Written Answers Nos. 726-747
726. Deputy Claire Kerrane asked the Minister for Health if she will consider the establishment of a new service ambulance base and education centre for the National Ambulance Service on a HSE owned site (details supplied). [15131/25]
View answerAs this is a service matter I have asked the Health Service Executive (HSE) to respond to the Deputy directly, as soon as possible.
727. Deputy Ivana Bacik asked the Minister for Health if she has heard reports of a high prevalence of zero hour contracts being used for healthcare assistants at St. Vincent's Hospital Dublin; the number of such persons on such contracts in March 2025, and on the same date in each of the preceding five years; her plans to phase out the use of such contracts across the health service; if she will report on her engagement with the HSE in respect of the use of such contracts; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [15132/25]
View answerAs this is a service matter, I have asked the Health Service Executive to respond to the deputy directly, as soon as possible.
728. Deputy Pádraig Mac Lochlainn asked the Minister for Health the number people with type 1 diabetes admitted for hospital in-patient treatment in 2023 and 2024, by hospital; how many of these were using continuous glucose monitors; how many are using insulin pumps; how many are using multidose insulin injections; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [15141/25]
View answerAs this is a service matter, I have asked the Health Service Executive to respond to the Deputy directly, as soon as possible.
729. Deputy Michael Cahill asked the Minister for Health if approval will be given for additional staff as a matter of extreme urgency to allow two respite beds (details supplied) reopen at the earliest possible date; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [15200/25]
View answerAs this is an operational matter, I have asked the Health Service Executive to respond directly to the Deputy as soon as possible.
730. Deputy Micheál Carrigy asked the Minister for Health if the HSE has discontinued the provision of a diabetic foot clinic service at Aughnacliffe, Medical Centre, Aughnacliffe, County Longford, which was previously available to patients; if so, the rationale behind this decision; if there are any plans to reinstate this essential service; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [15224/25]
View answerAs this is a service matter, I have asked the Health Service Executive to respond to the Deputy directly, as soon as possible.
731. Deputy Micheál Carrigy asked the Minister for Health if she will urgently review the case of a person (details supplied) who has been waiting since 2020 for an ENT appointment. [15227/25]
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.
732. Deputy Aidan Farrelly asked the Minister for Health the number of vacant posts under active recruitment, broken down across disciplines, including, but not restricted to, psychology, radiation therapy and social work across units, in CHO7, in tabular form. [15244/25]
View answerAs this is an operational matter, I have asked the HSE to respond directly to the Deputy.
733. Deputy Aidan Farrelly asked the Minister for Health the number of WTE HSE-employed staff in palliative care teams within CHO7, by location, in 2023, 2024 and to date in 2025, in tabular form. [15247/25]
View answerAs this is a service matter, I have asked the Health Service Executive to respond to the Deputy directly, as soon as possible.
734. Deputy Aidan Farrelly asked the Minister for Health the number of WTE dermatologist registrars based at Tallaght University Hospital in 2023, 2024 and to date in 2025, in tabular form. [15248/25]
View answerAs this is a service matter, I have asked the Health Service Executive to respond to the Deputy directly, as soon as possible.
735. Deputy Aidan Farrelly asked the Minister for Health the number of vacancies for WTE cardiological specialist, by job title and by CHO region, in tabular form. [15249/25]
View answerAs this is a service matter, I have asked the Health Service Executive to respond to the Deputy directly, as soon as possible.
736. Deputy Liam Quaide asked the Minister for Health if she or Ministers of State from her Department raised recent breaches of international law by Israel such as cutting off food, water, and electricity to civilian populations in Gaza during recent visits to EU Member States over the St. Patrick’s Day celebrations; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [15258/25]
View answerReply not received from Department.
737. Deputy Conor D. McGuinness asked the Minister for Health the current number of vacancies in Waterford mental health services, Waterford CAMHS and University Hospital Waterford department of psychiatry, including the details and durations of each vacancy, in tabular form. [15275/25]
View answerAs this is a service matter, I have asked the Health Service Executive to respond directly with the Deputy as soon as possible.
738. Deputy Cathal Crowe asked the Minister for Health the number of ambulances available, on average, daily in County Clare; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [15279/25]
View answer739. Deputy Cathal Crowe asked the Minister for Health the average ambulance response times to "PURPLE" calls (life-threatening) in County Clare between 1 March 2024 and 1 March 2025; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [15280/25]
View answer740. Deputy Cathal Crowe asked the Minister for Health the average ambulance response times to "RED" calls (potentially life-threatening) in County Clare between 1 March 2024 and 1 March 2025; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [15281/25]
View answerI propose to take Questions Nos. 738, 739 and 740 together.
As these are service matters I have asked the Health Service Executive (HSE) to respond to the Deputy directly, as soon as possible.
741. Deputy Cathal Crowe asked the Minister for Health whether the oral immunotherapy drug known as palforzia, used by people who have peanut allergies, has been approved by the HSE for reimbursement; its current status in Irish healthcare; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [15284/25]
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. I have reached out to the HSE on this matter.
As per the 2013 Act the HSE must robustly assesses applications for pricing and reimbursement to make sure that it can stretch available resources as far as possible and to deliver the best value in relation to each medicine and ultimately more medicines to people living in Ireland.
HSE decisions on which medicines are reimbursed by the taxpayer are made on objective, scientific and economic grounds.
There are formal processes which govern applications for the pricing and reimbursement of medicines, and new uses of existing medicines, to be funded and / or reimbursed.
The HSE considers the following criteria prior to making any decision on pricing / reimbursement in line with the Health (Pricing and Supply of Medical Goods) Act 2013:
(1) The health needs of the public,
(2) The cost effectiveness of meeting health needs by supplying the item concerned rather than providing other health services,
(3) The availability and suitability of items for supply or reimbursement,
(4) The proposed costs, benefits, and risks of the item or listed item relative to therapeutically similar items or listed items provided in other health service settings and the level of certainty in relation to the evidence of those costs, benefits and risks,
(5) The potential or actual budget impact of the item or listed item,
(6) The clinical need for the item or listed item,
(7) The appropriate level of clinical supervision required in relation to the item to ensure patient safety,
(8) The efficacy (performance in trial), effectiveness (performance in real situations) and added therapeutic benefit against existing standards of treatment (how much better it treats a condition than existing therapies) and
(9) The resources available to the HSE
In terms of the specific details of the application for pricing and reimbursement of Defatted powder of Arachis hypogaea L., semen (peanuts) (Palforzia®) for the treatment of patients aged 4 to 17 years with a confirmed diagnosis of peanut allergy. (Palforzia® may be continued in patients 18 years of age and older):
The HSE received a complete application for pricing / reimbursement on the 30th March 2022 from Aimmune Therapeutics (the applicant) for Defatted powder of Arachis hypogaea L., semen (peanuts) (Palforzia®) for the treatment of patients aged 4 to 17 years with a confirmed diagnosis of peanut allergy. (Palforzia® may be continued in patients 18 years of age and older).
The first step in the process is the submission of a Rapid Review dossier (a clinical and economic dossier) to the National Centre for Pharmacoeconomics (NCPE) for assessment. The HSE commissioned the Rapid Review process on the 1st April 2022.
• The NCPE Rapid Review assessment report was received by the HSE on the 5th May 2022. The NCPE advised the HSE that a full HTA was recommended to assess the clinical effectiveness and cost effectiveness of Defatted powder of Arachis hypogaea L., semen (peanuts) (Palforzia®) compared with the current standard of care.
• The HSE commissioned a full Health Technology Assessment on the 26th May 2022 as per agreed processes.
• The NCPE Health Technology Assessment Report was received by the HSE on the 29th November 2023. The NCPE recommended that Defatted powder of Arachis hypogaea L., semen (peanuts) (Palforzia®) not be considered for reimbursement unless cost-effectiveness can be improved relative to existing treatments. (www.ncpe.ie/defatted-powder-of-arachis-hypogaea-l-semen-peanuts-palforzia-hta-id-22019/)
• The HSE Corporate Pharmaceutical Unit (CPU) is the interface between the HSE and the Pharmaceutical Industry in relation to medicine pricing and reimbursement applications. CPU met with the applicant to discuss their application for Arachis hypogaea L., semen (peanuts) (Palforzia®).
• The Drugs Group is the national committee which the HSE has in place to make recommendations on the pricing and reimbursement of medicines. The membership of the HSE Drugs Group includes public interest members. The HSE Drugs Group consider all of the evidence and make a recommendation to the HSE Senior Leadership Team. The totality of clinical and economic evidence for Defatted powder of Arachis hypogaea L., semen (peanuts) (Palforzia®) for the treatment of patients aged 4 to 17 years with a confirmed diagnosis of peanut allergy was comprehensively and extensively reviewed by the Drugs Group at the September 2024 meeting. The HSE Drugs Group recommended in favour of reimbursement of Arachis hypogaea L., semen (peanuts) (Palforzia®) subject to an improved commercial offering.
• The decision making authority in the HSE is the HSE Senior Leadership Team. The HSE Senior Leadership Team decides on the basis of all the demands it is faced with (across all services) whether it can fund a new medicine, or new use of an existing medicine, from the resources that have been provided to it in line with the Health (Pricing and Supply of Medical Goods) Act 2013.
• The HSE CPU proposed a meeting with the applicant to discuss the HSE Drugs Group recommendation. The applicant communicated to the HSE CPU in October 2024 that they wished for the application for Palforzia® to be paused until the end of 2025.
The application remains under consideration. The HSE cannot make any comment on possible outcomes from the ongoing process.
742. Deputy Claire Kerrane asked the Minister for Health if a position (details supplied) will be filled; the status of those on the panel since 2023; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [15287/25]
View answerAs this is a service matter, I have asked the Health Service Executive to respond to the deputy directly, as soon as possible.
743. Deputy Paul Lawless asked the Minister for Health the number of persons recruited for the National Ambulance Service in each county over each of the past five years; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [15288/25]
View answer745. Deputy Paul Lawless asked the Minister for Health the number of emergency medical technicians, emergency medical controllers and student paramedics hired to address the National Ambulance Service shortfall of an additional 1,080 staff since the recruitment panel was set up in 2024; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [15290/25]
View answerI propose to take Questions Nos. 743 and 745 together.
Sustained investment in the National Ambulance Service (NAS) has resulted in it workforce rising from 1,928 whole time equivalents (WTEs) in January 2020 to 2,409 as of January this year - a rise of 481 WTEs or 25%. Of the current staff number, over 85% work in direct patient facing roles.
Regarding the specific questions raised by the Deputy, I have asked the Health Service Executive (HSE) to respond directly, as soon as possible.
744. Deputy Paul Lawless asked the Minister for Health the reason there has been no movement on the National Ambulance Service recruitment panel than what initiated in 2024; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [15289/25]
View answerAs this is an operational matter, I have asked the HSE to respond directly to the Deputy.
746. Deputy Shónagh Ní Raghallaigh asked the Minister for Health the measures being taken to reduce waiting times at the accident and emergency department of Naas General Hospital. [15304/25]
View answerI would like to assure the deputy that every measure is being taken to reduce the waiting times in our Emergency Departments (ED’s), including Naas General Hospital.
We are making great progress in reducing the number of patients on trolleys nationwide. There was a significant reduction in the cumulative daily 8am trolley count in 2024, with 13,000 fewer patients waiting (down 11%) when compared to 2023. Equally, fewer patients experienced long waits in ED’s in 2024, with the number of patients waiting more than 24 hours in ED’s nationally falling by nearly 4% compared to 2023. This reduction has been achieved despite a significant increase in the number of patients presenting to ED’s, particularly in the cohort of patients aged 75 years and older. This progress is being driven by the ongoing implementation of the Urgent and Emergency Care Operational Plan 2024 – 25, which was presented to Government in July last year. Amongst the initiatives involved in the plan are:
• GP Out of Hours Work with GP Out of Hours Services to maintain/increase GP OOH contacts and reduce the level of GP OOH referrals to EDs
• NAS Care Pathways Maximize usage of existing NAS alternative care pathways
• Injury Units to provide a 7-day service, 8am to 8pm including Bank Holidays
• Providing additional and extended hours for senior decision makers and staff integral to supporting 7/7 operations.
To further drive sustainable improvements in the timely delivery of urgent and emergency care, an increased focus is being put on the delivery of integrated services on a seven-day basis. Fundamental to this is ensuring sufficient Senior Decision Makers (SDMs) are rostered to discharge patients throughout the entire week, including evenings, weekends and public holidays.
To support to the provision of 7/7 services, the Public Only Consultant Contract, introduced in March 2023 provides for evening, extended out of hours and Saturday rostering. A core objective of this contract is to enhance senior decision-making presence on-site. Over 60% of all consultants working in the public health system are now on the new POCC. Attention is focused on realising the benefits and increasing productivity by maximising the use of the hours in the contract to enhance patient care and increase access to services in the evenings and at weekends.
747. Deputy Shónagh Ní Raghallaigh asked the Minister for Health the number of HSE-funded day care centres within CHO7 for older persons where transport is provided to services users to and from their homes where the service user has no transport to get to and from the day care centre, in 2024 and to date in 2025, in tabular form. [15305/25]
View answerAs this is an operational matter I have asked the Health Service Executive to respond directly to the Deputy as soon as possible.
