Written Answers Nos. 463-483
463. Deputy Grace Boland asked the Minister for Health the work her Department has undertaken to provide a small injuries clinic in a centre (details supplied); and if she will make a statement on the matter. [13084/25]
View answerAs this is a service matter, I have asked the Health Service Executive to respond to the Deputy directly, as soon as possible.
464. Deputy Grace Boland asked the Minister for Health the frequency of the medical specialties offered in a centre (details supplied), in tabular form; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [13085/25]
View answerAs this is a service matter, I have asked the Health Service Executive to respond to the Deputy directly, as soon as possible.
465. Deputy Grace Boland asked the Minister for Health if her Department will offer to support the north Dublin regional drugs and alcohol task force; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [13089/25]
View answerDrug and Alcohol Task Forces (DATFs) play a key role in implementing the national drugs strategy at the local/regional level. Their function is to assess the extent and nature of the drug problem in their areas and to develop and monitor the implementation of action plans to respond to the problem as identified.
Drug and Alcohol Task Forces focus on the delivery of these objectives within a local/regional context so as to ensure the development of a coordinated and integrated response to substance use.
The Department of Health meets with the DATF networks quarterly to ensure good communication is maintained and to provide a forum for issues to be resolved.
In Budget 2025, an additional €4.2m was provided for new measures to support the implementation of the national drugs strategy. The Department of Health has published a factsheet on new funding provided for in Budget 2025 which can be found at: www.gov.ie/en/press-release/70bdf-minister-burke-announces-additional-40m-in-funding-for-drug-and-alcohol-services-and-inclusion-health/
I will shortly be announcing details of the additional €4.2m provided in Budget 2025. This new funding will enhance access to and delivery of drug and alcohol services in the community, strengthen the prevention of drug and alcohol use among children and young people, and minimise the harms of drug use for families and communities.
I am very supportive of the role Drug and Alcohol Task Forces play under the National Drugs Strategy.
466. Deputy Grace Boland asked the Minister for Health the funding her Department can offer to support Skerries youth support services; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [13090/25]
View answerAs this is a service matter, I have asked the Health Service Executive to respond to the Deputy directly as soon as possible.
467. Deputy Maurice Quinlivan asked the Minister for Health if the case of a person (details supplied) will be examined; if an assessment will be expedited; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [13102/25]
View answerThis PQ should be directed to the Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth as they have remit over autism assessments.
468. Deputy Robert O'Donoghue asked the Minister for Health in regard to the primary health care centre in a location (details supplied), to outline future plans for the installation of X-ray and scanning facilities to treat minor injuries in the north county area and relieve stress on hospital accident and emergency departments in the wider region, similar to the Bantry local injury unit; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [13110/25]
View answerAs this is a service matter, I have asked the Health Service Executive to respond to the Deputy directly, as soon as possible.
469. Deputy Robert O'Donoghue asked the Minister for Health if she will consider carrying out a GAP analysis or similar analysis at the primary health care centre in a location (details supplied); the facilities that could be located at the facility in comparison with the facilities currently in situ at the facility; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [13111/25]
View answerAs the Health Service Executive (HSE) holds responsibility for the provision, along with the maintenance and operation of Primary Care Centres, I have asked the HSE to respond to the Deputy directly, as soon as possible.
470. Deputy Alan Kelly asked the Minister for Health for a breakdown of CAMHS-ID teams in the CHO 3 area, in tabular form; the staffing levels per team; and the options open to young people who require the services of CAMHS-ID if there are no teams in their CHO. [13126/25]
View answerAs this is a service matter, I have asked the Health Service Executive to respond directly to the Deputy as soon as possible.
471. Deputy Alan Kelly asked the Minister for Health the number of WTE consultant nephrologists based at University Hospital Limerick in the years of 2023, 2024 and to date in 2025, in tabular form. [13127/25]
View answerAs this is a service matter, I have asked the Health Service Executive to respond to the Deputy directly, as soon as possible.
472. Deputy Alan Kelly asked the Minister for Health if ShannonDoc treatment centres based in Roscrea will extend their opening hours on Mondays to Fridays between 11 p.m. and 8 a.m. the following morning and on Fridays and on the weekends from 10 p.m. to 8 a.m. on the next working day; and the estimated current cost required to extend to those opening hours. [13128/25]
View answerAs this is a service matter, I have asked the Health Service Executive to respond to the Deputy directly, as soon as possible.
473. Deputy Alan Kelly asked the Minister for Health the number of WTE dentists, senior dental surgeons and principal dental surgeons based at primary care centres within CHO 3 in the years 2023, 2024 and to date in 2025, in tabular form. [13129/25]
View answerAs this is a service matter, I have asked the Health Service Executive to respond to the Deputy directly.
474. Deputy Alan Kelly asked the Minister for Health the hospitals that currently have the equipment and necessary staff to carry out core decompression procedures, in tabular form. [13130/25]
View answerAs this is a service matter, I have asked the Health Service Executive to respond to the Deputy directly, as soon as possible.
475. Deputy Michael Cahill asked the Minister for Health the action that will be taken to address the long waiting lists and times for orthodontic treatment in County Kerry; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [13149/25]
View answerAs this is a service matter, I have asked the Health Service Executive to respond to the Deputy directly.
476. Deputy Michael Cahill asked the Minister for Health if she will urgently investigate and expedite the long delay in respect of a person (details supplied) in County Kerry; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [13151/25]
View answerUnder the Health Act 2004, the Health Service Executive (HSE) is required to manage and deliver, or arrange to be delivered on its behalf, health and personal social services. Section 6 of the HSE Governance Act 2013 bars the Minister for Health from directing the HSE to provide a treatment or a personal service to any individual or to confer eligibility on any individual.
In relation to the particular query raised, as this is a service matter, I have asked the Health Service Executive to respond to the Deputy directly, as soon as possible.
477. Deputy Michael Cahill asked the Minister for Health if she will urgently examine the circumstances of a child (details supplied) in County Kerry who has been on a waiting list for the past three years and still has not received any treatment; if she will investigate this delay; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [13154/25]
View answerAs this is a service matter, I have asked the Health Service Executive to respond to the Deputy directly.
478. Deputy Pearse Doherty asked the Minister for Health the details of any secondments from consulting firms to her Department since 2020; the consulting firm involved; the purpose of the secondment; the durations of the secondments; who paid the salary of the individual seconded; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [13185/25]
View answerThe Department of Health does not second in consultants from consultancy firms. Where the Department has a requirement to engage the expertise of a consultant for a specific project or piece of work, it is done through a procurement process under a contract for services.
479. Deputy Michael Healy-Rae asked the Minister for Health if the medicine Mounjaro will be offered on the medical card or long-term illness card (details supplied); and if she will make a statement on the matter. [13200/25]
View answerUnder the Health (Pricing and Supply of Medical Goods) Act 2013, the HSE has statutory responsibility for decisions on the pricing and reimbursement of medicines; therefore, the matter has been referred to the HSE for attention and direct reply to the Deputy.
480. Deputy Pádraig Mac Lochlainn asked the Minister for Health whether there were any assessment of needs applications that were closed without receiving an assessment of needs in County Donegal in 2022, 2023 and 2024; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [13201/25]
View answerAs this is a service matter, I have asked the Health Service Executive to respond to the Deputy directly, as soon as possible.
481. Deputy Pa Daly asked the Minister for Health if a clinical child psychologist has been appointed for CAMHS in Kerry; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [13216/25]
View answerAs this is a service matter, I have asked the Health Service Executive to respond directly to the Deputy as soon as possible.
482. Deputy Pa Daly asked the Minister for Health when a clinical child psychologist will be appointed for CAMHS in Kerry; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [13217/25]
View answerAs this is a service matter, I have asked the Health Service Executive to respond to the Deputy directly as soon as possible.
483. Deputy Pa Daly asked the Minister for Health if she has considered broadening the entry requirements for the CAMHS redress scheme in Kerry; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [13218/25]
View answerAs the Deputy will be aware, on foot of the publication of the Maskey Report in 2022, the Government committed to the introduction of a non-adversarial route for children and their families to seek compensation for the shortfall in care received in South Kerry CAMHS.
The nature of State Compensation Schemes is such that they are defined by clear criteria and terms of eligibility. Such Schemes are not defined so as to be discriminatory, but rather to ensure that those who meet the relevant criteria can access the Scheme.
This is not to say that the Scheme in question is limited. Importantly, as evidenced by the additional eligible children in North Kerry subsequently identified by the HSE as qualifying for the Scheme, any further appropriate cases in Kerry recommended by the HSE will be given full consideration by the State Claims Agency.
However, aside from the inclusion of such individual eligible cases, it is not intended that there be any fundamental change to the Compensation Scheme introduced by Government relating to the Maskey Report.
To qualify to receive compensation, patients must have suffered harm or injury whilst attending Kerry CAMHS from 1 July 2016 to 19 April 2021, be identified as being affected by the events outlined in the Maskey Report and have been notified by CAMHS.
The original Maskey Report notes that there is no definitive number of people who suffered harm. Therefore, further evidence of levels of harm may be found so that the number of people who are eligible for the Scheme may change. However, the terms of the Scheme fundamentally remain the same – meeting the criteria of harm as set out by the Maskey Report.
The State Claims Agency continues to engage with families in relation to the processes involved in the Compensation Scheme. The Department of Health, in conjunction with the HSE, continues to closely monitor developments in relation to CAMHS in Kerry.
