Written Answers Nos. 275-298
275. Deputy Jennifer Whitmore asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the reason registered foresters are no longer allowed individual webcam access at his Department's webinars (details supplied); and if he will make a statement on the matter. [70498/25]
Amharc ar fhreagraMy Department holds a variety of in-person indoor, in-person outdoor and online training sessions for registered foresters and ecologists. Since August 2023, there have been over 20 such forestry related training sessions for private registered foresters and ecologists, delivered by my Department.These optional training events are free to attend and have been welcomed by the vast majority of participants. These training events have been very useful to aid in the delivery of the Forestry Programme 2023-2027.
My Department has established an Afforestation Technical Working Group, comprised of registered foresters and my Department, and amongst their tasks is to identify and prioritise any such training requirements.To date six training webinars for Registered Foresters and Ecologists on the Forestry Programme 2023-2027 have been published on line, in addition to the presentation slides from all training events. Topics covered by these webinars include Afforestation scheme applications, the Native Tree Area scheme, the Reconstitution Ash Dieback scheme, the Woodland Improvement scheme, the Climate Resilient Reforestation scheme, Native Woodland Establishment, and the Forest Road scheme.
Due to the large volume of attendees, my Department has moved from a standard Video Conferencing format to a Webinar format for online training sessions, as recommended by my Department's IMT specialists.
This format allows for my Department’s IMT specialists to provide dedicated support at every session for any technical issues as they may arise. In addition, it allows for the possibility of the training sessions to be securely recorded for subsequent publication on my Department’s website as needed.
I fully recognise and appreciate the critical role played by registered foresters in implementing the Forestry Programme.
276. Deputy Martin Kenny asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the compensation available for farmers with outbreaks of bluetongue on their farms. [70503/25]
Amharc ar fhreagraThe Animal Health and Welfare Act 2013 provides that compensation to owners of animals may be payable if a cull of those animals is directed by my Department in the event of an outbreak in that herd or flock of certain diseases, including bluetongue virus. Compensation at the open market rate is payable for any cattle, sheep or goats which are culled on the order of my Department. Infected animals would be culled, but this does not mean the whole herd or flock; it is likely that only a small number of animals per infected herd or flock would need to be culled, based on the experience of other countries.
277. Deputy Cathal Crowe asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the main policy achievements of his Department since 22 January 2025; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [70516/25]
Amharc ar fhreagraMy Department has delivered on a number of key policy priorities since January 2025.
Indeed, just yesterday, I was delighted to announce that Ireland has secured the continued availability of the Nitrates Derogation. Securing the Nitrate’s derogation has been a key priority for me as Minister and indeed for the whole of Government.
Significant work has been undertaken since we notified the Nitrates Committee of our request for continued access to the facility over a year ago. Yesterday's vote marks the success of that part of the process. We now begin the next stage, commencing the work of addressing the key conditionality within the derogation.
The Programme for Government prioritises “supporting inter-generational farm succession”.
My Department established a national Commission on Generational Renewal in Farming to examine associated issues. In October, I announced publication of their report. The Commission has produced a thorough analysis and made 31 recommendations across a wide range of areas including CAP Supports; Pensions; Taxation; Access to Finance; Access to Land; Collaborative Arrangements; Advisory Services; Education and Training; Gender Balance; and the Overall Attractiveness of the Sector.
An implementation group in my Department will now carefully consider these recommendations and will engage with agricultural stakeholders and the relevant public bodies.
Since I took up office addressing TB has been one of my priorities. In June, I brought a Memo for Government seeking the support of Government to introduce additional measures to the bovine TB programme which was approved by Cabinet.
On 9 September, I launched the ‘Bovine TB Action Plan: Addressing Bovine TB in Ireland’ containing five measures and 30 actions underpinned by scientific research and veterinary expertise.
The aim of the Action Plan is to reset the bTB programme in the context of putting in place measures necessary to tackle the current disease situation. These measures are targeting both transmission between wildlife and cattle and transmission between cattle.
My Department completed the 5th amendment to the CAP Strategic plan (CSP), which received Commission approval in April. As part of this amendment, I introduced a workable version of GAEC 2, protection of peatlands and wetlands.
The GAEC 2 standard agreed with stakeholders and the European Commission delivers on the objectives of the standards to protect these sensitive areas, while allowing traditional farming activity to continue.
As part of the 6th amendment, I proposed almost €200 million of additional national financing, securing funding for on-farm capital investments for the duration of the CSP programme.
There have been a number of targeted trade missions undertaken, including to the key markets of the US, Japan, the Republic of Korea and China. I was very pleased to announce that market access has been gained for beef to Thailand and poultry to Malaysia.
A total of €703.21 million has been paid to date to farmers in respect of their participation in the Agri-Climate Rural Environment Scheme (ACRES). There are currently 53,646 farmers participating in ACRES, which is in excess of the planned intake of 50,000. Over 98% of all participants are fully paid in respect of their participation in the Scheme in respect of 2023 and 2024.
Advance payments in respect of farmers’ participation in the Scheme in 2025 commenced in November, and over 81% of participants have now been paid. Remaining contracts continue to be processed for payment. The numbers paid and the level of payments to date demonstrate the progress in meeting the commitments made by Government in relation to ACRES payments. As processes for the validation of payments are now all in place, ACRES payments will be issued going forward in accordance with the timelines agreed in the Farmers Charter.
All aspects of ACRES have now been implemented, including the annual assessment and scoring of lands, the issuing of annual core payments, the implementation of Non-Productive Investments (NPIs) and Landscape Actions, and the provision of dedicated ACRES Training courses. The issue of 2025 advance payments earlier in November, and to a greater number of participants, than in 2024, is a reflection of the significant progress made.
This year we signed a renewed partnership agreement with the World Food Programme for 2025-2027, with increased levels of funding. Ireland was also elected to the FAO Council.
Advanced preparations for our Presidency of the EU Council and negotiations on the CAP post-2027 are well under way.
278. Deputy Emer Currie asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine for an update on correspondence (details supplied); and if he will make a statement on the matter. [70659/25]
Amharc ar fhreagraThe Veterinary Council of Ireland (“VCI”) is an independent statutory body set up under the Veterinary Practice Act 2005, as amended.The principal function of the Veterinary Council is to regulate and manage the practice of veterinary medicine and veterinary nursing in the Republic of Ireland, in the interest of animal health and welfare and in the interest of veterinary public health.
Please see below completed table for your information which details all legal costs incurred by the VCI from 2015 to 2024, alongside costs incurred for Authorised Officer investigations which has been provided to my Department by the VCI.
|
|
|
|
|
|
(Note 1) |
Authorised Officer |
|
|
Total |
Investigations |
|
|
Legal Costs |
Costs |
|
|
(includes |
(includes |
|
Year |
VAT) |
VAT) |
|
2024 |
€924,919 |
€18,265 |
|
2023 |
€775,497 |
€69,453 |
|
2022 |
€782,534 |
€97,562 |
|
2021 |
€678,801 |
€45,216 |
|
2020 |
€595,897 |
€15,237 |
|
2019 |
€531,014 |
€12,716 |
|
2018 |
€409,766 |
€16,494 |
|
2017 |
€653,856 |
€11,028 |
|
2016 |
€491,254 |
€12,305 |
|
2015 |
€409,148 |
€23,105
|
Please Note:
Legal costs above include solicitors' fees, barristers' fees, stenography fees, expert fees and expenses, legal assessor fees, fees of the Chairperson and Deputy Chairperson of the Fitness to Practice, all fees associated with any litigation or court proceedings issued by or against the Veterinary Council alongside fees for general legal advice sought throughout each year.
279. Deputy Colm Burke asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the action his Department has taken on recent reports that the European Commission has recalled consignments of frozen Brazilian beef products imported in to the European Union recently in view of the fact that prohibited growth hormones were detected in these products; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [70810/25]
Amharc ar fhreagraI am not aware of any Brazilian beef recalled from the shelves of Irish shops due to it containing banned growth hormones.
The EU has very stringent standards, known as SPS (sanitary and phytosanitary) standards, to protect human, animal and plant health. These are amongst the highest in the world, and the European Commission has insisted that they are not negotiable.
The Government is very firmly of the view that these EU SPS standards must continue to be rigorously upheld for the benefit of European consumers. It is also important that the European Commission continues to engage with the Brazilian authorities to ensure that this is the case.
Throughout the EU-Mercosur negotiation process, the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade - who has lead responsibility for trade policy - and I have actively engaged with both the European Commission and with other Member States to voice Ireland’s concerns in relation to the EU-Mercosur Agreement.
Since my appointment as Minister earlier this year, I have raised these concerns at Agri-Fish Council meetings and also with like-minded Member States through bilateral meetings on the margins of these Council meetings. In recent months, I have met with my French, Austrian, Latvian and Polish counterparts to exchange views. Most recently, I have met with my Italian and French counterparts en marge of the November Agri-Fish Council meeting in Brussels.
280. Deputy Cathy Bennett asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality if she will consider a change in policy for parental leave in terms of the amount of leave that can be transferred between parents; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [70540/25]
Amharc ar fhreagraUnder the Parental Leave (Amendment) Act 2019, an employee who is a relevant parent in respect of a child under the age 12 is entitled to 26 weeks’ unpaid parental leave for each child. Where a child has a disability or long-term illness, the entitlement can continue until the child is 16. A relevant parent is a parent, an adoptive parent, or a person acting in ‘loco parentis’.
Both parents have an equal, separate entitlement to parental leave. Where both parents work for the same employer and the employer agrees, one parent can transfer 14 weeks of their parental leave entitlement to the other parent.
The legislation only sets out the minimum entitlement to parental leave. Depending on the contract of employment between the employee and the organisation, the employee may have more extensive rights to parental leave, as employers have the option to offer more than the entitlement set out in the legislation.
There have been significant developments in the entitlements to family leaves for working families in recent years, and this includes the aforementioned extension of the parental leave entitlements in 2019 from 18 weeks to 26 weeks, and the extension of the time period in which the leave can be taken from when the child attains the age of 8 years to when the child attains the age of 12 years.
The Work Life Balance and Miscellaneous Provisions Act 2023 was enacted on 4 April 2023, and introduces important entitlements for workers, including leave for medical care purposes for parents of children under 12, and the right to request flexible working for parents and carers. It transposes the Work-Life Balance Directive which specifically prevents the transfer of paid leave between parents in the interests of gender equality and of encouraging fathers as well as mothers to take such leave. Otherwise, there is a risk that only mothers would take the leave, potentially creating labour market disadvantages for them and that fathers would not be encouraged to take a greater share of their caring responsibilities.
The Programme for Government - Securing Ireland's future commits to examining the extension of Parents Leave and Benefit and additional flexibilities. Additionally, the National Strategy for Women and Girls 2025 - 2030 commits to further enhancing the scope of family leaves. Any changes to family leave provision will considered within the context of these commitments whilst being cognisant of the impact on businesses.
281. Deputy Cathy Bennett asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality to provide a breakdown of all consultants engaged with her Department; the costs associated with their services, by year, and name of consultant, in each of the years 2012 to 2025, in tabular form; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [70431/25]
Amharc ar fhreagraThe Department is currently collating the information requested and a reply will issue directly to the Deputy as soon as possible.
282. Deputy Cathal Crowe asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality the main policy achievements of her Department since 22 January 2025; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [70517/25]
Amharc ar fhreagraThe Department is currently collating the information requested and a reply will issue directly to the Deputy on this matter as soon as possible.
283. Deputy Eoin Ó Broin asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality the options for funding, specifically for the purchase of premises for the provision of early learning and childcare services; the application procedures; the dates for application processes; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [70568/25]
Amharc ar fhreagraAs part of the National Development Plan review the allocation for this Department has increased to €795 million over the next five years. This increased funding will be used in part to provide additional early learning and childcare places through future capital programmes, which will primarily focus on implementing the commitment to capital investment in State-owned early learning and childcare facilities.
As announced in the context of Budget 2026, €36 million will be available in 2026 for early learning and childcare capital programmes. This will include investment in new buildings through the State-led early learning and childcare programme, continued investment in expansion of existing early learning and childcare operators through the Building Blocks scheme and a number of quality initiatives including supports to childminders.
The Buildings Blocks Extension Scheme is providing investment to existing early learning and childcare providers to expand their provision by means of extensions to existing buildings, or in the case of community not-for-profit operators, to purchase or construct buildings on new sites. The current scheme closed for applications in January 2025.
Officials in the Department are currently examining options and detailed specifications for future Building Blocks schemes, and I expect to announce details in early 2026.
284. Deputy Paul Murphy asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality her views on the human rights impact of proposals to penalise migrants and refugees who rely on essential social welfare supports such as disability allowance, carer's allowance or working family payment in terms of eligibility for naturalisation, if her Department was consulted; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [70605/25]
Amharc ar fhreagraThis is a matter for my cabinet colleagues, the Ministers for Social Protection and the Ministers for Justice, Home Affairs and Migration.
285. Deputy Paul Murphy asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality if her Department will carry out an analysis of the likely impact on child poverty, disability rights or community wellbeing of proposals to discourage welfare access for refugees and migrants by penalising them in terms of eligibility for naturalisation; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [70607/25]
Amharc ar fhreagraThis is a matter for my cabinet colleagues, the Ministers for Social Protection and the Ministers for Justice, Home Affairs and Migration.
286. Deputy Ged Nash asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality when the fee increase and assessment process will be open for application for eligible childcare providers and partner services who are in the core funding scheme in Louth and elsewhere; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [70640/25]
Amharc ar fhreagraThe Government is committed to ensuring access to affordable, quality early learning and care (ELC) and school-age childcare (SAC), and has demonstrated this commitment through an investment of €1.48bn in the 2026 budget.
One of the primary vehicles for the delivery of this investment is Core Funding, the supply-side payment to support the operating costs of services in the early learning and care sector. A service’s Core Funding grant is designed to support the costs of:
• Staff pay and conditions, including contact and non-contact time, holiday pay, sick pay and other employer costs
• Administrative staff/time
• Non-staff overhead costs
For the 2025/2026 programme year, €45 million has been ringfenced to support employers in meeting the costs of further increases to the minimum rates of pay for staff across the sector.
An allocation of €405 million for the Scheme was secured in Budget 2026. This is an increase of €52 million on the 2025 allocation of €353 million – representing a 15% year-on-year increase and a 56% increase over the initial 2022 allocation of €259 million.
In addition, €20.6 million in brand new funding for a full programme year has been secured to support providers in adhering to the Scheme’s fee management conditions including reductions in the maximum fee caps in the 2026/2027 programme year. This will guarantee that Core Funding’s monetary protections will continue to be passed on to families while ensuring sustainability and stability for the sector.
Department has also made changes to improve the sustainability of providers through, for example, targeted measures for small and sessional services, and a fee increase assessment process for services with fees frozen at unsustainably low rates last year.
The 2025/2026 Core Funding Partner Service Funding Agreement includes provisions for the undertaking of a further Fee Increase Assessment-type exercise, which will seek to support the ongoing viability of services where fees are particularly low.
The details of this undertaking are being developed by the Department and as part of this development, every effort will be made to carefully manage the potential out-of-pocket expenses to families occasioned by this policy.
It should be noted that, as with 2024/2025 Fee Increase Assessment, the new exercise will be designed to identify and support those services whose fees may have been frozen at a very low level. The details of the 2025/2026 fee increase process will be communicated to the sector once finalised.
Partner Services facing sustainability concerns can also avail of supports through the Department’s established case management process, through which local City and County Childcare Committees and Pobal work together to assess and provide support including financial support to services experiencing difficulties.
All services are encouraged to avail of these supports if they are facing difficulties with the sustainability of their business. Contact details for the CCCs can be found at the City and County Childcare Committees page on gov.ie.
287. Deputy Eoin Ó Broin asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality if there are any circumstances through which a child can access assistive technology equipment under AIM level 5 support in advance of being enrolled in an ECCE programme; the reason eligibility for assistive technology is linked specifically to ECCE; the basis for this; if this criteria will be reconsidered given such technology would also assist younger children enrolled in community childcare settings; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [70822/25]
Amharc ar fhreagraThe Access and Inclusion Model (AIM) is designed to support Early Learning and Care providers in delivering an inclusive preschool experience, enabling children with additional needs to fully participate in the Early Childhood Care and Education (ECCE) programme and benefit from quality preschool provision. As such, AIM is directly linked to ECCE participation and currently applies only to children who meet the ECCE age eligibility criteria. The current arrangements also ensure that all children have the same entitlement of 2 years of ECCE regardless of their birth date.
The ‘First 5’ whole-of-government strategy commits to the phased extension of AIM, a commitment that was reaffirmed by the findings of an independent end-of-year-three evaluation conducted by the University of Derby and published in January 2024. Participants in the evaluation, including providers, educators, and parents, strongly supported the scaling up of AIM. They also expressed a desire to see AIM extended to hours outside of the ECCE entitlement.
Based on the evaluation’s findings, AIM is now being extended on a phased basis as funding becomes available. Since September 2024, targeted AIM supports are available to ECCE-eligible children outside of ECCE hours—both during term time and in holiday periods. Children can now access up to three additional hours per day during the ECCE term and up to six hours per day outside of term, through the National Childcare Scheme (NCS).
The Programme for Government commits to ‘examine and expand the Access and Inclusion Model and make it available to younger children.’ Officials in the Department are currently considering the policy implications and appropriate mechanisms to extend AIM to children aged under three. It is critical that any extension of AIM supports to this cohort are evidence-based and reflective of their needs. It is intended that, over time, all children with additional needs registered in Early Learning and Care services will have access to supports under AIM.
288. Deputy Michael Healy-Rae asked the Minister for Health if parents/guardians are legally entitled to see/receive medical records for their 17-year old child who has been given an ADHD diagnosis; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [70598/25]
Amharc ar fhreagraAs this is a service matter, I have asked the Health Service Executive to respond directly to the Deputy as soon as possible.
289. Deputy Cathal Crowe asked the Minister for Health the number of medical staff that have been assaulted whilst on duty in RHO3 in 2023, 2024 and 2025, in tabular form; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [70393/25]
Amharc ar fhreagraAs this is a service matter, I have asked the Health Service Executive to respond to the Deputy directly, as soon as possible.
290. Deputy Cathal Crowe asked the Minister for Health the number of medical staff that have been assaulted whilst on duty nationally in 2023, 2024 and 2025, in tabular form; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [70394/25]
Amharc ar fhreagraDear Deputy Crowe,
With regard to the above request for information, please see table attached of the report on Assaults on staff across all health facilities:
This information has been collated by 'national Incident Management System' (NIMS) and to the data in the report. In 2015 the NIMS system was introduced by the SCA. This requires all incidents to be reported through a national centralised system and will ultimately improve the quality of the data. However, the HSE has long been proactive in encouraging staff to report all incidents and this is enshrined in the Corporate Safety Statement, Violence and Aggression policy and Incident Management Framework and Guidance.
The majority of reported incidents were negligible, accounting for 94.58% (384). Minor incidents were 4.19% (17), moderate incidents were 1.23%. There were no reported major or extreme incidents.
Severity Ratings:
Negligible is defined as adverse event leading to minor injury not requiring first aid. No impaired psychosocial functioning.
Minor is defined as minor injury or illness, first aid treatment required < 3 days extended hospital stay Impaired psychosocial functioning greater than 3 days less than one month.
Moderate is defined as significant injury requiring medical treatment e.g. Fracture and/or counselling. Agency reportable, e.g. HSA, Gardaí (violent and aggressive acts). >3 Days absence 3-8 days extended hospital stay. Impaired psychosocial functioning greater than one month and less than six months.
Major is defined as major injuries/long term incapacity or disability (loss of limb) requiring medical treatment and/or counselling Impaired psychosocial functioning greater than six months.
Extreme is defined as an incident leading to death or major permanent incapacity. Event which impacts on large number of service users or member of the public. Permanent psychosocial functioning incapacity.
Table 1. Incidents by Severity Rating on Medical Staff for each Year 2023, 2024 and 2025
|
Incidents by Severity Rating |
2023 |
2024 |
2025 |
Grand Total |
|
Negligible |
119 |
134 |
131 |
384 |
|
Minor |
6 |
8 |
~ |
17 |
|
Moderate |
~ |
~ |
~ |
~ |
|
Grand Total |
128 |
143 |
135 |
406 |
291. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Health the formal governance arrangements in place between her Department, the HSE, and the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage for addressing delayed transfers of care linked to housing shortages, including reporting channels, escalation processes, and scheduled interdepartmental reviews. [70415/25]
Amharc ar fhreagraThe UEC Plan 2025-2026 sets out the governance and reporting structure responsible for the monitoring and implementation of the operational plan. One of the 4 pillars of this plan is that Delayed Transfer of Care (DTOC) numbers do not exceed 300 daily.
UEC KPI Performance Monitoring Progress on UEC activity and performance will be reported according to the agreed schedule as follows:
• Daily UEC situational analysis reports to the UEC Oversight Group and the DoH, covering acute ED demand, and general acute and critical care bed demand and availability.
• Weekly PMO and monthly UEC reports providing updates on UEC Plan actions and comparisons of current activity and performance to previous weeks and years at both national and site levels
• The Monthly National Performance Report (NPR) and Regional Performance Reports (RPRs) providing updates on regional performance, including performance against regional UEC targets to the SLT, CEO, Board and Health Minister
• Quarterly Red, Amber, Green (RAG) reports submitted by the Health Regions to the National HSE UEC Oversight Group, providing status updates on the implementation of national priorities and 2025 operational actions
DTOCs related to housing, Category E, account for 7% of the national total according to the most recent Transfer of Care report form the HSE.
Officials from the DOH regularly attend Senior Official Group (SOG) meetings on housing in the Department of Housing. Officials have also attended the cross departmental workshop on housing and have provided DOH feedback on the National Housing Plan.
292. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Health the reason the HSE does not maintain national data on the number of disabled persons who have been clinically certified as medically fit for discharge but cannot leave hospitals or nursing homes due to unsuitable or unavailable housing; if her Department intends to introduce mandatory national reporting for this cohort; and the expected timeline for establishing this dataset. [70416/25]
Amharc ar fhreagraAs this is a service matter, I have asked the Health Service Executive to respond to the Deputy directly, as soon as possible.
293. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Health the number of delayed transfers of care recorded in 2023, 2024, and to date in 2025 in the categories of Home Support Service and Homelessness or Housing for persons aged 65 and over; the annual targets her Department has set for reducing these delays; and the measures being implemented to meet those targets. [70417/25]
Amharc ar fhreagraAs this is a service matter, I have asked the Health Service Executive to respond to the Deputy directly, as soon as possible.
294. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Health if her Department has carried out any assessment of the financial impact on the health service arising from delayed transfers of care caused by housing shortages; and the estimated cost of acute and step-down bed days occupied by persons awaiting suitable housing in 2023, 2024, and 2025. [70421/25]
Amharc ar fhreagraTo date there have been no studies done to assess the financial impact on the health service arising from delayed transfers of care caused by housing shortages.
As the second part of the query is a service matter, I have asked the HSE to respond to the deputy directly.
295. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Health the process used by her Department to monitor the HSE’s performance in resolving delayed transfers of care linked to housing; the frequency of internal reviews; and the mechanisms used to hold the HSE accountable for meeting its annual reduction targets. [70423/25]
Amharc ar fhreagraI would like to thank the deputy for his question regarding Delayed Transfers of Care (DTOC), which is an integral part of the patient flow process and as such a vital element in a well-functioning health system.
Discharge Management is one of the four pillars of the UEC Plan 2025-2026 highlighting its important role in patient recovery and the whole health system function.
The UEC Plan has a DTOC KPI of no more than 300 patients per day.
DTOCs are reported to the Department by the HSE with a report that gives a breakdown of the numbers of DTOC by category and through the daily Trolleygar report which is reported to the Minister. Further to that, there is a weekly Transfer of Care report sent by the HSE to the Department.
The category which relates to waiting for access to housing is Category E.
The most recent Transfer of Care report put Type E at 7.7% of the total DTOC patients currently in the system.
There is regular contact between the department and the HSE that monitor all aspects of ED performance with daily operational calls taking place during the busy winter period.
A priority of the Minster for Health is to provide a 7-day health service to the public. Part of this is fully integrated teams across community and acute services work to enable safe and timely discharge to the most appropriate setting over seven days.
The HSE South West has set up the Regional Integrated Control Centre (RIIC) to better integrate acute and community services to improve patient flow and escalate DTOC concerns. It is envisioned that the RIIC will improve bed management and strengthen operational grip to better provide for the transfer of patients.
296. Deputy Cathy Bennett asked the Minister for Health to provide a breakdown of all consultants engaged with her Department; the costs associated with their services, by year, and name of consultant, in each of the years 2012 to 2025, in tabular form; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [70440/25]
Amharc ar fhreagraThe Department of Health expenditure on consultants for the years 2012-2024 and the most recent period for which data is available can be summarised as follows:
Jan-Dec 2012: €1,562,622.
Jan-Dec 2013: €1,220,826.
Jan-Dec 2014: €1,554,511.
Jan-Dec 2015: €814,476.
Jan-Dec 2016: €704,804.
Jan-Dec 2017: €1,341,067.
Jan-Dec 2018: €1,414,385.
Jan-Dec 2019: €946,257.
Jan-Dec 2020: €816,791.
Jan-Dec 2021: €752,314.
Jan-Dec 2022: €1,339,827.
Jan-Dec 2023: €806,458.
Jan-Dec 2024: €822,689.
Jan-Nov 2025: €845,629.
A full breakdown based sorted by consultant name is attached to the PQ.
297. Deputy Cathal Crowe asked the Minister for Health when a child (details supplied) in County Clare will receive an urgent appointment at Crumlin Hospital; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [70449/25]
Amharc ar fhreagraUnder the Health Act 2004, the Health Service Executive (HSE) is required to manage and deliver, or arrange to be delivered on its behalf, health and personal social services. The Minister for Health is prohibited from directing the HSE to provide a treatment or a personal service to any individual or to confer eligibility on any individual.
In relation to the particular query raised, as this is a service matter, I have asked the Health Service Executive to respond to the Deputy directly, as soon as possible.
298. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Health to set out the policy basis under which WPATH guidance and standards were incorporated into State policy on gender identity healthcare between 2018 and 2023; the departmental assessments carried out to determine the scientific, clinical and regulatory standing of WPATH before that alignment; and the documentation underpinning that policy decision. [70451/25]
Amharc ar fhreagraAs this is a service matter, I have asked the Health Service Executive to respond to the Deputy directly, as soon as possible.
