Written Answers Nos. 254-269
254. Deputy Patrick Costello asked the Minister for Health further to Parliamentary Question No. 646 of 30 April 2024, if, given that a recent report (details supplied) found that 69% of transgender people access care abroad, his Department will commit to consulting with the transgender community before making any changes around EEA prescriptions to ensure continuity of their healthcare. [23319/24]
View answerAs was noted in Parliamentary Question No. 646 of 30 April 2024, there are currently no specific plans at this time to legislate to prohibit the dispensing of EU prescriptions in the Republic of Ireland. Officials in my department are currently exploring the available options to enhance safety standards around online EEA prescriptions.
Also noted in PQ No. 646 of 30 April, a new clinical programme for gender healthcare has been initiated by the HSE, and over the next two years an updated clinical model for gender healthcare services will be developed. The work will be informed by the best evidence based clinical care for individuals who express gender incongruence or dysphoria. Emerging and evolving international evidence, including the recently published Cass report, will be reviewed as part of this work. The HSE aim to provide a wide range of services for all people with gender dysphoria, from care locally in the community to more specialised and complex care and are committed to building a service based on experience and clinical evidence, respect, inclusiveness, and compassion. There is a clear and well-established approach to the development of a Model of Care which will incorporate best available clinical evidence and input from healthcare professionals, patient advocates and those with lived experience. Developing a Model of Care for gender healthcare services is expected to be a complex process and the HSE and my department will work closely together to support the process, ensure transparency and to keep the patient and their safety at the centre of the process.
255. Deputy Patrick Costello asked the Minister for Health further to Parliamentary Question No. 647 of 30 April 2024, if he is aware that the "relatively new" area of transgender healthcare is over a century old. [23320/24]
View answerAs this is a service matter, I have referred the Deputy's question to the HSE for response.
256. Deputy Patrick Costello asked the Minister for Health further to Parliamentary Question No. 647 of 30 April 2024, if the widespread problem of GPs denying blood tests to their transgender patients is considered out of scope for the new model of care being developed by the HSE. [23321/24]
View answerAs this is a service matter, I have referred the Deputy's question to the HSE for response.
257. Deputy Neasa Hourigan asked the Minister for Health his plans to alter regulations regarding nutritional labelling for foodstuffs in order that the recommended daily allowances information is expressed in terms of quantities for children as opposed to an adult’s RDA, for foodstuffs that are primarily targeted at children; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [23322/24]
View answerThis Department's role in legislating for nutritional information on food labelling involves contributing to the formation of policy at EU level. The central piece of EU legislation concerning food labelling is Regulation (EU) No.1169/2011 on the provision of food information to consumers (FIC). This Regulation provides for mandatory nutritional declaration on prepacked foods indicating the amounts of energy, fat, saturates, carbohydrates, protein, sugars and salt per 100g/100ml of the food product.
In addition to the above requirements food business operators may also present these details per portion size, if desired. However, portion-based labelling specifically targeted for adults or children is not mandatory under the current legal framework. Food business operators may give supplementary information on the amounts of vitamins, minerals, fibre, and types of fat in the food, if desired.
The current FIC Regulation is being revised to better inform consumers so they can make informed decisions in support of a healthy and sustainable diet and in support of a reduction in food waste. Proposed revisions include:
• Introduction of harmonised front-of-pack nutrition labelling (e.g. the UK’s multiple traffic light scheme);
• Setting of nutrient profiles to restrict use of health claims as a marketing tool for high fat, sugar and salt foods and restrict marketing of these foods to children;
• Expand the requirement for country of origin/provenance labelling (e.g. as currently applies to prepacked meat and foods with a single main ingredient) to additional food categories; (milk and milk used as an ingredient, meat used as an ingredient, rabbit and game meat, rice, durum wheat used in pasta, potatoes and tomato used in certain tomato products.)
• Revise the current date marking rules (“use by” and “best before”).
The Commission has not yet been in a position to indicate when the labelling aspect of the FIC revision will be progressed. As my Department has responsibility for the FIC Regulation we are coordinating the Irish cross-government approach to policy development.
Additionally, the National Obesity Policy and Action Plan (OPAP) 2016-2025 states that the relevant parties will “Review EU consumer information labelling of food products and with a view to its application in the Irish market.” Under the OPAP, the Obesity Policy Implementation Oversight Group which is chaired by the Department of Health and consists of a number of key stakeholders including the Food Safety Authority of Ireland (FSAI), HSE, safefood and the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine, is progressing a wide range of policy initiatives and actions to address obesity, including labelling.
At the wider international level, in particular at WHO/FAO CODEX Alimentarius (International Food Standards) level, the Food Safety Authority of Ireland are leading work on providing nutrient reference values for labelling foods targeting infants and young children. Nutrient reference values are appropriate recommended daily allowances for vitamins, minerals, and protein for infants and young children. Once the nutrient reference values are established at Codex level, EU legislation governing labelling of foods targeting infants and young children is expected to align with the Codex standards.
258. Deputy Alan Dillon asked the Minister for Health when a person (details supplied) will receive an appointment for a psychologist assessment; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [23328/24]
View answerAs this is a service matter, I have asked the Health Service Executive to respond to the Deputy directly, as soon as possible.
259. Deputy Bernard J. Durkan asked the Minister for Health when urgent speech therapy and physiotherapy will be provided in the case of a person (details supplied) who recently suffered a stroke and is relying on these services to regain a normal independent quality of life; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [23342/24]
View answerAs this is a service matter, I have asked the Health Service Executive to respond to the deputy directly, as soon as possible.
260. Deputy Paul Murphy asked the Minister for Health how many is the "growing number" of people contacting the National Gender Service seeking to detransition, as mentioned in a recent newspaper article (details supplied), broken down by year. [23368/24]
View answer“As this is a service matter, I have asked the Health Service Executive to respond to the Deputy directly, as soon as possible.
261. Deputy Paul Murphy asked the Minister for Health when the National Gender Service's meetings with the NHS started; and when was the most recent meeting. [23369/24]
View answer“As this is a service matter, I have asked the Health Service Executive to respond to the Deputy directly, as soon as possible.
262. Deputy Paul Murphy asked the Minister for Health further to Parliamentary Question No. 252 of 1 May 2024, if there are any clinical differences in the over 45% of those attending the National Gender Service who started gender questioning from late teenage years onwards. [23370/24]
View answer“As this is a service matter, I have asked the Health Service Executive to respond to the Deputy directly, as soon as possible.
263. Deputy Paul Murphy asked the Minister for Health further to Parliamentary Question No. 252 of 1 May 2024, how clinical practice in the National Gender service takes into account rapid onset gender dysphoria, as mentioned in its approved model of care. [23371/24]
View answer“As this is a service matter, I have asked the Health Service Executive to respond to the Deputy directly, as soon as possible.
264. Deputy Paul Murphy asked the Minister for Health further to Parliamentary Question No. 252 of 1 May 2024, how important the National Gender Service considers the mentioned report within the field of transgender healthcare. [23372/24]
View answer“As this is a service matter, I have asked the Health Service Executive to respond to the Deputy directly, as soon as possible.
265. Deputy Paul Murphy asked the Minister for Health further to Parliamentary Question No. 253 of 1 May 2024, if the National Gender Service can share medical literature that corroborates their clinical experience that it is very common for neurodiverse people to have their sexual interest emerge a decade or more after puberty. [23373/24]
View answerAs this is a service matter, I have asked the Health Service Executive to respond to the Deputy directly, as soon as possible.
266. Deputy Michael Healy-Rae asked the Minister for Health the status of a hospital appointment for a person (details supplied); and if he will make a statement on the matter. [23374/24]
View answer“As this is a service matter, I have asked the Health Service Executive to respond to the Deputy directly, as soon as possible.
267. Deputy John McGuinness asked the Minister for Health if an urgent appointment will be arranged at the orthopaedic department WUH or Kilcreene Hospital, Kilkenny, for a person (details supplied). [23381/24]
View answer“As this is a service matter, I have asked the Health Service Executive to respond to the Deputy directly, as soon as possible.
268. Deputy Michael Healy-Rae asked the Minister for Health to provide an update on the case of a person (details supplied); and if he will make a statement on the matter. [23407/24]
View answerAs this is a service matter, I have asked the Health Service Executive to respond to the Deputy directly, as soon as possible.
269. Deputy Catherine Connolly asked the Minister for Health further to Parliamentary Question No. 303 of 2 May 2024, if the review of the model of care for eating disorders planned during 2024 will examine the number of hospital admissions for eating disorders per year, given that the number of first time hospital admissions for eating disorders in 2022 was the highest since 2006; if the review of bed capacity already carried out took into account the number of hospital admissions for eating disorders, or if it focused solely on mental health facilities; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [23414/24]
View answer270. Deputy Catherine Connolly asked the Minister for Health further to Parliamentary Question No. 303 of 2 May 2024, the status of the review of the model of care for eating disorders; the timeline for the completion of the review; the details of who is carrying out the review; the terms of reference of the review; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [23415/24]
View answer271. Deputy Catherine Connolly asked the Minister for Health the number of hospital admissions for eating disorders in 2023; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [23416/24]
View answerI propose to take Questions Nos. 269 to 271, inclusive, together.
As this is a service matter, I have asked the Health Service Executive to respond directly to the Deputy as soon as possible.
