Written Answers Nos. 1166-1192
1166. Deputy Ryan O'Meara asked the Minister for Health the number of forensic medical examinations carried out by UHL’s forensic medical examination service each year since its establishment, in tabular form; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [30158/26]
View answerAs this is an operational matter, this PQ is referred to the HSE for direct response to the deputy.
1167. Deputy Ryan O'Meara asked the Minister for Health the number of people that attended each SATU per year since their individual establishments; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [30159/26]
View answerAs this is an operational matter, this PQ is referred to the HSE for direct response to the deputy.
1168. Deputy Ryan O'Meara asked the Minister for Health with regard to SATU services, if the HSE monitors where individuals attending services are travelling from addresses provided; if so, to provide a breakdown, per SATU location, of the number of individuals attending services that provided Clare, Limerick and Tipperary addresses per year, for the past ten years; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [30160/26]
View answerAs this is a service matter, I have asked the Health Service Executive to respond to the Deputy as soon as possible.
1169. Deputy Ryan O'Meara asked the Minister for Health if the HSE monitors the number of individuals referred to Cork, or other SATUs, if relevant, for follow-up supports and services after attending the FME service in UHL; if so, to provide a breakdown of same for the past 10 years; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [30161/26]
View answerAs this is a service matter, I have asked the Health Service Executive to respond to the Deputy as soon as possible.
1170. Deputy Ryan O'Meara asked the Minister for Health the total funding allocated to UHL’s forensic medical examination service, each year for the past ten years; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [30162/26]
View answerAs this is a service matter, I have asked the Health Service Executive to respond to the Deputy directly, as soon as possible.
1171. Deputy Ryan O'Meara asked the Minister for Health the staffing arrangements in place for UHL’s forensic medical examination service; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [30163/26]
View answerAs this is a service matter, I have asked the Health Service Executive to respond to the Deputy as soon as possible.
1172. Deputy Peadar Tóibín asked the Minister for Health the reason primary medical cert assessments (PMC’s) are paused in County Meath; the length of time they have been paused; the number of persons currently on the list to be assessed; the average wait time in County Meath for PMC; the number of PMC’s around Ireland that are currently paused; the average wait time for PMC in Ireland; the number of persons on the list for PMC in Ireland; the number of PMC’s that were issued in Ireland, by month for each of the past five years; the number of assessment applications that were received in 2025 and the number of actual assessments that took place, for each county, each month, for the past two years. [30165/26]
View answerAs this is a service matter, I have asked the Health Service Executive to respond to the Deputy directly, as soon as possible.
1173. Deputy Mattie McGrath asked the Minister for Health further to Parliamentary Question No. 1727 of 18 March 2026, when a response will issue to the question (details supplied). [30167/26]
View answer1174. Deputy Micheál Carrigy asked the Minister for Health the reason for the delay in providing a rehabilitation bed at St. Mary’s Mullingar for a person (details supplied); if she is aware that the person was recently transferred to the hospital only to be informed a bed was unavailable; the steps she will take to ensure an immediate transfer to the specialist rehabilitation unit in Mullingar to prevent further physical deterioration; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [30178/26]
View answerAs this is an operational matter, I have asked the Health Service Executive to respond directly to the Deputy as soon as possible.
1175. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Health whether her Department has carried out any formal governance, compliance, or performance reviews of the Institute of Public Health in each of the years 2023, 2024 and 2025; and to provide the number of such reviews conducted in each year. [30185/26]
View answer1176. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Health whether any structured audit or review schedule exists within her Department in respect of non-statutory bodies receiving direct Exchequer funding; and if so, to outline the frequency, scope, and methodology of such reviews. [30186/26]
View answer1178. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Health whether any performance evaluation, value-for-money assessment, or outcome-based review of the Institute of Public Health has been conducted by or on behalf of her Department since 2020; and if so, to provide details. [30189/26]
View answer1179. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Health whether her Department has defined key performance indicators, reporting requirements, or measurable outputs for the Institute of Public Health as a condition of funding; and if so, to outline these arrangements. [30190/26]
View answerI propose to take Questions Nos. 1175, 1176, 1178 and 1179 together.
The All Island Institute of Public Health (IPH) is the only non-statutory body that receives funding directly by the Department. This is due to its specific nature as an all island body that was set up prior to the signing of the Good Friday / Belfast Agreement in 1998. The IPH provides support on public health policy to the respective Departments of Health and Chief Medical Officers in both jurisdictions.
In terms of the procedures in place where governance, safeguarding or financial risks are identified, and the required frequency of reporting, the IPH oversight agreement states that Governance and Oversight meetings shall be conducted four times per year. These provide the opportunity for formal reporting against the Performance Delivery Agreement, activities and spending agreed in the annual Business Plan. The IPH reports on progress, challenges, risks and financial activity. At these meetings the IPH is required to provide a Risk Register. The oversight agreement between the two sponsor Departments and the IPH has defined escalation procedures and points of contact.
The IPH regularly produces high quality input into the Department of Health, and has done so since its inception in 1998. The outputs of the IPH includes the provision of reports, events, policy briefs, consultation responses, journal articles and conferences. The work plan of the IPH is varied and responsive to both long term and emerging public health needs and challenges on the island of Ireland. Therefore the application of defined service-quality standards, measurable performance indicators, and outcome-based metrics are not particularly applicable, given the nature of the work of the IPH. Such metrics may be more applicable to service orientated organisations operating in a single jurisdiction. Not applying these types of metrics does not constitute absence of performance management. The oversight agreement with the IPH specifically states the need to ensure that the Institute give consistent consideration in how it utilises public funds provided by both Departments of Health.
The oversight agreement of the IPH was jointly agreed by the Departments of Health in both Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland, and the Independent Board of the IPH. Therefore the oversight of the IPH is decided jointly in accordance with the statutory requirements in both jurisdictions.
1177. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Health whether her Department relies solely on statutory financial audits conducted under the Companies Act 2014 to discharge its oversight responsibilities in respect of the Institute of Public Health; and if not, to specify any additional governance or performance oversight mechanisms in place. [30187/26]
View answer1183. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Health whether she is satisfied that the current oversight arrangements in place for the Institute of Public Health meet the standards expected under the Public Spending Code and wider public financial management guidelines; and if so, the basis for that assessment. [30194/26]
View answerI propose to take Questions Nos. 1177 and 1183 together.
The All Island Institute of Public Health (IPH) is the only non-statutory body that receives funding directly by the Department. This is due to its specific nature as an all island body that was set up prior to the signing of the Good Friday / Belfast Agreement in 1998. The IPH provides support on public health policy to the respective Departments of Health and Chief Medical Officers in both jurisdictions.
Statutory financial audits are conducted in full compliance with the Companies Act 2014, in conjunction with an independent Board, an Oversight Agreement, an Audit and Risk Committee, Annual General Meeting and Annual and Quarterly Oversight meetings, provides ample opportunity to ensure that the Department and Board of the IPH are satisified that the IPH acts in accordance with the principles of the Public Spending Code and more than satisfies its financial and governance obligations.
The oversight agreement of the IPH was jointly agreed by the Departments of Health in both Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland, and the Independent Board of the IPH. Therefore the oversight of the IPH is decided jointly in accordance with the statutory requirements in both jurisdictions. The Oversight Agreement sets out the formalised governance requirements for the IPH and are a condition of funding.
1180. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Health whether any internal audit, external review, or independent evaluation has been carried out in respect of the Department’s own oversight arrangements for non-statutory bodies receiving direct funding since 2020; and if so, to provide details. [30191/26]
View answerI refer the Deputy to the answer already provided in PQ Ref 24728/26.
1182. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Health to clarify the criteria used by her Department to determine what constitutes a “non-statutory body receiving direct funding”, and whether any bodies receiving funding through intermediary mechanisms, service agreements, or programme allocations are excluded from this classification. [30193/26]
View answerThe Department of Health defines a non-statutory body as an organisation that performs public functions or provides services but is not established by a specific Act or Statutory Instrument under legislation, in contrast to statutory bodies constituted under legislation.
Nearly all payments made by the Department of Health are paid to statutory bodies or agencies, with a very limited number of payments made to other bodies or entities.
The Department can confirm that there are no special arrangements, intermediary mechanisms, service agreements or programme allocations in place to bypass regulatory requirements in order to facilitate payments to non-statutory bodies.
1186. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Health whether any internal dispatch-time performance targets, whether formal or informal, are applied within the National Ambulance Service for the allocation of 999 calls; and to provide details of same. [30204/26]
View answer1187. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Health whether any such dispatch-time performance metrics are documented within the HSE Enterprise Risk Register or any associated risk management framework; and if so, to provide details. [30205/26]
View answer1188. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Health whether any internal or external audits, reviews, or evaluations have examined ambulance dispatch timelines or allocation practices since 2020; and to provide the dates and headline findings of such reviews. [30206/26]
View answer1189. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Health whether her Department has issued any policy direction, guidance, or oversight framework governing ambulance dispatch prioritisation and allocation decisions; and to provide details. [30207/26]
View answer1190. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Health whether she is satisfied that the current ambulance dispatch framework adequately balances response speed with geographic efficiency and regional capacity constraints; and whether any formal assessment of this balance has been conducted. [30208/26]
View answer1195. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Health whether the current dispatch framework has been subject to any international benchmarking or comparison with equivalent emergency medical services systems; and to provide details. [30213/26]
View answer1200. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Health whether any reforms are planned to enhance transparency or reporting of ambulance dispatch performance metrics. [30218/26]
View answer1201. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Health whether any internal governance structures exist within the National Ambulance Service to review dispatch decision-making practices on a recurring basis. [30219/26]
View answer1205. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Health whether any plans are in place to introduce a nationally standardised dispatch performance framework, including measurable allocation time targets. [30223/26]
View answer1204. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Health whether any modelling or capacity analysis has been conducted to assess the relationship between ambulance availability, dispatch timelines, and regional demand pressures. [30222/26]
View answerI propose to take Questions Nos. 1186, 1187, 1188, 1189, 1190, 1195, 1200, 1201, 1204 and 1205 together.
As set out for the Deputy in previous recent answers to questions on NAS performance, NAS emergency response performance is measured against Key Performance Indicators (KPIs), based on HIQA recommendations, that are included in the HSE's National Service Plan. These comprise:
• % of clinical status 1 PURPLE (cardiac/respiratory) incidents responded to by a NAS patient-carrying vehicle in 18 minutes and 59 seconds or less.
• % of PURPLE calls which had a resource allocated within 60 seconds of call start.
• % of clinical status 1 RED (all other emergencies) incidents responded to by a NAS patient carrying vehicle in 18 minutes and 59 seconds or less.
• % of RED calls which have a resource allocated within 180 seconds of call start.
These KPIs align to the Priority Dispatch Standard published by the Regulator for the profession, the Prehospital Emergency Care Council (PHECC).
As also previously outlined to the Deputy, performance against the targets set for these KPIs is reported monthly by the HSE and discussed in detail with my Department to address any identified challenges and agree any required actions.
In regard to the other specific inquiries made by the Deputy in his questions I have asked the Health Service Executive to respond with any further pertinent information it may have.
1191. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Health whether any national or regional performance benchmarks exist for ambulance call allocation times, and if so, how compliance with such benchmarks is monitored and reported. [30209/26]
View answerAs this is a service matter, I have asked the Health Service Executive to respond to the Deputy directly, as soon as possible
1192. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Health whether any standardised methodology is used across regions to ensure consistency in dispatch decision-making within the National Ambulance Service. [30210/26]
View answerAs this is a service matter, I have asked the Health Service Executive to respond to the Deputy directly, as soon as possible.
