304. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Health the number of whole-time equivalent chronic pain specialists currently employed across the HSE, broken down by hospital group; the number of vacancies; the number of unfilled consultant posts in pain medicine; and the steps being taken by her Department to address workforce shortages in chronic pain services in 2025 and 2026. [66511/25]
Topics / Health Services Staff
A subject heading for parliamentary questionsHealth Services Staff
2,097 questions from 136 TDs, between 22 January 2025 and 22 October 2026.
2,097
questions
2,094 written, 3 oral
136
TDs have asked
11
parties and groups
Independents counted together
7
departments asked
Questions per month
The record holds no questions for August, when the Dáil does not sit.
Jan 2025Oct 2026
Show as a table
| Month | Questions |
|---|---|
| January 2025 | 27 |
| February 2025 | 81 |
| March 2025 | 96 |
| April 2025 | 96 |
| May 2025 | 103 |
| June 2025 | 94 |
| July 2025 | 145 |
| August 2025 | 0 |
| September 2025 | 96 |
| October 2025 | 49 |
| November 2025 | 116 |
| December 2025 | 68 |
| January 2026 | 76 |
| February 2026 | 96 |
| March 2026 | 138 |
| April 2026 | 143 |
| May 2026 | 162 |
| June 2026 | 215 |
| July 2026 | 62 |
| August 2026 | 0 |
| September 2026 | 148 |
| October 2026 | 86 |
Who asks, by party
The party each TD belonged to on the day, in alphabetical order. Parties differ a lot in size, and members of the Government answer questions rather than ask them, so this shows who raised it, not how much a party cares about it.
The TDs who asked most
Members of the Government answer questions rather than ask them. Each question counts once.
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314
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93
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77
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74
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70
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50
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45
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43
Asked of
Debated under the same heading
Debates whose official heading is exactly these words.
The questions
306. Deputy Colm Burke asked the Minister for Health the total number of locum consultants who are currently employed by the Health Service Executive, by the hospitals that they are employed in, the category of healthcare they are providing, and the time period that they are in post; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [66518/25]
307. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Health to set out the number of occupational therapy posts currently unfilled in each area of Cork, broken down by network, grade and whole-time equivalent, and to provide the date by which her Department expects all posts to be filled. [66519/25]
309. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Health to outline the funding allocated for occupational therapy services in Cork in 2026, including new development posts, replacement posts, and resources for waiting list initiatives. [66521/25]
310. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Health the number of occupational therapists who left HSE posts in Cork in 2024 and 2025, and to give the reasons recorded for exit. [66522/25]
314. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Health the number of vacant community health posts across Cork, by discipline, by grade and whole-time equivalent; and to provide recruitment timelines for each. [66526/25]
318. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Health to outline the number of apprentices currently in place in Social Work and Social Care Work within the South South-West region; the planned intake for 2025 and 2026; any planned expansion of apprenticeships into additional roles; and the projected contribution of these apprenticeship schemes to reducing vacancies in the region. [66536/25]
319. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Health to provide a comparative analysis of staffing levels per 100,000 population across all HSE regions, including the South-West, for medical, nursing, midwifery, Health and Social Care Professionals, and administrative grades, and to confirm whether staffing levels in the South-West are in line with, above, or below national averages. [66537/25]
333. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Health the reason her Department and the HSE do not maintain a record of approved HSE posts that remain unfilled for more than six months; the mechanisms currently used to monitor persistent vacancies of this kind; the way in which her Department assesses the financial effect of these long-term vacancies on the Exchequer and the impact of such vacancies on service delive…
334. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Health to specify how her Department calculates the financial implications arising from HSE posts that remain unfilled for more than six months, including the projected savings, additional costs linked to overtime or agency staffing, and the effect on service capacity; and to outline whether a standard methodology is applied across HSE regions. [66569/25]
335. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Health how her Department assesses the effect of long-term vacant posts on service delivery, including waiting lists, emergency department pressures and specialist care capacity; and to detail any measures she intends to introduce to ensure persistent vacancies are identified, monitored and addressed as part of the National Service Plan 2026. [66570/25]
336. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Health the policy and operational basis on which the HSE seeks the retrospective recovery of specialist qualification allowances from staff who received the allowance in good faith over an extended period, where the allowance had been approved and paid by management; to confirm whether a formal appeals or waiver process exists for such cases; to outline the legal and HR …
344. Deputy Natasha Newsome Drennan asked the Minister for Health the number of newly established vacancies in the intellectual disability service providers in the greater Dublin area in the past three years not including vacancies in existing placements which arise from deaths; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [66638/25]
354. Deputy Paul McAuliffe asked the Minister for Health her plans to extend the covid special pay scheme for healthcare workers; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [66688/25]
355. Deputy Paul McAuliffe asked the Minister for Health the progress to date with recognising long covid as an occupational disease and injury; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [66689/25]
782. Deputy Peter 'Chap' Cleere asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality the number of WTE speech and language therapists employed; the number of approved WTE speech and language therapists positions; the number of children under 18 waiting to be seen; the length of time they are waiting to be seen, by county, in tabular form; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [66056/25]
783. Deputy Peter 'Chap' Cleere asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality the number of WTE occupational therapists employed; the number of approved WTE occupational therapists positions; the number of children under 18 waiting to be seen; the length of time they are waiting to be seen, by county, in tabular form; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [66058/25]
784. Deputy Peter 'Chap' Cleere asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality the number of occupational therapists currently employed by the HSE in the southeast region; the number of OT’s approved; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [66062/25]
822. Deputy Tom Brabazon asked the Minister for Health the number of occupational therapists and physiotherapists, by grade posts filled at Coolock primary care centre in 2023, 2024 and to date in 2025, in tabular form. [65269/25]
825. Deputy Seamus Healy asked the Minister for Health the number of WTE consultant psychiatrist posts filled, based at each primary care centre within CHO5 in the years of 2024 and to date in 2025, in tabular form. [65335/25]
826. Deputy Seamus Healy asked the Minister for Health the number of WTE family support worker and community development worker posts that were filled at mid-western regional drugs and alcohol task force in 2024 and to date in 2025, in tabular form. [65336/25]
842. Deputy George Lawlor asked the Minister for Health the number of WTE paediatric occupational therapists posts, that were filled at Enniscorthy primary care centre in 2023 and to date in 2025, by year, by grade, in tabular form; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [65404/25]
846. Deputy Alan Kelly asked the Minister for Health the number of WTE clinical geneticists, genetic counsellors and genetic resource associates that have been recruited by the HSE, in 2023, 2024 and to-date in 2025, in tabular form. [65470/25]
867. Deputy Gary Gannon asked the Minister for Health the number of staff recruited to deliver adult ADHD services in CHO7; the training provided to these staff; and the number of patients who have accessed the service since the funding allocation commenced. [65577/25]
873. Deputy Louis O'Hara asked the Minister for Health the number of WTE consultants in respiratory medicine based at Galway University Hospital in 2023, 2024 and to-date in 2025, in tabular form. [65657/25]