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last week. It was the local community hospital. The local newspaper and I were running with the story but the hospital is full. They cannot put people up in the attic. They have to have a room for them. Deerpark Nursing Home has rooms and I would appreciate … Bantry and in Galway. The respite services are gone and the day care facility has been abandoned. Meanwhile, 12 people are on a waiting list for care they urgently need. Families are being forced to travel long distances for respite and Irish-speaking residents are left without support

friends or a member of our family who has been deemed to be in need of a hospital bed but no bed is available to them. The programme contains a list of measures previously promised and not delivered. It is a document absent of vision and crucially lacks … closure of Ennis, St. John's and Nenagh hospitals; end the HSE recruitment embargo; bolster out-of-hours GP care and deliver a Pharmacy First minor ailments scheme; and legislate to mandate safe staffing levels in every hospital while engaging directly with workers. On housing, the programme

Government is closing down ten beds at St. Vincent's Hospital, Fairview, for children in mental health crisis at a time when so many of our young people are crying out help and left in awful situations. We are talking about children in some cases with severe depression … their wits' end and sent from pillar to post desperately seeking services for their children and banging on doors of a broken system. Waiting lists continue to grow and grow. We only have 50 CAMHS beds right across the State. That is half of what is needed

discuss the proposal by Inland Fisheries Ireland to close the Cong Salmon Hatchery at Lough Corrib. Deputy Robert O'Donoghue - To discuss waiting lists for speech and language therapy in CHO 9. Deputy Barry Ward - To discuss the expansion of access to Irish-language medium primary and secondary … Deputy Darren O'Rourke - To discuss the new guidelines for SNA reviews 2025-26. Deputy Maurice Quinlivan - To discuss capacity issues at University Hospital Limerick. Deputy Gary Gannon - To discuss the need for outdoor sports facilities in Dublin 1. Deputy Cathy Bennett - To discuss the rising cost

recent figures are that almost 300,000 people are on a waiting list for a diagnostic scan. Over 77,000 of those have been waiting more than a year and over 46,000 have been waiting more than 18 months. That is far in excess of any Sláintecare … with the Minister that we need to do everything possible to fully utilise existing scanners and equipment. Anything that can be done in hospitals, and consultants doing more, is of course part of it but we also have to recruit the additional staff. The Minister knows there

initiative in Youghal, County Cork. Deputy Paul Donnelly - To discuss the national policy framework for unmanned aircraft systems. Deputy Michael Cahill - To discuss waiting lists for psychology services in Cork and Kerry. Deputy Danny Healy-Rae - To discuss restoration of the 9% VAT rate and supports for rural … discuss the new guidelines for SNA reviews for 2025 to 2026. Deputy Maurice Quinlivan - To discuss the ongoing crisis in capacity at University Hospital Limerick. Deputy Gary Gannon - To discuss the urgent need for outdoor sports facilities in Dublin 1. Deputy Paul Murphy - To discuss funding of research

homelessness but they are struggling because of this Government's failed policies. Emergency accommodation in Galway is full. There is a waiting list. I am dealing with many families who are either couch surfing, living with family or living with friends, and that can be going … trying to get HAP and is in homeless accommodation with two young children, and he needs to be near the hospital for medical purposes. He has to stay beside the hospital. What can he do? He cannot move somewhere extremely far away. Even the HAP place finders find

manual lymphatic drainage. These supports are essential for recovery yet in Cork University Hospital women are waiting 12 to 18 months just to be seen. A constituent of ours has already waited over a year and is now being told it could be another six months before … waits. This is not acceptable. Early access to lymphoedema care is not a luxury but a vital part of a woman’s physical and emotional recovery after breast cancer treatment. These women have already been through enough and should not have to battle waiting lists

also an investment in a more efficient health system that supports people earlier, prevents avoidable illness and ensures better use of our limited hospital capacity. Home support workers must be valued, supported and recognised for the essential front-line role they play. They deserve for fair pay, sustainable … potential candidates but not one new home support worker was in place. That is not acceptable when there is such a long waiting list. Over 1,000 people in Cork and Kerry are waiting for home supports. Some 64 candidates were identified in the period between July

dedicated mental health emergency room separate from the general emergency department. However, this is not only about our larger hospitals. Model 2 hospitals can support crisis care and that role must be examined and a network of specialist mental health crisis centres established, with ring-fenced investment … brought to an unsuitable emergency department. At the end of November 2025, over 4,300 young people were on a CAMHS waiting list, with more than 1,000 waiting longer than a year. In crisis situations, these delays are dangerous. Ultimately, this is about parity of esteem. Mental

elderly people. How we treat our elderly people in this country beggars belief. We have people on waiting lists continuously. People are waiting two and a half years to see an eye specialist in Cork city. In my constituency of Cork North-Central, we have the Blackpool SouthDoc … card for OAPs. That is wrong. There is something seriously wrong in the dental system when an OAP cannot get on a dental list or be seen anywhere, that he or she has to travel all the way to Cork city, up to Limerick or possibly to Kerry

would have been better if it were targeted more at smaller microenterprises. That said, there are 190,000 people working in the hospitality industry, and 75% of those are in businesses with fewer than ten people. It is about protecting jobs. We invested in services, and the largest … grants. We should be doing more. Anyone who applies for the grants only to be told there is an 18- to 24-month waiting list is bitterly disappointed. They see the benefits in their friend’s house, and they want that. However, they want it faster

referrals and more outpatient clinics there are, the more people will be added to the waiting list. That is okay. What is not okay is the duration of time they are waiting. To be clear, the Government has provided significant additional funding, which has resourced an uplift … they were saying there was no investment enabling national and international outsourcing to three additional sites in Ireland, as well as two hospitals abroad in the UK and the US, I would accept all of those things but all of those things have been done and there

received in reply to a recent parliamentary question show that HSE west-north west accounted for 1,263 delayed transfers of care from hospital into the community due to lack of access to residential care, care in the community and rehabilitation. That accounts for one third … people in receipt of disability. We are talking about Roscommon, Galway, Mayo, Sligo, Leitrim, Donegal and west Cavan. We have the longest waiting lists for primary care, the longest number of hours on trolleys and the longest delay between diagnosis of cancer and getting to cancer treatment

distress and the psychological impact of the condition, a psychologist has been appointed to support the supra-regional service at Cork University Maternity Hospital with further expansion of the service under consideration; — the diagnostic criteria for endometriosis are determined by clinical experts in the field, the clinical guidelines … NWIHP has advised that on average 72 per cent of women waiting on specialist services were seen within six months of referral; — women affected by endometriosis may also be waiting on general gynaecology waiting lists, as of 26th June, 2025, 79 per cent of women waiting on gynaecology

graduates, we are working to expand opportunities for Irish students, particularly given the demands for oral healthcare and the need to reduce waiting lists in the south west of the country. My Department is actively engaging with UCC and the Department of Health on a proposal to establish … exposure in primary care settings which enhances readiness to enter practice when they graduate. In parallel, UCC is refurbishing its dental school and hospital, co-funded by the Department of Health and UCC, to increase capacity for future growth. My officials are actively engaged in this process

they give a sterling endorsement of the care they receive. The problem is that access to healthcare across the State is plagued by waiting lists, vacancies in key roles and the State even breaking the law by its failure to provide assessments of need. Despite cross-party reports … current rate of profit of healthcare providers and an analysis of the potential impact of the removal of private practice from public hospitals on a cost of health insurance. People are being ripped off when it comes to healthcare in the State. They are ripped off by Fianna

attracted more than 250,000 registered users and provides access to a growing range of services and information, including appointments, referrals, waiting list information, vaccination records and digital health cards. I do not think there is a Member of this House or the Seanad who has not been … safer and more co-ordinated care. Third, the national electronic health record programme will provide a comprehensive longitudinal digital record across publicly funded hospitals and community services. Government approved the preliminary business case in February 2026 and procurement is progressing. The programme will be managed through a series

raised it since joining the House – it is my 15th year here – is that an acquaintance of mine wound up nearly dying in hospital because of poor dental health. Poison got into his system. He was a fine hardy fellow and it almost killed him. It really underlined … consider they need under the dental treatment benefit scheme. It is something the Minister of State may consider. I mentioned the six-year waiting list for orthodontic services. Nothing happens during school term in primary. Nothing happens during secondary. They then come out the other

language therapist. The Minister mentioned children. Very often, children are on these waiting lists. A number of weeks ago, we had a debate in the House on dental services. The number of children waiting for orthodontic treatment and dental treatment is shocking. So much more needs … acute system and recognise that if we have alternatives in primary and community care, we can take real pressure away from our acute hospitals, which is also better for prevention and catching ailments earlier. There is lots of positive stuff happening, for example, enhanced community care

October 2025, there were 626,000 people on outpatient waiting lists. So far this year, 103,545 people spent time on trolleys awaiting beds. Many of us in this House have had family members waiting on trolleys this year. There are 6,858 vacant posts in the public … private assessments or, if the insurer does not cover that, paying out of pocket on top of their insurance. Even then, there are waiting lists in the private system. That is how broken the system is in terms of assessments of need for neurodiverse children. It is utterly

first call if a person is feeling unwell. They often help in a failing health system where patients are subjected to huge waiting lists for primary and clinical care. The role pharmacists play and the services they offer have developed over the years, especially in more recent years … just need sufficient engagement, appropriate supports and fair compensation in terms of logistics of delivery. Of course, pharmacists are always invaluable in our hospitals, helping to ensure that medicines are used safely and effectively as outlined by my colleague, Deputy Cullinane, through the example of the 2026 SETU

been taken on to deal with the vacuum that has been created and that, as a result, the list is going to grow and people are going to be waiting longer. In relation to MRIs, where a concern is expressed by a GP or a medical consultant … genuine concerns about the waiting time. Whatever the issue is when it comes to providing care for children, it needs to be resolved. I fully understand that we are putting a huge amount of money into the new national children's hospital, and rightly

staying home to look after a loved one, for stepping into gaps left by the State and for providing essential services that prevent hospital overcrowding and delay the need for residential care. We in the Social Democrats have long advocated for a rights-based model of care. That … think that is brilliant - it is brilliant - without bearing in mind that there are still more than 5,500 people on waiting lists, with rural communities hardest hit. My own mother was reliant on those services until she died last year. It was very difficult to get them

good at their jobs working in positions but they are not accessible because they are drowning and firefighting due to these waiting lists. Often, they are one of very few in a team that is not fully resourced. Overall, this Government’s legacy is one of heartbreak … multi-annual funding and long-term planning. Where the Government fails to deliver, people suffer. Nowhere is that more evidenced than in the waiting lists for psychology, CAMHS, primary care services, specialist services and acute services. I ask the Government to please learn from its past mistakes. Publish

Deputy David Cullinane asked the Minister for Health the number of children on urology waiting lists at CHI since 2019; the length of time they are waiting in the following bands: 0-3 months, 3-6 months, 6-9 months, 9 months to a year, 1 year … years and greater than 2 years, further broken down by month, by year and by hospital; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [31025/25

current wait time for primary care psychology in Midlands Regional Hospital Tullamore is in excess of two years; that the head of primary care services in the Midlands Louth Meath CHO has attributed these waiting times to ‘capacity … challenges due to no additional primary care psychology and psychology administrative support’, and that ‘new and additional posts would assist the wait times and waiting lists; if and when she intends to provide these additional posts; and, if not, how she intends to address the wait times