621. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Health the number of funded under-18 SCAN posts currently vacant; the duration of each vacancy; the regions affected; and the measures being taken to accelerate recruitment into these services. [36128/26]
Topics / Suicide Prevention
A subject heading for parliamentary questionsSuicide Prevention
157 questions from 7 TDs, between 27 February 2025 and 13 October 2026.
157
questions
157 written, 0 oral
7
TDs have asked
4
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
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| Month | Questions |
|---|---|
| January 2025 | 0 |
| February 2025 | 2 |
| March 2025 | 0 |
| April 2025 | 0 |
| May 2025 | 0 |
| June 2025 | 0 |
| July 2025 | 0 |
| August 2025 | 0 |
| September 2025 | 1 |
| October 2025 | 2 |
| November 2025 | 0 |
| December 2025 | 0 |
| January 2026 | 0 |
| February 2026 | 2 |
| March 2026 | 7 |
| April 2026 | 11 |
| May 2026 | 121 |
| June 2026 | 8 |
| July 2026 | 1 |
| August 2026 | 0 |
| September 2026 | 0 |
| October 2026 | 2 |
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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Asked of
Debated under the same heading
Debates whose official heading is exactly these words.
The questions
622. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Health whether the HSE has conducted any evaluation of the effectiveness of SCAN services in reducing emergency department presentations, repeat crisis episodes, hospital admissions or self-harm presentations among persons under 18 years of age; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [36129/26]
623. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Health the projected timeline for the operational commencement of the additional SCAN posts funded under Budget 2026 in Linn Dara, Kildare, Dublin South City, Galway, Kerry and Limerick; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [36130/26]
624. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Health whether the HSE maintains a national dataset on the number of persons under 18 years of age assessed through SCAN services who subsequently require CAMHS intervention, inpatient admission or emergency department presentation within six months; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [36131/26]
625. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Health whether the absence of SCAN services in the HSE Mid West area has been classified by her Department or the HSE as a service gap or patient-safety risk; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [36132/26]
626. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Health the reason no SCAN service posts are currently funded within the HSE Mid West area despite the national rollout of the National Clinical Programme for Self-Harm and Suicide Related Ideation [36133/26]
627. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Health whether the HSE has established a target date for full national coverage of Suicide Crisis Assessment Nurse services; and if not, the reason no implementation deadline has been set. [36134/26]
628. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Health the estimated total number of SCAN posts required to achieve full national coverage under the National Clinical Programme for Self Harm and Suicide Related Ideation. [36135/26]
629. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Health whether a workforce planning assessment has been undertaken regarding the recruitment and retention challenges affecting rollout of SCAN services nationally; and if so, if she will provide details. [36136/26]
630. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Health whether waiting times, referral numbers, service utilisation rates, or outcomes data are centrally collected for SCAN services; and if she will provide the available data by county and Regional Health Area. [36137/26]
631. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Health whether any equality-of-access assessment has been conducted regarding geographic disparities in access to Suicide Crisis Assessment Nurse services; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [36138/26]
632. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Health the number of GP referrals made to SCAN services in each county in 2024 and to date in 2026. [36139/26]
633. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Health whether the HSE has assessed the impact on emergency departments in areas where SCAN services are unavailable; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [36140/26]
634. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Health the amount allocated under Budget 2026 for expansion of SCAN services; how much of that allocation has been drawn down to date; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [36141/26]
635. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Health whether any national performance indicators were in operation for Suicide Crisis Assessment Nurse services prior to the commencement of national SCAN data collection in 2025; and if so, to provide details of such indicators and the manner in which they were monitored. [36144/26]
636. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Health the number of Suicide Crisis Assessment Nurse posts currently funded and filled, by HSE region; and the number of vacancies currently existing within the service. [36145/26]
637. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Health whether any independent evaluation has been undertaken of the national rollout of the Suicide Crisis Assessment Nurse service since the publication of the National Clinical Programme for Self-Harm and Suicide-Related Ideation in 2022; and if so, to provide details. [36146/26]
638. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Health whether the Department or HSE tracked referral outcomes, repeat presentations, emergency department diversion rates, or adverse incidents associated with the Suicide Crisis Assessment Nurse service prior to the establishment of the national dataset in 2025. [36147/26]
639. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Health whether she accepts that the absence of a unified national SCAN dataset between 2022 and 2025 limited the State's ability to evaluate consistency of service delivery and patient outcomes across regions. [36148/26]
640. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Health the estimated date on which the first national SCAN KPI report will be published; and whether this report will be published annually thereafter. [36149/26]
641. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Health whether any external governance or audit review was undertaken regarding the delay between the 2022 national rollout of SCAN services and the commencement of national data collection in 2025. [36150/26]
642. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Health when the decision was taken to expand the SCAN service nationally under the National Clinical Programme for Self-Harm and Suicide-Related Ideation; and whether a national key performance indicator framework was in place at the time that decision was made. [36151/26]
643. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Health whether any independent evaluation, external audit, or formal service review of the SCAN service has been undertaken since its integration into the National Clinical Programme in 2022; and if not, whether such a review is planned. [36152/26]
644. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Health to provide the key performance indicators currently used by the HSE in monitoring the SCAN service nationally, including any indicators relating to waiting times, repeat presentations, onward referrals, patient outcomes, or service accessibility. [36153/26]
645. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Health the number of referrals received by the SCAN service in each CHO area in 2025 to date and 2026 to date; and to provide the corresponding staffing levels assigned to the service in each area. [36154/26]