expand personal budget arrangements and personal managed funds on a national basis for the same cohort; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [44049/26]

2412. Deputy Ruairí Ó Murchú asked the Minister for Health the number of persons who have received consumer-directed home support models through the HSE; the total number of hours provided under such models, in each of the past three years and to date in 2026; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [44050/26]

2413. Deputy Ruairí Ó Murchú asked the Minister for Health the number of persons who have received support through personal budget arrangements and personal managed funds; the total number of hours provided under those arrangements, in each of the past three years and to date in 2026; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [44051/26]

2414. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Health to outline the governance arrangements governing reimbursement rule changes, claim validation criteria, claim rejection criteria and reference pricing decisions within the Primary Care Reimbursement Service, including the decision-making authorities involved, review mechanisms and oversight structures. [44052/26]

2415. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Health the number of pharmacy reimbursement claims submitted, approved, adjusted, rejected and successfully appealed in each year from 2020 to date, together with the most common reasons recorded for claim rejection or adjustment. [44053/26]

2416. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Health whether any internal audit, external audit, assurance review, risk assessment or value-for-money review of PCRS reimbursement decision-making processes, claim validation controls, claim rejection procedures or reference pricing arrangements has been completed since 2020 and to provide the dates and findings of such reviews. [44054/26]

2417. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Health whether Children’s Health Ireland has conducted any internal audit, external audit, clinical audit, utilisation review, value-for-money review, peer review, quality assurance review or independent assessment since 2020 concerning elective paediatric surgical decision-making, theatre allocation, waiting-list prioritisation or the application of medical necessity c…

2418. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Health whether Children’s Health Ireland operates a formally documented definition, policy, protocol, framework or clinical criteria for determining that an elective paediatric procedure is medically indicated; whether such criteria are standardised across all CHI sites and specialties; and if she will provide a copy of the relevant documentation. [44056/26]

2419. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Health whether Children’s Health Ireland, the HSE or her Department has undertaken any modelling, forecasting, scenario analysis, demand analysis or capacity-planning assessment since 2020 examining the impact of theatre allocation decisions, theatre utilisation rates or specialty-based theatre scheduling on paediatric waiting lists, waiting times or patient outcomes; a…

2420. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Health whether the HSE has ever undertaken, commissioned or reviewed any epidemiological assessment, public health impact assessment or retrospective study examining potential health outcomes associated with elevated manganese levels in drinking water supplies since 2020; and if details will be provided. [44062/26]

2421. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Health whether her Department or HSE has considered establishing any surveillance, monitoring or reporting mechanism for potential adverse health outcomes associated with prolonged exposure to contaminants in public drinking water supplies, including manganese; and if not, the reasons for this decision. [44063/26]

2422. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Health the number of children currently awaiting elective procedures in Children’s Health Ireland broken down by Clinical Priority Category; and the average waiting time within each category. [44064/26]

2423. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Health the percentage of children treated within the target waiting time applicable to their assigned Clinical Priority Category in Children’s Health Ireland in each year since 2020. [44065/26]

2424. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Health whether Children’s Health Ireland reports performance against Clinical Priority Category waiting-time targets to the HSE or their Department; and if so, the frequency and format of such reporting. [44066/26]

2425. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Health whether any national written criteria, guidance documents, policy directives, clinical governance documents or decision-support frameworks currently exist which distinguish between procedures regarded as medically necessary, elective, quality-of-life, cosmetic or discretionary for public funding purposes; and if so, if she will provide details of each such docume…

2426. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Health whether her Department or HSE has conducted any review since 2020 of variation in decision-making between hospitals, specialties or Health Regions regarding eligibility for publicly funded procedures; and if any such review has been undertaken, if she will provide the findings and recommendations. [44068/26]

2427. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Health whether any national audit has been undertaken since 2020 examining consistency in decisions regarding access to publicly funded procedures across different clinical specialties; and if not, whether she considers the absence of a national classification framework creates a risk of inconsistent decision-making. [44069/26]