Written Answers Nos. 933-953
935. Deputy Claire Kerrane asked the Minister for Health the amount of Section 39 funding made available to organisations in CHO2 each year from 2007 to 2025, with the corresponding number of organisations to benefit from said funding in each year, in tabular form. [66148/25]
View answer936. Deputy Claire Kerrane asked the Minister for Health the amount of funding which has been set aside for Section 39 organisations in 2025 and in Budget 2026. [66149/25]
View answer938. Deputy Claire Kerrane asked the Minister for Health if she will restore pre-2008 funding to Section 39 organisations in recognition that current funding does not meet today's running costs for many organisations doing so much good work in communities. [66151/25]
View answer939. Deputy Claire Kerrane asked the Minister for Health if she is aware that many Section 39 organisations providing services to older people in communities are unable to cover their running costs with stagnant funding when running costs have increased, and are depending on donations and charity events to assist with covering costs; if she is aware of the pressure this puts on organisations, without which older people would not have these services and supports in their communities; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [66152/25]
View answerI propose to take Questions Nos. 935, 936, 938 and 939 together.
Section 39 funded organisations in Ireland are primarily community, voluntary, and not-for-profit agencies that receive funding from the HSE to provide health and social care services. The majority of funding to these organisations flows through Department of Children, Disability and Equality for specialist disability services. The Department of Health also provides substantial funding through the HSE to Section 39 funded organisations.
Budget 2026 provided for an overall growth in the current Health budget of €1.5 billion (6.2%) in 2026 compared to Budget 2025 allocation. The HSE will consider the additional funding needs of Section 39 organisations in 2026 based on projected increases in their running costs when determining their funding allocations for 2026. The Deputy will be aware that there was an agreement reached in the Workplace Relations Commissions in March to fund Section 39 organisations for a pay increase of 9.25%, equivalent to the Public Sector Agreement 2024-2026. The HSE will also consider non-pay cost pressures including inflation and volume growth when determining Section 39 funding allocations for 2026.
In relation to the specific operational issues raised, I have asked the HSE to respond directly to the Deputy
937. Deputy Claire Kerrane asked the Minister for Health the way in which Section 39 funding is distributed to organisations in CHO2; the way in which the level of funding awarded is determined; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [66150/25]
View answerAs this is an operational matter, this PQ has been referred to the HSE to respond
940. Deputy Paul Lawless asked the Minister for Health when a person (details supplied) will receive a surgery date for an operation in Mayo University Hospital. [66156/25]
View answerAs this is a service matter, I have asked the Health Service Executive to respond to the Deputy directly, as soon as possible
941. Deputy Roderic O'Gorman asked the Minister for Health if her Department or the HSE will provide current funding for a service (details supplied); and if she will make a statement on the matter. [66166/25]
View answerAs this is a service matter, I have asked the Health Service Executive to respond directly to the Deputy as soon as possible.
942. Deputy Matt Carthy asked the Minister for Health the current and known upcoming vacancies at Cavan and Monaghan Hospital group per centre (Cavan and Monaghan separately); the dates on which the vacancies arose or will arise; the dates when vacancies are expected to be filled, in tabular form; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [66170/25]
View answerAs this is a service matter, I have asked the Health Service Executive to respond to the Deputy directly, as soon as possible
943. Deputy Matt Carthy asked the Minister for Health the official opening hours of the minor injuries unit, MIU at Monaghan Hospital; whether there is a check-in policy that prevents access for patients within those hours (i.e. last operating hour); the means by which the differential between opening hours and check-in times is communicated to the public; whether patients with urgent injuries can access care throughout the official opening hours regardless of check-in time; if there are proposals to amend the opening, operating and/or check-in hours at the MIU; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [66174/25]
View answerAs this is a service matter, I have asked the HSE to respond to the deputy directly
944. Deputy Michael Cahill asked the Minister for Health to urgently review long Covid among HSE workers (details supplied), the long-term consequences; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [66180/25]
View answerFollowing a Labour Court hearing in June of this year, a final extension was recommended. The scheme will now run until 31 December 2025, when it will formally conclude. Importantly, this does not mean that supports will end. Staff who remain unfit to return to work will move seamlessly into the Public Service Sick Leave Scheme, ensuring continuity of care and financial protection.
Under that scheme, staff receive full pay for three months, followed by half pay for three months, and then have the option to apply for Temporary Rehabilitative Remuneration, which can provide up to a further 547 days of paid leave. In addition, the Critical Illness Protocol may provide supports for up to three years. Finally, I should note that the Minister for Social Protection has reviewed the EU recommendation on recognising COVID-19 as an occupational illness. It has been determined that COVID-19 does not meet the criteria required for recognition under the Social Welfare Acts
945. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Health the public-health risk assessments completed since 1 January 2020 concerning communicable-disease risks among persons arriving into the State, including tuberculosis, measles, polio and hepatitis; and to provide the date of each assessment, the body or officer that carried out each assessment, the findings, the actions taken, and any guidance issued by her Department arising from those assessments. [66184/25]
View answerAs this is a service matter, I have asked the Health Service Executive to respond to the deputy directly, as soon as possible
946. Deputy Willie O'Dea asked the Minister for Health that the recently published standards and criteria for counsellors and psychotherapists by the Counsellors and Psychotherapists Registration Board of CORU (the Board) are subject to a lawful, proportionate, and transparent regulatory process; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [66220/25]
View answerAs the Deputy is aware, CORU is Ireland’s multiprofession health and social care regulator. CORU’s role is to protect the public by regulating the health and social care professions designated under the Health and Social Care Professionals Act 2005 (as amended).
Counsellors and psychotherapists perform a vital role, providing therapeutic care to often vulnerable people. Regulation is being introduced to these professions to protect the public, ensuring that care provided is of a consistently high standard and always by suitably qualified individuals.
The Counsellors and Psychotherapists Registration Board (CPRB) was established in 2019 and since that time has been working to progress regulation of both professions.
In July 2025 CORU published two key documents for each of these professions:
For each profession there is:
Standards of Proficiency• , which set out the minimum knowledge and skills required for entry to the Register.
Criteria for Education and Training Programmes• , which set the requirements for how professional training programmes are designed and managed to ensure graduates consistently meet the Standards of Proficiency.
These requirements set out the level of education and clinical training needed to practise safely and effectively. Ireland is now the first country in the world to establish distinct regulatory standards for entry to both professions. Setting these standards has now laid the foundations so education programmes can be designed to ensure consistency of education and training and the standards for entry into practice for both professions.
CORU continues to engage regularly with my Department to ensure compliance with EU requirement and remains committed to transparent, fair, and proportionate regulation that protects the public and supports practitioners.
I am confident that CORU’s work will bring clear benefits for public protection. The framework has been designed to strengthen standards of practice while ensuring that training pathways and workforce supply are not adversely affected.
I am assured that CORU will continue to engage closely with education providers, professional bodies, and other stakeholders as the regulatory process advances, keeping public protection at the centre of this work.
I am eager to see this work progressed so that two very important professions are finally regulated, in the interest of public protection
947. Deputy Carol Nolan asked the Minister for Health if she will direct each HSE community healthcare organisations and hospital group to provide information with regard to HSE clinicians undertaking overseas training or observerships related to complex termination of pregnancy care where such training overseas has been approved and undertaken from 2020 to date in 2025; if she will direct that such information will include associated expenses managed in accordance with standard HSE travel and training policies; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [66222/25]
View answerThe Deputy's question relates to service matters, I have referred the question to the HSE for direct reply
948. Deputy Mark Ward asked the Minister for Health the vacancy in clinical posts in Cherry Orchard primary care centre, in tabular form; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [66223/25]
View answerAs this is a service matter, I have asked the Health Service Executive to respond to the Deputy directly, as soon as possible
949. Deputy Mark Ward asked the Minister for Health if she will report on the HSE delays in ophthalmology routine surgical waitlists at Royal Victoria Eye and Ear Hospital; the number of vacant consultant ophthalmologist posts in St. James’s Hospital and the Royal Victoria Eye and Ear Hospital; if blepharoplasty surgery is eligible for NTPF; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [66260/25]
View answerIt is acknowledged that many patients are still waiting too long for hospital appointments and treatments. I am conscious of the burden that this places on patients and their families.
I published the Waiting List Action Plan (WLAP) for 2025 in February, representing this Government’s continued commitment to reducing waiting times for patients and improving access to hospital care.
With the multi-annual action plan approach, we are progressing towards the ultimate vision of a public healthcare service in which everyone has timely access to high-quality scheduled care, where and when they need it.
My Department is engaging with the HSE and National Treatment Purchase Fund to develop the action plan for 2026, building on the progress delivered to date, renewing the focus on improving waiting times for patients, and considering the learning from the challenges that arose in 2025.
In relation to the queries raised concerning ophthalmology at the Royal Victoria Eye and Ear Hospital and St. James's Hospital, as these are a service matters, I have asked the Health Service Executive to respond to the Deputy directly, as soon as possible.
In respect of blepharoplasty surgery, the National Treatment Purchase Fund (NTPF) has advised my Department that it does not have any tenders in place for this procedure.
950. Deputy Cathal Crowe asked the Minister for Health her response to the HIQA review on urgent and emergency healthcare services in HSE midwest; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [66261/25]
View answerHIQA published their independent and expert review of urgent and emergency healthcare services in the HSE Mid West Region on Tuesday 30th September.
The HIQA report clearly identifies that the lack of sufficient acute inpatient beds in UHL and the Mid West region is the core issue that needs to be addressed urgently.
The report presents three options for how to best address the capacity gap. These include the expansion of capacity at UHL on the Dooradoyle site (Option A); the extension of the UHL hospital campus to include a second site in close proximity under a shared governance and resourcing model (Option B); and the development of a Model 3 hospital in HSE Mid West, providing a second emergency department (ED) for the region (Option C).
My officials and I are considering the comprehensive and detailed reports and advice provided by HIQA, including the three options identified. I will report back to Government on these options and considerations before the end of the year.
951. Deputy Albert Dolan asked the Minister for Health to provide the Department’s annual expenditure on State Claims Agency costs for the years 2020–2025. [66361/25]
View answerThe Departments annual expenditure on State Claims Agency costs for the years 2020-2024 is set out below.
|
State Claims Expenditure |
Spend € million |
|
2020 Actual |
373 |
|
2021 Actual |
461 |
|
2022 Actual |
489 |
|
2023 Actual |
512 |
|
2024 Actual |
427 |
State Claims expenditure to date in 2025 was €321 million to end-October 2025.
952. Deputy Peter 'Chap' Cleere asked the Minister for Health the number of occupational therapists currently employed by the HSE in the southeast region; the number of OT’s approved; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [66553/25]
View answerAs this is a service matter, it has been referred to the Health Service Executive for attention and direct reply to the Deputy
953. Deputy Peter 'Chap' Cleere asked the Minister for Health the number of WTE occupational therapists employed; the number of approved WTE occupational therapists positions; the number of children under 18 waiting to be seen; the length of time they are waiting to be seen, by county, in tabular form; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [66554/25]
View answerAs this is a service matter, it has been referred to the Health Service Executive for attention and direct reply to the Deputy
