Written Answers Nos. 636-662
637. Deputy David Cullinane asked the Minister for Health the number of WTE staffing positions working in the cardiac services at UHW; the number assigned to each of the cath labs; the breakdown of the staff, by clinical grade; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [16118/26]
View answerAs this is a service matter, I have asked the Health Service Executive to respond to the Deputy directly, as soon as possible.
638. Deputy David Cullinane asked the Minister for Health the number of additional WTE positions required to deliver 24/7 PPCI services at UHW, broken down by clinical grade; the timeline for delivering same; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [16119/26]
View answerAs this is a service matter, I have asked the Health Service Executive to respond to the Deputy directly, as soon as possible.
639. Deputy David Cullinane asked the Minister for Health the number of new acute inpatient hospital beds delivered at UHW over the past ten years, broken down by year and location of beds; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [16120/26]
View answerAs this is a service matter, I have asked the Health Service Executive to respond to the Deputy directly, as soon as possible.
640. Deputy David Cullinane asked the Minister for Health the number of new acute inpatient hospital beds to be delivered at UHW over the next five years; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [16121/26]
View answerAs this is a service matter, I have asked the Health Service Executive to respond to the Deputy directly, as soon as possible.
641. Deputy David Cullinane asked the Minister for Health the number of capital projects submitted to the HSE Estates from acute, primary, community, mental health and other services over the past ten years, the status of each project, whether they are at appraisal, design, planning or construction or any other phase codified by HSE estates, the breakdown by year and the current status of each project; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [16122/26]
View answerAs the Health Service Executive is responsible for the delivery of public healthcare infrastructure projects, I have asked the HSE to respond to you directly in relation to this matter.
642. Deputy David Cullinane asked the Minister for Health the total capital funding allocated to health projects to each hospital over the past ten years, broken down by year, by hospital and the total amount, in tabular form; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [16123/26]
View answerAs the Health Service Executive is responsible for the delivery of public healthcare infrastructure projects, I have asked the HSE to respond to you directly in relation to this matter.
643. Deputy David Cullinane asked the Minister for Health the total funding allocated to developing a new adult mental health unit at UHW; what the development will consist of; when plans for a new unit were first presented to the HSE; the current status of the project and the projected timeline for delivery; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [16124/26]
View answerThe development of a new Acute Mental Health Unit at University Hospital Waterford is a priority for me, and I have been closely involved in the progression of this project. While there were clinical deliberations under way for a considerable time to decide the best location for the Unit on the hospital campus, agreement has been reached and the project is now moving swiftly through the necessary stages.
The new Acute Mental Health Unit at University Hospital Waterford has been designated as one of the six priority capital sites for mental health in the HSE Capital Plan 2026. The development of mental health capital projects are now backed by an unprecedented €470m in funding from the National Development Plan Health Allocation 2026-2030.
I have provided the allocation requested by the HSE of €140,350 to progress the project through the design feasibility stage this year, and I recently met with senior regional estates management in Waterford to discuss the project and provide any and all support to ensure speedy construction of the Unit.
There is significant momentum behind this project and all mental health capital projects and I will publish a 10 year capital plan for mental health in the coming months to guide the long term vision for the transformation of the mental health capital estate.
644. Deputy David Cullinane asked the Minister for Health if any plans to build a multi-storey car park at UHW have been submitted to her Department or the HSE; if so, the nature of any plans; the current status of any application; the timeline for delivery; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [16125/26]
View answerAs the Health Service Executive is responsible for the delivery of the public healthcare infrastructure projects, I have asked the HSE to respond to you directly in relation to this matter.
645. Deputy James Geoghegan asked the Minister for Health further to Parliamentary Question No. 571 of 19 February 2026, if the information requested can be provided; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [16138/26]
View answerMy Department is currently collating the information requested and a reply will issue directly to the Deputy as soon as possible
646. Deputy David Cullinane asked the Minister for Health further to Parliamentary Question No. 1072 of 21 January 2026, the number of incidents reported against service users by level of reported harm by year 2021-2025, inclusive, in tabular form. [16142/26]
View answerAs this is a service matter, I have asked the Health Service Executive to respond to the Deputy directly, as soon as possible.
647. Deputy David Cullinane asked the Minister for Health further to Parliamentary Question No. 1072 of 21 January 2026, the number of incidents reported against staff, by level of reported harm by year 2021-2025, inclusive, in tabular form. [16143/26]
View answerAs this is a service matter, I have asked the Health Service Executive to respond to the Deputy directly, as soon as possible.
648. Deputy Aengus Ó Snodaigh asked the Minister for Health whether her Department has conducted a study of mortality of serving or former members of the Air Corps to ascertain if they are in line with the general population; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [16169/26]
View answerThis question should be directed to my colleague, the Minister for Public expenditure, Infrastructure, Public service Reform and Digitalisation, as the Civil Service occupational health service and the Office of the Civil Service Chief Medical Officer fall under his remit. Monitoring of occupational health risk is conducted by that Department.
649. Deputy Aengus Ó Snodaigh asked the Minister for Health whether her Department has ever conducted a study of the health of serving or former members of the Air Corps to ascertain whether there is a greater concentration or a clustering of unusual or uncommon cancers or other ailments among this cohort of the public; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [16170/26]
View answerThis Question should be directed to my colleague, the Minister for Public expenditure, infrastructure, Public service reform and Digitalisation as the Civil Service occupational health service and the Office of the Civil Service Chief Medical Officer fall under his remit. Monitoring of occupational health risk is conducted by that Department.
650. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Health whether her Department receives routine comparative reports from the HSE detailing recruitment clearance timelines, vacancy duration metrics, and regional variance across the six Health Regions; if so, the frequency and format of such reports; and if she will confirm whether these metrics are reviewed at Departmental Corporate Governance Committee level [16171/26]
View answerDear Deputy O’Flynn,
On behalf of the Minister for Health, Jennifer Carroll MacNeill TD, I would like to thank you for your correspondence.
The role of the Minister for Health is primarily to deal with legislation, policy, overall budgetary allocation, and corporate governance. The HSE is a separate entity to the Department of Health and as such, the HSE has responsibility for matters relating to the staff within their employ or staff going through the process of recruitment with the HSE's National Recruitment Service.
The Department have asked the HSE to respond to the Deputy directly on this matter.
Yours faithfully,
Private Secretary
651. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Health whether any assessment has been undertaken by her Department of the potential impact of the absence of nationally standardised recruitment clearance timelines on workforce shortages, service capacity, and patient access; and if she will outline any measures being considered to ensure consistent, transparent recruitment performance measurement at national level. [16172/26]
View answerDear Deputy O’Flynn,
On behalf of the Minister for Health, Jennifer Carroll MacNeill TD, I would like to thank you for your correspondence.
The role of the Minister for Health is primarily to deal with legislation, policy, overall budgetary allocation, and corporate governance. The HSE is a separate entity to the Department of Health and as such, the HSE has responsibility for matters relating to the staff within their employ or staff going through the process of recruitment with the HSE's National Recruitment Service.
The Department have asked the HSE to respond to the Deputy directly on this matter.
Yours faithfully,
Private Secretary
652. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Health the devolution of recruitment autonomy to the six health regions under Sláintecare is reconciled with the constitutional principle of ministerial accountability to Dáil Éireann in circumstances where no national clearance benchmarks apply; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [16173/26]
View answerDear Deputy O’Flynn,
On behalf of the Minister for Health, Jennifer Carroll MacNeill TD, I would like to thank you for your correspondence.
The role of the Minister for Health is primarily to deal with legislation, policy, overall budgetary allocation, and corporate governance. The HSE is a separate entity to the Department of Health and as such, the HSE has responsibility for matters relating to the staff within their employ or staff going through the process of recruitment with the HSE's National Recruitment Service.
The Department have asked the HSE to respond to the Deputy directly on this matter.
Yours faithfully,
Private Secretary
653. Deputy Pa Daly asked the Minister for Health the current status of the proposed new maternity hospital development at University Hospital Kerry, including provision of direct theatre access from the delivery suite; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [16217/26]
View answerAs this is a service matter, I have asked the Health Service Executive to respond to the Deputy directly, as soon as possible.
654. Deputy Pa Daly asked the Minister for Health the reason the maternity and neonatal unit project at University Hospital Kerry, previously approved at capital submission stage in 2018, has reportedly been removed from the Regional Executive Officer’s priority list; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [16218/26]
View answerAs this is a service matter, I have asked the Health Service Executive to respond to the Deputy directly, as soon as possible.
655. Deputy Pa Daly asked the Minister for Health whether it has been brought to her attention that women requiring emergency caesarean section at University Hospital Kerry must currently be transferred via a public corridor and lift to access theatre facilities; the steps being taken to address this issue; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [16219/26]
View answerAs this is a service matter, I have asked the Health Service Executive to respond to the Deputy directly, as soon as possible.
656. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science the total capital allocation approved to date for the National Demonstration Park for Modern Methods of Construction at Mount Lucas; the amount drawn down to date; whether a formal Stage 1 and Stage 2 approval under the Capital Works Management Framework was completed prior to commencement of enabling groundworks; and if he will provide the dates on which such approvals were granted. [16020/26]
View answerI thank Deputy O'Flynn for his continued interest in the development of the National Demonstration Park for Modern Methods of Construction (MMC).
The groundworks allocation approved by the Project Advisory Group is €3.2m. I can confirm that as of February 2026, €2.41m of this allocation has been drawn down.
The Approving / Sanctioning Authority (DFHERIS) has devolved the role of overseeing the project to the Project Advisory Group, as per section 3.2 of the CWMF Guidance Note 1.1. The Group fulfils the role of ‘Steering Group’ as per the Capital Works Management Framework project hierarchy requirements.
The Project Advisory Group is co-chaired by SOLAS and LOETB and comprises my Department; the Department of Enterprise, Tourism and Employment; the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage; SOLAS, and LOETB.
657. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science the current status of the performance and evaluation framework for the National Demonstration Park for Modern Methods of Construction; the date on which the framework is expected to be formally approved; whether draft metrics have been agreed by the Project Advisory Group; and whether the framework will be published. [16021/26]
View answerI would like to thank Deputy O'Flynn for his continued interest in the ongoing development of the National Demonstration Park for Modern Methods of Construction (MMC).
In order to help the adoption of innovative solutions in housing delivery, the Government’s Housing for All and the Roadmap for Increased Adoption of MMC in Public Housing Delivery detailed a National Demonstration Park for MMC as a deliverable.
Located at the National Construction Training Campus, the Park will serve as a national hub to showcase MMC housing and systems. The Park will be central to advancing the take-up of MMC in Ireland as a physical showcase for these technologies and processes. The project is being led by the Laois–Offaly Education and Training Board (LOETB), which manages the Campus, and delivers relevant MMC training.
Underlining the unique nature of the project, joint ministerial approval for completion of Phase 1a) was granted by Minister Lawless, Minister Burke and Minister Browne in March 2025 and I was delighted to attend the official breaking of the ground ceremony in June 2025.
The requirements of capital timelines are such that investment sometimes commences for projects while the details of performance and evaluation frameworks are being agreed, updated, or refined.
In relation to the National Demonstration Park for MMC, a decision was made by the Project Advisory Group to commence capital works in parallel with development of evaluation metrics to ensure delivery of the physical infrastructure in alignment with the expected timing of agreement on the operational framework. In the first instance, these metrics relate to the enabling groundworks and confirming the housing units to be delivered.
The metrics are agreed through Memoranda of Understanding between the different entities involved in developing the Park.
The development of the Park is aligned with the Government’s broader MMC ambitions, which, through my Department, includes the rollout of the Skillnet MMC Accelerate online platform in February 2025 and the launch of an MMC Action Plan in June 2025 to address the skills needs identified by the Expert Group on Future Skills Needs (EGFSN).
658. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science the baseline data identified for measuring the impact of the National Demonstration Park for Modern Methods of Construction; the specific quantitative target indicators to be used in assessing uptake of MMC in public housing delivery, training throughput, and cost and time efficiencies; and if he will provide the numerical targets adopted. [16022/26]
View answerI would like to thank Deputy O'Flynn for his continued interest in the development of the National Demonstration Park for Modern Methods of Construction (MMC).
In order to help the adoption of innovative solutions in housing delivery, the Government’s Housing for All and the Roadmap for Increased Adoption of MMC in Public Housing Delivery detailed a National Demonstration Park for MMC as a deliverable.
Located at the National Construction Training Campus, the Park will serve as a national hub to showcase MMC housing and systems. The Park will be central to advancing the take-up of MMC in Ireland as a physical showcase for these technologies and processes. The project is being led by the Laois–Offaly Education and Training Board (LOETB), which manages the Campus and also delivers MMC training.
The development of the Park is very much aligned with the Government’s broader MMC ambitions, which, through my Department, includes the rollout of the Skillnet MMC Accelerate online platform in February 2025 and the launch of an MMC Action Plan in June 2025 to address the skills needs identified by the Expert Group on Future Skills Needs (EGFSN).
In relation to indicators that could help measure the impact of the MMC Demonstration Park, these will be agreed upon by the Project Advisory Group in alignment with the development of the operational framework. Training throughput is measured through course completions.
In terms of efficiencies, the Department of Housing, Local Heritage and Housing have noted that reductions in delivery timeframes of up to 40%, greater cost certainty and reduced changes during construction have offered both cost and time savings. A 2024 report published by my own Department estimated that 24% fewer new workers would be required for new builds if using MMC compared to traditional methodologies.
659. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science the policy rationale for commencing capital works on the National Demonstration Park for Modern Methods of Construction prior to finalisation of the performance and evaluation framework; whether a written risk assessment was undertaken in relation to this sequencing decision; and if so, whether he will provide details. [16023/26]
View answerI would like to thank Deputy O'Flynn for his continued interest in the development of the National Demonstration Park for Modern Methods of Construction (MMC).
The requirements of capital timelines are such that investment sometimes commences for projects while the detail of performance frameworks are being agreed, updated, or refined.
In relation to the National Demonstration Park for MMC, a decision was made by the Project Advisory Group to commence capital works in parallel with development of evaluation metrics to ensure delivery of the physical infrastructure in alignment with the expected timing of agreement on the operational framework. In the first instance, metrics relate to the enabling groundworks and confirming the housing units to be delivered.
The development of the Park is aligned with the Government’s broader MMC ambitions, which, through my Department, includes the rollout of the Skillnet MMC Accelerate online platform in February 2025 and the launch of an MMC Action Plan in June 2025 to address the skills needs identified by the Expert Group on Future Skills Needs (EGFSN).
660. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science the reporting structures applicable to the National Demonstration Park for Modern Methods of Construction, including the frequency of reporting to his Department; whether performance data will be laid before the Oireachtas; and whether the Project Advisory Group minutes are recorded and retained for audit purposes. [16024/26]
View answerThe Project Advisory Group is co-chaired by SOLAS and LOETB and comprises my Department; the Department of Enterprise, Tourism and Employment; the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage; SOLAS, and LOETB. The Group fulfils the role of ‘Steering Group’ as per the Capital Works Management Framework project hierarchy requirements. The Approving / Sanctioning Authority (DFHERIS) has devolved the role of overseeing the project to the Project Advisory Group, as per section 3.2 of the CWMF Guidance Note 1.1.Under this arrangement, LOETB (as the contracting authority) brings proposed actions to the Advisory Group for review by the three Departments (as the funders) and SOLAS (as the funding authority). The Group recommends actions to DFHERIS or requests more information in order to make a recommendation. LOETB then progresses the project in line with existing established capital project management process between the capital units of SOLAS and DFHERIS. Notes of the meetings of the Project Advisory Group have been recorded and are retained for audit purposes.
661. Deputy David Cullinane asked the Minister for Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science the total capital funding allocated to each technological university since they were established, broken down by TU, by year, a list of the projects funded; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [16112/26]
View answerMy Department has disbursed just over €236.6m in capital funding to the Technological University Sector since 2020 under a number of capital programmes including the Higher Education Strategic and Infrastructural Fund (HESIF), the Infrastructure Upgrade and Refurbishment Fund (IURF), the Energy Efficiency Decarbonisation Pathway Programme (EEDPP), the Devolved Capital Grant, the Apprenticeship Programme Grant and the Higher Education Research Equipment Grant (HEREG) etc.
Details of amounts disbursed to each Technological University since its establishment (with various establishment dates between 01/01/2020 and 01/05/2022) to date in 2026 are provided in the attached table.
In addition, significant capital investment is ongoing in relation to operational Public Private Partnership (PPP) projects delivered for Technological University Dublin at Grangegorman, the National Maritime College of Ireland, and Cork School of Music at Munster Technological University.
Under Bundle 1 of the Higher Education PPP programme, TU Dublin Blanchardstown Teaching Building, TU Dublin Tallaght Culinary Arts, Engineering & Science building, TUS Athlone STEM Facility and MTU Cork Learning Resource Centre and MTU Kerry STEM Facility commenced service in 2025. Under Bundle 2 of the Higher Education PPP programme, the construction of five new buildings across multiple TU campuses is underway.
The new buildings once completed will be located in the Atlantic Technological University (ATU) Galway and Letterkenny Campuses, South East Technological University (SETU) Waterford and Carlow Campuses and in the Technological University of the Shannon (TUS) Limerick Campus.
Payments for PPP’s are not included in the attached return and are made by my Department by way of, for example, milestone payments and a monthly unitary charge directly to the PPP companies over the 25 year operational period.
662. Deputy David Cullinane asked the Minister for Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science the current status of all capital projects submitted to her Department from SETU; the status the projects are at including appraisal, design, planning and so on; the projected timeline for delivery for each project; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [16113/26]
View answerSETU has submitted several capital projects to my Department which are currently at various stages of the project lifecycle. The status of all current capital projects in SETU including stages of the project lifecycle and expected timelines for delivery, where applicable, are provided in the attached table.
