Written Answers Nos. 371-390
371. Deputy Sorca Clarke asked the Minister for Health to set out the average waiting time for a first appointment with a psychologist under HSE mental health services; and to detail how the 2026 funding aims to improve access. [56277/25]
View answerAs this is a service matter, I have asked the Health Service Executive to respond to the Deputy directly, as soon as possible.
372. Deputy Sorca Clarke asked the Minister for Health the number of consultant psychiatrist posts that are currently filled, vacant, and approved across the HSE; and to provide the number of new or replacement posts funded in Budget 2026. [56278/25]
View answerAs this is a service matter, I have asked the Health Service Executive to respond to the Deputy directly, as soon as possible.
373. Deputy Sorca Clarke asked the Minister for Health the number of psychiatry training places available under the HSE’s postgraduate schemes; and whether Budget 2026 provides for an expansion of these to meet projected service demand. [56279/25]
View answerAs this is a service matter, I have asked the Health Service Executive to respond to the Deputy directly, as soon as possible.
374. Deputy Pa Daly asked the Minister for Health for a list of all consultants that have been engaged as part of the North Kerry CAMHS lookback review; the dates of their engagement; the nature of their work; any reports produced; and the cost associated with their services. [56286/25]
View answerAs this is a service matter, I have asked the Health Service Executive to respond directly to the Deputy as soon as possible.
375. Deputy Pa Daly asked the Minister for Health for a list of all consultant reports commissioned as part of the North Kerry CAMHS lookback review; the objective of each report, and any actions that arose from each report; and the progress to date on said actions and the costs associated with each report. [56287/25]
View answerAs this is a service matter, I have asked the Health Service Executive to respond directly to the Deputy as soon as possible.
376. Deputy Pa Daly asked the Minister for Health for a list of all consultant reports commissioned as part of the south Kerry CAMHS lookback review; the objective of each report, and any actions that arose from each report; and the progress to date on said actions and the costs associated with each report. [56288/25]
View answerAs this is a service matter, I have asked the Health Service Executive to respond directly to the Deputy as soon as possible.
377. Deputy Pa Daly asked the Minister for Health for a list of all consultants that have been engaged as part of the South Kerry CAMHS lookback review; the dates of their engagement; the nature of their work and any reports produced and the cost associated with their services. [56289/25]
View answerAs this is a service matter, I have asked the Health Service Executive to respond directly to the Deputy as soon as possible.
378. Deputy Pádraig Rice asked the Minister for Health further to Parliamentary Question No. 650 of 23 September 2025, the reason the expected completion date for the HSE Service Improvement Programme’s review of the existing provision of limb prosthetic services has been postponed (detail supplied); and if she will make a statement on the matter. [56293/25]
View answerAs this is a service matter, I have asked the Health Service Executive to respond to the Deputy directly, as soon as possible.
379. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Health the specific winter contingency measures being put in place for hospitals in Cork City and County ahead of the 2025–2026 winter season, including additional acute and step-down bed capacity, emergency department surge funding, and staffing allocations; the way in which these measures align with the HSE’s winter plan 2025; and the projected winter-pressure cost for Cork facilities relative to last year’s expenditure. [56310/25]
View answerAs this is a service matter, I have asked the Health Service Executive to respond to the Deputy directly, as soon as possible.
380. Deputy Robert O'Donoghue asked the Minister for Health the number of defibrillators currently located in public buildings (details supplied), by county, in tabular form; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [56318/25]
View answerAs this is a service matter, I have asked the Health Service Executive to respond to the deputy directly, as soon as possible.
381. Deputy Robert O'Donoghue asked the Minister for Health if she will report on the absence of a comprehensive, up-to-date, public register of automated external defibrillators (AED); if she has plans to develop or support the creation of a national AED register and mapping system, accessible to the public and emergency services, to enable faster emergency response; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [56319/25]
View answerThe Health Service Executive commissioned an Out of Hospital Cardiac Arrest Strategy (OHCA) for Ireland. The OHCA Strategy Governance Implementation Group has a specific aim to implement a National AED Registry which is mapped to the National Ambulance Service (NAS), National Emergency Operations Centre (NEOC) ambulance dispatch system, and a supporting application for dispatching first responders to the scene of an emergency.
The critical role of community first response in improving cardiac arrest survival rates is wholly recognised in the National Out-of-Hospital Cardiac Arrest Strategy (OHCA) – Putting Survival at the Heart of the Community (2019). It is the aim of the multi-agency OHCA Strategy Governance Implementation Group (which includes representation from Community First Responders (CFR) Ireland) that Ireland should achieve similar survival rates to our best-performing European neighbours, which are consistently around 10%. In 2024, percentage survival from OHCA rose to 8% with 232 people returning home to their families – an additional 54 people when compared with 2021, so Ireland is well on the way to achieving this aim.
A key recommendation of the OHCA Strategy was to develop a CFR application (CFR App) and a registry of publicly available automated external defibrillators (AED Registry) for the Republic of Ireland. Work is at an advanced stage with the CFR App currently being trialled by six CFR groups, with plans for further expansion in 2026. The tendering process for the establishment of a comprehensive AED national register is also at a similarly advanced stage.
These developments will provide the technological backbone needed to ensure community first response in Ireland is optimised. In time, such projects have the potential to benefit everyone living on, working in or visiting the island of Ireland. This technology will enable publicly accessible defibrillators (AEDs) to be registered in a robust and systematic manner. In the event of a cardiac arrest call, location of AEDs will then be available to emergency ambulance call takers, who can in turn direct the caller to the nearest device. Ireland already has a network of over 330 Community First Responder schemes involving some 4,500 volunteers capable of providing an immediate first response to OHCA in their communities. While the current text alert system works well, a CFR App will streamline the process for dispatching and monitoring CFRs as necessary. Most importantly, this technology is proven in international best practice to increase survival from OHCA.
Automated External Defibrillators (AEDs) are available in many locations across society under the management of various organisations. AEDs are among the various items eligible for funding under the Community Sport Facilities Fund.
The Community Sport Facilities Fund (formerly the Sports Capital & Equipment Programme) is operated by the Department of Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport and Media and provides grants to assist in the development or refurbishment of sports facilities and the provision of sports equipment. Grants are available to voluntary, not-for profit sports clubs, community groups, National Governing Bodies of Sport, and local authorities. Third level colleges, Education and Training Boards (ETBs) and schools may only apply for funding jointly with sports clubs or organisations.
The programme funds the purchase of AEDs for the above-mentioned groups and many of these are also available to the wider community.
Funding is also available through the HSE’s national lottery grants schemes and other community grants schemes. At a local level, the network of local sports partnerships throughout the country delivers education and training opportunities across a broad range of areas to local sports clubs and community groups. This includes first aid workshops, which typically cover CPR and-or defibrillator training as part of the content.
From the 1st of January 2023, my Department through the Department of Finance removed VAT from AEDs to make the cost more feasible for groups, organisations or individuals looking to purchase an AED.
382. Deputy Robert O'Donoghue asked the Minister for Health if funding will be made available to Fingal County Council to fund an initiative (details supplied) to support the provision of first responder training for members of the public and community organisations; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [56320/25]
View answerAs this is a service matter, I have asked the Health Service Executive to respond to the Deputy directly, as soon as possible.
383. Deputy Pat Buckley asked the Minister for Health the amount the HSE spent on taxis for patients in 2023, 2024 and to date in 2025. [56398/25]
View answerAs this is a service matter, I have asked the Health Service Executive to respond to the Deputy directly, as soon as possible.
384. Deputy Marie Sherlock asked the Minister for Health the total acute bed capacity across all section 38 and HSE run hospitals, by year, from 2019 to date in 2025. [56406/25]
View answerAs this is a service matter, I have asked the Health Service Executive to respond to the Deputy directly, as soon as possible
385. Deputy Marie Sherlock asked the Minister for Health the number of ICU bed capacity across all section 38 and HSE run hospitals, by year, from 2019 to date in 2025. [56407/25]
View answerAs this is a service matter, I have asked the Health Service Executive to respond to the Deputy directly, as soon as possible.
386. Deputy Marie Sherlock asked the Minister for Health the number of high dependency units bed capacity across all section 38 and HSE run hospitals, by year, from 2019 to date in 2025. [56408/25]
View answerAs this is a service matter, I have asked the Health Service Executive to respond to the Deputy directly, as soon as possible.
387. Deputy Marie Sherlock asked the Minister for Health the total number of operating theatres across HSE and S.38 hospitals, by year, from 2019 to date in 2025. [56409/25]
View answerAs this is a service matter, I have asked the Health Service Executive to respond to the Deputy directly, as soon as possible
388. Deputy Marie Sherlock asked the Minister for Health the total number waiting for diagnostic scans across all section 38 and HSE run hospitals at end September 2025 and to date in 2025; and the average and longest length of time waited per speciality. [56410/25]
View answerWaiting times for radiology and diagnostic services have been recognised as an issue for some time. This year the Productivity and Savings Taskforce published an action plan for 2025 which commits to a range of services being available 7 days a week, including diagnostics activity. It will also ensure that all publicly funded diagnostics are captured in the National Integrated Medical Imaging System (NIMIS) by the end of 2025, thereby improving care coordination and reducing duplication of tests and procedures.
The NTPF is working to support access to radiology and in October 2024 it published a National Radiology Diagnostic Waiting List Management Protocol. As well as ensuring that patients seeking access to Radiology Diagnostic services are administratively managed in a safe, timely, fair, and equitable manner whilst waiting, the protocol will facilitate improved data collection and reporting about patients on Radiology Diagnostic waiting lists.
In the interim, the information that is currently being collected as part of a pilot project is being tested and validated at hospital, hospital region and national level and as such should not be used/reported without the context of the caveats set out below:
• Data is subject to inclusions and exclusions which are documented in the Data Profile Document. This document is available from Acute Operations and has been circulated to all Hospital Regions.
• Data contains urgent, routine and surveillance/planned activity which is currently not broken down in detail, as such this includes surveillance/planned activity which may not be exceeding planned date.
• Data is still undergoing validation at Hospital and Hospital Region level. Data does not take into account local nuances at site level (Site profile developed to support understanding of same).
• The purpose of this aggregate data is to provide a National Level overview of the number of patients waiting for modalities of CT, MRI and Ultrasound.
• This report is not intended to be used for the active management of hospital diagnostics waiting list, local reports and mechanisms should continue to be used for the management of diagnostics waiting lists at hospital level.
The NTPF provides my Department with quarterly reports which set out waiting list data for CT, MRI and Ultrasound by hospital and time band.
The most recent report available for the end of Quarter 2 2025, which is attached, indicates there was a total of 318,889 patients reported on the waiting list from all sites, this represents all outpatients waiting, urgent, semi urgent, routine and planned/surveillance (where diagnostic access is planned at particular time intervals).
389. Deputy Marie Sherlock asked the Minister for Health the total number of patients classified as delayed transfers of care across all HSE run and section 38 operated hospitals; and the average and longest length of delayed transfer. [56411/25]
View answerAs this is a service matter, I have asked the Health Service Executive to respond to the Deputy directly, as soon as possible.
390. Deputy Marie Sherlock asked the Minister for Health the average and longest waiting times for admission from emergency departments (ED) across every ED in the country. [56412/25]
View answerAs this is a service matter, I have asked the Health Service Executive to respond to the Deputy directly, as soon as possible.
