Written Answers Nos. 484-490
484. Deputy Pádraig Rice asked the Minister for Health further to Parliamentary Question No. 2263 of 13 January 2026, if the HSE Service Improvement Programme’s review of the existing provision of limb prosthetic services has been completed (details supplied); and if she will make a statement on the matter. [46530/26]
View answerAs this is a service matter, I have asked the Health Service Executive to respond to the Deputy directly, as soon as possible.
485. Deputy Pádraig O'Sullivan asked the Minister for Health whether the medicine belzutifan (welireg) is available for the treatment of patients with Von Hippel-Lindau disease in Ireland; whether it is eligible for reimbursement by the HSE; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [46535/26]
View answerUnder the Health (Pricing and Supply of Medical Goods) Act 2013, the Health Service Executive (HSE) has statutory responsibility for decisions on the pricing and reimbursement of medicines.
To commence this process, a pharmaceutical company must submit an application for a new medicine or a new use of an existing medicine, which has been granted European Medicines Agency (EMA) or Health Products Regulatory Authority (HPRA) authorisation, to the HSE’s Corporate Pharmaceutical Unit.
Applicants must continue to engage throughout the process to ensure that the necessary evidence is available for the HSE to carry out its statutory role as a decision-maker with respect to the reimbursement of new medicines, in accordance with the Act. The Act specifies nine criteria which must be considered. These include the health needs of the public and the clinical need for the medicine. All these factors, taken together, allow the HSE to make an informed decision on new medicines.
The HSE has advised that it received an application for pricing and reimbursement on the 6th March 2025 from Merck Sharp & Dohme B.V (the applicant) for belzutifan (Welireg®) indicated as monotherapy for the treatment of adult patients with von Hippel-Lindau disease who require therapy for associated, localised renal cell carcinoma (RCC), central nervous system (CNS) haemangioblastomas, or pancreatic neuroendocrine tumours (pNET), and for whom localised procedures are unsuitable.
Following a Rapid Review conducted by the National Centre for Pharamacoeconomics (NCPE), a full Health Technology Assessment (HTA) was commissioned by the HSE on the 30th April 2025.
MSD submitted the materials required for the HTA to the NCPE on the 13th of November 2025 and following ongoing engagement between the NCPE and MSD, the NCPE completed its assessment on the 25th May 2026 and submitted a HTA report with a recommendation to the HSE.
The HSE Corporate Pharmaceutical Unit (CPU) is the interface between the HSE and the Pharmaceutical Industry in relation to medicine pricing and reimbursement applications. A meeting has been scheduled between the CPU and the applicant to discuss this application. These negotiations are commercially confidential.
Once the commercial negotiations are completed, the next steps in the process involve the HSE’s Drugs Group—the national expert committee, which includes public interest members. The HSE’s Drugs Group will consider all evidence, including outputs of commercial negotiations and recommendations of the NCPE, and issue a recommendation to the HSE Senior Management Team, which holds final decision-making authority on the reimbursement of a medicine.
This application remains under consideration with the HSE and the HSE cannot make any comment on possible outcomes from the ongoing process.
486. Deputy Pádraig O'Sullivan asked the Minister for Health whether the medicine daraxonrasib is available for the treatment of patients with pancreatic cancer in Ireland; whether it is or will be eligible for reimbursement by the HSE; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [46536/26]
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 and medical devices; therefore, the matter has been referred to the HSE for attention and direct reply to the Deputy.
487. Deputy Michael Murphy asked the Minister for Health whether any consultant pathologists, other than those based at University Hospital Waterford, have formally notified her Department that they will cease undertaking coronial postmortem examinations; if so, the number involved; and the locations concerned. [46539/26]
View answerAs this is a service matter, I have asked the Health Service Executive to respond to the Deputy directly, as soon as possible.
488. Deputy Michael Murphy asked the Minister for Health the contingency arrangements currently in place where coronial postmortem services cannot be provided locally; the locations where such contingency arrangements are currently being utilised; and the annual cost of such arrangements including at Waterford University Hospital. [46540/26]
View answerAs this is a service matter, I have asked the Health Service Executive to respond to the Deputy directly, as soon as possible.
489. Deputy Michael Cahill asked the Minister for Health to address concerns in relation to maternity services (details supplied); and if she will make a statement on the matter. [46543/26]
View answer490. Deputy Michael Cahill asked the Minister for Health to examine concerns in relation to maternity care, (details supplied); and if she will make a statement on the matter. [46544/26]
View answerI propose to take Questions Nos. 489 and 490 together.
This government is committed to the progressive development of maternity services.
The Government introduced the Public Only Consultant Contract (POCC) on the 8th of March 2023.
This contract is a key step in the move towards universal, single-tier healthcare with public hospitals exclusively used for the treatment of public patients and where care is based on medical need, not on the ability to pay.
However, private maternity care is and will remain available in public hospitals via consultants who continue to work on older contracts issued prior to March 2023.
The National Maternity Strategy 2016 -2026 has delivered a new model of care with appropriate care pathways to ensure that mothers, babies, and families get the right care, at the right time, by the right team and in the right place.
Since the launch of the National Maternity Strategy in 2016, significant progress has been made in the development and improvement of public maternity services. €28 million has been invested in new development funding through the National Maternity Strategy, transforming our maternity services for women, infants and families. This investment is improving the infrastructure of our maternity services by providing additional home-from-home birthing suites, upgrades to theatres and wards, as well as additional training and supports for our maternity staff.
Women across the country now have access to a standardised Model of Care, with enhanced access to midwife-led care supported by Directors of Midwifery in every unit and hospital. All women on the Specialised Care Pathway (women who are at higher levels of risk) receive multidisciplinary care led by a named consultant in the public system.
Public hospitals are predominately funded by the taxpayer, and that funding must deliver the same high standard of care to every patient.
This Government will continue to drive improvements across our maternity services for all women, building on the significant progress and investment to date delivered through the National Maternity Strategy.
