Written Answers Nos. 1345-1364
1345. Deputy Ruairí Ó Murchú asked the Minister for Health the number of WTE registrars in rheumatology based at the Mater Hospital as of 18 May 2026, in tabular form; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [39375/26]
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.
1346. Deputy Ruairí Ó Murchú asked the Minister for Health the staffing budget allocation for Our Lady of Lourdes Hospital, Drogheda in 2024, 2025 and 2026, in tabular form; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [39376/26]
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.
1347. Deputy Ruairí Ó Murchú asked the Minister for Health the number of WTE consultant histopathology and consultant colorectal surgeon posts filled at the Supra-Regional Endometriosis Centre at Tallaght University Hospital; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [39377/26]
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.
1348. Deputy Ann Graves asked the Minister for Health the number of WTE consultant paediatric dermatologists based at CHI Temple Street as of 18 May 2026, in tabular form. [39385/26]
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.
1349. Deputy Ann Graves asked the Minister for Health the current waiting times for cardiology services; the current number of persons on cardiology outpatient waiting lists, by hospital group; and the actions being taken to address these waiting times. [39386/26]
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.
1350. Deputy Ann Graves asked the Minister for Health the number of WTE adult physiotherapists and adult speech and language therapist posts filled at Donabate health centre as of 18 May 2026, in tabular form. [39387/26]
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.
1351. Deputy Ann Graves asked the Minister for Health , the specific measures being undertaken by HSE to encourage greater participation in the dental treatment scheme in north County Dublin; and the effectiveness of these measures to date. [39388/26]
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.
1352. Deputy John McGuinness asked the Minister for Health if the medical report submitted by a consultant (details supplied) will be urgently reconsidered with a view to approving a patient for CGM via a dexcom device; if the patient's consultants recommendation to approve the device will be fast tracked; and if she will expedite a positive response. [39439/26]
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.
1353. Deputy Michael Cahill asked the Minister for Health if she will urgently intervene in the case of a person (details supplied) whose application for approval of a prescribed weight-loss medication under the medical card scheme and has been awaiting a decision from the HSE since February 2026, despite supporting documentation from both her GP and consultant orthopaedic surgeon; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [39447/26]
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.
1354. Deputy Natasha Newsome Drennan asked the Minister for Health to outline the recruitment campaigns that have been rolled out in 2024, 2025, and 2026, to recruit additional home help carers for the HSE; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [39459/26]
Amharc ar fhreagraAs this is recruitment matter we have asked the HSE to respond directly to the Deputy.
1355. Deputy Paul Donnelly asked the Minister for Health further to Parliamentary question No. 544 of 14 May 2026, if people can access their prescription such as a locker type dispenser that has been placed on the outside of a pharmacy after closure. [39476/26]
Amharc ar fhreagraThe supply of medicinal products to the public is subject to strict statutory controls under the Pharmacy Act 2007 and the Regulation of Retail Pharmacy Businesses Regulations 2008 (as amended).
Under this legislative framework, a retail pharmacy business must be conducted under the personal supervision of a registered pharmacist. This requirement is fundamental to ensuring that medicines are supplied safely and appropriately, with professional oversight, clinical judgment, and the opportunity for patient counselling where necessary.
Our legislation provides that: a pharmacy owner must ensure that the retail pharmacy business is operated in accordance with the Act and Regulations; and medicinal products are only supplied from the registered premises under the direct and personal supervision of a pharmacist.
The concept of personal supervision entails that the pharmacist: is physically present on the premises, maintains control over the supply process, and is in a position to intervene, advise, and assess the appropriateness of supply.
Arrangements such as medicine collection lockers—where prescription or non-prescription medicines are stored for collection without a pharmacist present—are not consistent with these legal requirements. Such systems:
• Remove the pharmacist’s ability to exercise real-time professional judgment at the point of supply;
• Eliminate the opportunity for patient interaction, counselling, and clarification of therapy; and
• Undermine the statutory requirement that the supply takes place under personal supervision within the registered pharmacy premises.
For these reasons, the use of lockers or similar mechanisms for the unsupervised supply of medicines falls outside what is permitted under the current legislative framework.
The prohibition on the use of lockers for medicine supply reflects the need to uphold patient safety, ensure appropriate clinical oversight, and comply with the legal requirement for the personal supervision of a pharmacist in all aspects of the retail pharmacy business.
1356. Deputy Grace Boland asked the Minister for Health to outline the current panel size of all general practitioners participating in the General Medical Services (GMS) scheme in North County Dublin; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [39478/26]
Amharc ar fhreagraThe HSE PCRS website provides a grouped breakdown down of GMS GP panel sizes per HSE region and local health office. As per the PCRS website, below are the grouped GMS panel sizes for GPs in LHOs Dublin North, Dublin North Central and Dublin North West as of the beginning of May.
|
|
1 - 250 |
251 - 500 |
501 - 1000 |
1001 - 1500 |
1501 - 2000 |
2001 and Over |
|
Dublin North |
16 |
14 |
60 |
44 |
5 |
4 |
|
Dublin North Central |
15 |
12 |
24 |
23 |
8 |
2 |
|
Dublin North West |
6 |
9 |
29 |
33 |
6 |
3 |
1357. Deputy Grace Boland asked the Minister for Health to provide a list of general practitioners in north County Dublin with a breakdown of their GMS patient lists by GP visit card category (including General, over 70s, under 8s and carers) and medical card category, in tabular form; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [39479/26]
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.
1358. Deputy Grace Boland asked the Minister for Health if any general practitioners in North County Dublin have open or under-subscribed GMS lists; to provide the panel sizes in each such case; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [39480/26]
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.
1359. Deputy Grace Boland asked the Minister for Health to provide the current GMS panel size for each registered general practitioner in north County Dublin, as of the most recent date available; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [39481/26]
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.
1360. Deputy Grace Boland asked the Minister for Health the position regarding measures being taken, or planned, by her Department or the HSE to address capacity constraints which may impact on eligible persons accessing GP services and the schemes to which they are entitled in north County Dublin; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [39482/26]
Amharc ar fhreagraThe Government is committed, as per the Programme for Government, to increase the number of GPs practicing across the country and thereby increase access to GP service for all patients.
Over €340 million in additional annual investment in general practice has been provided under the 2019 and 2023 GP GMS Agreements. The Agreements provide for, amongst other things, increased GP capitation fees, increased and new supports for practices, as well as new fees for additional services. Specific supports are available for eligible practices in rural areas and in areas of urban social deprivation.
The annual intake of doctors into the GP training programme has been increased by approximately 80% from 2019 to 2024, with 350 new entrant training places made available in 2024 and again in 2025. The number of new entrant training places is to increase again this year by 50 places to 400. As a result, the number of GP graduates has increased in recent years and will continue to increase in the coming years. Furthermore, recruitment of GPs from abroad is ongoing under the International Medical Graduate (IMG) Rural GP Programme, with the placement of IMG GPs targeted to rural and underserved areas.
Also, a Strategic Review of General Practice is currently underway, led by my Department and with support from the HSE. The review is examining the issues effecting general practice, including issues related to GP capacity, and will consider further possible mechanisms to attract GPs to rural and underserved areas. When completed the review will set out recommended actions for a more sustainable general practice.
Regarding oral health, my Department and the HSE are currently developing a Phase 1 Oral Health Action Plan which sets out a focused, two-year programme to stabilise oral health services, reduce waiting times, and deliver meaningful improvements in access for patients, while laying the foundations for longer-term reform. The Plan responds to sustained service pressures, workforce constraints and growing waiting lists, particularly for children and people with additional needs.
The Plan includes 10 key points for implementation which include:
• Addressing waiting lists for the School Dental programme and orthodontic services.
• Negotiation with the Irish Dental Association to support waiting list initiatives and the Smile agus Sláinte National Oral Health Policy.
• Improvement and expansion of the Special Access programme for dental care.
• A review of the Dental Treatment Services Scheme.
• Support for recruitment, education and training for dental services positions.
• Support for innovation and new models of delivery for services.
The implementation of the Plan will be overseen by a Governance group established for this purpose and will align with broader HSE & Department of Health strategic priorities.
Finally, in regard to access to other primary care services, please note that overall activity within the eight Primary Care therapies was significant in 2025, with over 1.3 million patients seen last year across Occupational Therapy, Physiotherapy, Dietetics, Psychology, Speech & Language Therapy, Audiology, Ophthalmology and Podiatry services. However, the waiting lists for Primary Care therapies have increased significantly in recent years.
To address the long waiting times, my Department is working with the HSE on a focused Programmatic Approach to Primary Care Therapy Waiting Lists, which in delivering three distinct workstreams, is putting in place considerable standardised infrastructure to support systematic responses to Primary Care waiting lists.
Under this programme of work, the HSE has been asked to put measures in place to address Physiotherapy, Occupational Therapy and Speech & Language Therapy waiting lists, to reduce the waiting times for these three therapies, to less than 39 weeks. This initiative is estimated to remove over 60,000 people from the waiting lists of the three focus therapies by the end of this year.
The initiative is progressively being rolled out across Integrated Healthcare Areas (IHAs) throughout this year; and since it began in Q4 2025 waiting lists are reducing with over 6.4k patients removed from the waiting lists for the three focus therapies (from end September 2025 to end February 2026).
To support the Programmatic Approach and the maintenance of waiting list reductions, an additional 200 Primary Care therapy WTEs are being provided for as part of the National Service Plan 2026.
1361. Deputy Grace Boland asked the Minister for Health the current population figures for persons aged over 70 years and children under eight years in north County Dublin that her Department and the HSE are using to provide healthcare;; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [39483/26]
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.
1362. Deputy Martin Daly asked the Minister for Health the arrangements in place to ensure children with scoliosis or other long-term physical conditions who require ongoing physiotherapy reviews are not left without access to assessment or monitoring due to CDNT staffing shortages; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [39485/26]
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.
1363. Deputy Brian Stanley asked the Minister for Health the last date on which a full contingency of staff was in place for paediatrics within primary care services in County Laois; the staffing levels in place at that time by role (including occupational therapists, physiotherapists, speech and language therapists, psychology, and social work); the current staffing deficit by role; the steps being taken to restore a full complement of paediatric primary care staff in the county; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [39501/26]
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.
1364. Deputy Ged Nash asked the Minister for Health whether Action 14 of the HSE Position Paper on FASD Prevention, published in September 2022, namely “Explore potential for screening and appropriate surveillance of FASD cases” led by HSE Public Health; National Women and Infants Health Programme; HSE National Screening Service; which was due to be completed within three years of publication, has now been completed; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [39502/26]
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.
