Laboratory Facilities

714. Deputy Emer Currie asked the Minister for Health if she will consider issuing national clinical genetic testing guidance to clinicians, similar to the guidance provided for medicines and medical technologies, advising which ISO 15189:2022 accredited commercial and public clinical genetic laboratories in Ireland are recommended, competent and appropriately accredited to conduct tests in-countr…

715. Deputy Emer Currie asked the Minister for Health in view of 20,000 clinical genetic tests being sent to laboratories abroad, if she will clarify the way in which patient data is handled by each laboratory provider, in the interests of transparency and good governance; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [53935/25]

716. Deputy Emer Currie asked the Minister for Health if she agrees with the HSE’s practice of using Children’s Health Ireland (CHI) as a postal conduit for a significant proportion of the approximately 20,0000 patient blood samples requiring genetic testing, particularly given that these samples are ultimately dispatched abroad to laboratory service providers in countries such as UK, Germany and …

717. Deputy Emer Currie asked the Minister for Health her plans to drive cost efficiencies in view of the fact that 20,000 clinical tests are sent to laboratories in Germany, Finland, Spain, the UK, and the USA; if the HSE utilises existing capacity of Ireland-based accredited commercial clinical genetic testing laboratories for patients blood samples, including neurology, ophthalmology, and nephr…

3214. Deputy David Cullinane asked the Minister for Health the number of screening laboratory inspections which have taken place since 1 January 2018, by individual laboratory, in tabular form; the location of each laboratory; the dates of each inspection; the details of each inspection report; and the current standard operating procedure for slide screening used by each of the currently contracte…

3215. Deputy David Cullinane asked the Minister for Health the number of visits, if any, by the HSE, National Screening Service, or her Department to any laboratory or parent company thereof, which is contracted for screening services, whether for clinical or corporate purposes; the number of participants, by role and organisation; the destination; the duration; the breakdown of costs; the service…

3216. Deputy David Cullinane asked the Minister for Health the current staffing complement of the National Cervical Screening Laboratory, by discipline and grade, in tabular form; and the required staffing to fully repatriate screening services. [43935/25]

3217. Deputy David Cullinane asked the Minister for Health the current and planned processing capacity of the National Cervical Screening Laboratory for HPV testing and for cytological slide screening; and the cost to screen a sample in the NCSL. [43936/25]

3218. Deputy David Cullinane asked the Minister for Health the current plan and timeline for scaling up domestic cervical screening through the National Cervical Screening Laboratory and other State laboratories. [43937/25]

3219. Deputy David Cullinane asked the Minister for Health the current cost to screen a sample through cytology under the existing contracts; and the equivalent cost per slide in 2018. [43938/25]

807. Deputy Pádraig Mac Lochlainn asked the Minister for Health the cost of outsourcing routine blood samples from Letterkenny University Hospital to private laboratories for the years 2022, 2023, 2024 and 2025 to date, in tabular form. [37411/25]

365. Deputy James O'Connor asked the Minister for Health if any reviews or audits of the expenditure on laboratory genetic testing services both in Ireland and abroad have been undertaken to ensure value-for-money and to assess the effectiveness of outsourcing; if it is the intention to support local accredited capacity; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [26494/25]

2056. Deputy James O'Connor asked the Minister for Health if any reviews or audits of the expenditure on laboratory genetic testing services, both in Ireland and abroad, have been undertaken to ensure value for money and to assess the effectiveness of outsourcing; whether it is the intention to support local accredited capacity; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [19018/25]

2057. Deputy James O'Connor asked the Minister for Health to confirm whether all laboratories, both domestic and overseas, used by clinicians for genetic testing are fully accredited to the appropriate national or European standards; what measures are in place to ensure consistent quality control and reliable results from these laboratories; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [19019/2…

2058. Deputy James O'Connor asked the Minister for Health to provide details on the current number of ISO15189-accredited genetic laboratories that exist within the public health system; if the HSE has capacity to develop and implement a comprehensive national genetic testing strategy; her plans to enhance staffing and infrastructure in order to meet the growing demands for genetic and diagnostic …

743. Deputy Colm Burke asked the Minister for Health her plans to address the shortage of accredited genetic testing services for patients in Ireland; her views on public hospital laboratories not having the resources, equipment, or accreditation to meet the clinical genetic testing needs of patients and clinicians; how she proposes to address this; and if she will make a statement on the matter. …

745. Deputy Colm Burke asked the Minister for Health the guidance provided by the HSE to public consultant clinicians on where patient blood samples should be sent for genetic testing; what countries Irish patient blood samples are sent to for testing; the process for validating and approving these testing laboratories; if they send the samples to ISO 15189 accredited laboratories in Ireland; and …