191. Deputy Paul Murphy asked the Minister for Health whether she is concerned that the doctor responsible for inserting the non-medical springs into children in Temple Street hospital has now been employed at a hospital in the US; considering the Nayagam report whether she has concerns about this; and whether her Department has contacted the relevant state authorities to ensure they are aware of the matter. [74655/2…
Topics / Patient Safety
A subject heading for parliamentary questionsPatient Safety
94 questions from 16 TDs, between 19 March 2025 and 21 October 2026.
94
questions
94 written, 0 oral
16
TDs have asked
8
parties and groups
Independents counted together
2
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 | 0 |
| February 2025 | 0 |
| March 2025 | 1 |
| April 2025 | 3 |
| May 2025 | 5 |
| June 2025 | 0 |
| July 2025 | 8 |
| August 2025 | 0 |
| September 2025 | 0 |
| October 2025 | 7 |
| November 2025 | 4 |
| December 2025 | 2 |
| January 2026 | 29 |
| February 2026 | 3 |
| March 2026 | 2 |
| April 2026 | 1 |
| May 2026 | 2 |
| June 2026 | 10 |
| July 2026 | 3 |
| August 2026 | 0 |
| September 2026 | 3 |
| October 2026 | 11 |
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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29
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22
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18
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5
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3
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Asked of
The questions
985. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Health if her Department has requested that the HSE introduce a means of identifying patient safety incidents involving agency, panel and locum staff as a discrete national dataset, in view of the HSE's confirmation that no such dataset currently exists; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [74330/26]
987. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Health whether the HSE has carried out any analysis, at hospital or regional level, of the relationship between levels of agency staffing and the rate of reported patient safety incidents; if not, the reason this has not been done given the scale of HSE expenditure on agency staff; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [74329/26]
994. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Health further to Parliamentary Question No. 49266/26, whether the HSE has assessed the technical feasibility, cost and timeframe of adding a field to the national incident management system to record the employment status of staff involved in a patient safety incident (directly employed, agency, panel or locum); if such a change has been considered or ruled out; the rea…
1007. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Health if her Department or HIQA has at any time requested or recommended that the HSE record the employment status of staff involved in patient safety incidents; if she will direct the HSE to introduce such a field within NIMS given the scale of HSE expenditure on agency staffing; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [74323/26]
1012. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Health whether Cork University Hospital and other hospitals in the HSE south-west region can identify from their local incident management records the number of patient safety incidents involving agency, panel or locum staff where a service user was harmed, in each of the years 2023, 2024, 2025 and to date in 2026; if so, the figures; if not, the reason; and if she will…
1013. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Health whether contracts between the HSE and staffing agencies require agencies to report patient safety incidents involving their staff, to hold professional indemnity cover, or to contribute to the cost of claims arising from incidents involving their staff; whether the HSE or the State Claims Agency has sought recovery of costs from any agency since 2020; if so, the …
1014. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Health further to Parliamentary Question 51643/26, whether NIMS records can be searched by keyword or free text for references to agency, panel or locum staff (details supplied); whether the HSE or the State Claims Agency has carried out any such search or sample audit since 2023; if so, the findings; if not, the reason; and if she will make a statement on the matter. […
1019. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Health the number of occasions in each of the years 2023, 2024, 2025 and to date in 2026 on which the HSE notified a staffing agency of a patient safety concern involving a member of staff supplied by that agency; the number of agency, panel or locum staff whose assignments were ended following a patient safety incident in the same period; whether these figures are reco…
1022. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Health further to Parliamentary Question 51643/26, the reason the HSE has decided not to introduce a field within the national incident management system to record whether agency, panel or locum staff were involved in a patient safety incident where a service user was harmed; whether this option was formally assessed; if so, by whom and on what date; the estimated cost …
629. Deputy Paul Lawless asked the Minister for Health if she will make inquiries with the HSE and the ophthalmology department regarding the case of a person (details supplied) who underwent cataract surgery on both eyes in February and March 2026 but has subsequently developed blurred vision; the status of the referral made by the person's GP to the hospital; the expected waiting time for assessment and treatment; …
209. Deputy David Cullinane asked the Minister for Health the number of serious reportable events and other serious patient-safety incidents recorded in each of the years 2021 to 2025 and to date in 2026, nationally and by hospital or facility, by incident category, including wrong-patient or wrong-site procedures, retained foreign objects and other applicable serious reportable event categories, and by level of pati…
1144. Deputy Paul Lawless asked the Minister for Health if she is aware of serious concerns raised by a patient regarding standards of care, patient dignity, privacy and infection prevention practices in the surgical day ward at Mayo University Hospital following surgery on 13 August 2026; whether the HSE has investigated these allegations; if any breaches of patient dignity, privacy or infection control procedures w…
1148. Deputy Paul Lawless asked the Minister for Health if she is aware of complaints regarding care standards, patient dignity and infection control practices at Mayo University Hospital following surgery on 13 August 2026; whether a patient was required to change for surgery in a public toilet due to bed shortages; whether concerns regarding post-operative supervision, privacy during wound examinations and infectio…
359. Deputy Maurice Quinlivan asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality if she will introduce a national safeguarding authority to ensure improved safeguarding duties, accountability mechanisms and oversight enforcement across sectors and settings for the protection of people living with a disability; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [53927/26]
848. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Health if the HSE will introduce a specific field within the National Incident Management System to identify patient safety incidents involving agency, panel, or locum staff where a service user was harmed; the reason this distinction is not currently recorded centrally; if the HSE can produce an aggregate figure of such incidents using local records, notwithstanding the…
522. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Health whether the National Incident Management System or any other HSE data system contains a category, field or tag that identifies an incident, complaint or safeguarding concern as involving a privately contracted home support provider, as distinct from directly employed HSE staff; and if not, to confirm that incidents involving privately contracted home support provi…
768. Deputy Pádraig Rice asked the Minister for Health with respect to two incidents (details supplied), if she accepts that a Garda referral does not, of itself, constitute an independent external review of patient safety governance, escalation pathways, executive visibility or pattern-recognition systems within the Health Service Executive; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [47383/26]
772. Deputy Paul Lawless asked the Minister for Health if his attention has been drawn to concerns raised by a parent (details supplied) regarding a lack of communication and consent in the care of their infant in Children's Health Ireland at Temple Street, including instances where changes to oxygen support, feeding methods, and treatment plans were made without informing or consulting the parent; the protocols in p…
773. Deputy Paul Lawless asked the Minister for Health if a review will be carried out into the circumstances surrounding the birth and immediate postnatal care of a baby (details supplied) at Mayo University Hospital, including concerns that signs of distress were not acted upon promptly; the outcome of any such review; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [47411/26]
2190. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Health whether the HSE independently verifies that foreign healthcare providers treating minors under the Treatment Abroad Scheme comply with local child protection legislation, and if so, the process used to conduct such verification. [43240/26]
2191. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Health whether the HSE maintains a list of approved or previously utilised foreign healthcare providers for the treatment of minors under the Treatment Abroad Scheme. [43241/26]
2192. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Health whether any foreign healthcare provider proposed for use under the Treatment Abroad Scheme has been rejected, suspended or removed from consideration in the past five years, and the reasons for same. [43242/26]
2194. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Health whether the HSE conducts any audit of the assessments made by referring consultants regarding the suitability of foreign healthcare providers treating minors under the Treatment Abroad Scheme. [43244/26]
2195. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Health whether any national policy, guidance document, standard operating procedure or governance framework exists governing the selection and oversight of foreign healthcare providers treating minors under the Treatment Abroad Scheme. [43245/26]