Written Answers Nos. 911-925
911. Deputy George Lawlor asked the Minister for Health the number of children that qualified for free orthodontic treatment under the HSE scheme in CHO5 area, between 2022 to date in 2026, in tabular form; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [45249/26]
Amharc ar fhreagraAs this is a service matter, I have asked the Health Service Executive to respond to the Deputy directly.
912. Deputy Pat Buckley asked the Minister for Health if a person (details supplied) will be approved for treatment under the EU Cross-Border Health Directive. [45255/26]
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.
913. Deputy Duncan Smith asked the Minister for Health to provide details of the review of the maternity and infant care scheme that is currently underway within her Department; to confirm the aspects of the scheme that are being considered specifically; to provide a timeline for completion of the review; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [45256/26]
Amharc ar fhreagraThe Maternity and Infant Care Scheme (MICS) provides an agreed programme of care to all expectant mothers who are ordinarily resident in Ireland.
This service is provided by the combined care of the family doctor (GP) and a maternity unit of the woman's choice.
The National Maternity Strategy includes a commitment to a review of the Scheme, including the structure and schedule of visits, to ensure that it is meeting the evolving needs of women and health services.
In 2025, the HSE’s National Women and Infants Health Programme convened a review group, conducted a literature review and engaged with key stakeholders to progress this review.
Work is currently underway to progress the outstanding actions of these recommendations.
The report and recommendations are due to be published in 2026.
914. Deputy Duncan Smith asked the Minister for Health to provide an update of the evaluation of the National Maternity Strategy; to confirm if a working group has been constituted to guide development of a new Strategy or extension of existing one; the timeline for completion of the review; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [45257/26]
Amharc ar fhreagraThe National Maternity Strategy - Creating a Better Future Together 2016 - 2026 is in its final year.
Over 98% of the National Maternity Strategy actions are complete or in progress. This represents significant reform since 2016.
The Government is committed to ensuring maternity services are providing safe, nationally consistent, woman-centred care. Since the launch of the National Maternity Strategy in 2016, maternity services have been transformed through the progressive implementation of all 77 recommendations, and the 236 associated actions. Work is ongoing to ensure full completion of the Strategy in 2026.
We will continue to drive improvement of our maternity services, as outlined across a number of Programme for Government commitments, including a commitment to develop a successor to the current National Maternity Strategy.
Determining the future direction for maternity services will require a strong and comprehensive evidence base. A review and evaluation of the current Strategy will provide an important starting point. This will be carried out alongside the ongoing work on outstanding actions to be completed in the Strategy’s final year.
The HSE's National Women and Infant's Health Programme (NWIHP) are currently reviewing the implementation of the Strategy’s actions, which has included engagement with staff across our maternity services. A full assessment of the delivery of the Strategy will form a key part of the considerations for the successor to be delivered in 2027.
My Department will continue to work closely with all relevant stakeholders to ensure that the successor to the Strategy builds on the progress achieved to date and sets a clear and deliverable roadmap for the continued improvement of maternity services.
915. Deputy Duncan Smith asked the Minister for Health the number of public lactation consultants per county, in each of the years 2024 to 2026, in tabular form; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [45258/26]
Amharc ar fhreagraAs this is a service matter, I have asked the Health Service Executive to respond to the Deputy as soon as possible.
916. Deputy Pádraig O'Sullivan asked the Minister for Health the indicators her Department and the HSE use to monitor staff morale across the health service, including burnout, work-related stress, absenteeism, staff turnover and intention to leave; whether this data is collected by grade and region; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [45274/26]
Amharc ar fhreagraAs this is a service matter, I have asked the Health Service Executive to respond to the Deputy as soon as possible.
917. Deputy Pádraig O'Sullivan asked the Minister for Health the number of HSE staff who accessed the Employee Assistance Programme in each of the past three years; if this data can be broken down by reason for engagement, including burnout, workplace stress, critical incident support and workplace violence; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [45275/26]
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.
918. Deputy Pádraig O'Sullivan asked the Minister for Health the assessment which has been carried out by her Department or the HSE on the impact of workplace violence and aggression on staff morale, retention, absenteeism and service delivery; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [45276/26]
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.
919. Deputy Pádraig O'Sullivan asked the Minister for Health the data which is collected by the HSE on incidents of racism or discrimination experienced by healthcare staff; the way such incidents are reported, monitored and followed up; whether this data is available by region and staff category; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [45277/26]
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.
920. Deputy Pádraig O'Sullivan asked the Minister for Health the current implementation status of the Framework for Safe Nurse Staffing and Skill Mix across medical wards, surgical wards and emergency departments; the number of sites where implementation remains incomplete; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [45278/26]
Amharc ar fhreagra921. Deputy Pádraig O'Sullivan asked the Minister for Health the action which is required where a ward, emergency department or service area is assessed as not meeting staffing levels identified under the Framework for Safe Nurse Staffing and Skill Mix; the person or body responsible for escalation and remedial action; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [45279/26]
Amharc ar fhreagraI propose to take Questions Nos. 920 and 921 together.
The Framework for Safe Nurse Staffing and Skill Mix is a systematic, evidence-based approach to determine appropriate staffing levels and skill mix for Registered Nurses (RNs) and Healthcare Assistant (HCA) roles. It is determined by patient need and demonstrates impact through the measurement of a range of outcomes.
Phase 1, which focuses on Adult General and Specialist Medical and Surgical Care wards, has been national policy since 2018. Phase 2, focused on Adult Emergency Care Settings was adopted as national policy in 2022. The national implementation of these policies remains a key priority.
Since 2020, Government investment of €56.2 million has supported the implementation of Phase 1 and 2, enabling the delivery of baseline safe staffing. This investment equates to approximately 2,000 additional whole-time equivalents (WTE) RNs and HCAs. The Framework is now fully implemented in EDs and is approaching full roll-out across in-patient wards, with circa 1,900 additional RNs and HCAs in these care settings. The HSE has advised that the majority of outstanding posts are currently in a recruitment process or pending start dates. 32 Hospitals have achieved baseline Phase 1 implementation, with a further 10 hospitals continuing to progress implementation.
The framework policy requires the establishment of Local Implementation Groups (LIG) in clinical sites. These groups operate within a defined governance structure, with the Director of Nursing chairing the LIG reporting on implementation progress to the Hospital executive, the regional Director of Nursing and Midwifery, as well as to the HSE National Lead for Safe Nurse Staffing.
In addition, a national Implementation Action Group, chaired by the Nursing and Midwifery Advisor to the HSE CEO, has been established to oversee and deliver the completion of baseline implementation.
Trendcare, a supporting enabling IT system for Phase 1 of the Framework, measures patient acuity and dependency in real time. This tool supports Directors of Nursing in fulfilling their monitoring and escalation responsibilities. As of May 2026, Trendcare is fully implemented in 15 hospitals and is scheduled for full roll-out to all hospitals by the end of 2026.
922. Deputy Pádraig O'Sullivan asked the Minister for Health whether the Patient Safety (Licensing) Bill 2025 will provide HIQA with powers to assess staffing governance, staffing levels or staffing risks in public and private healthcare settings; whether HIQA will be able to take enforcement action where staffing is deemed unsafe or inadequate; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [45280/26]
Amharc ar fhreagraLicensing legislation is being developed to facilitate the creation of a comprehensive system of regulation to oversee all hospitals in the State, both public and private. It will also provide the Minister for Health with the authority to designate certain activities that take place outside of a hospital setting as carrying a sufficiently high risk to warrant their providers to also come within the scope of the new regime.
There is a lacuna at present, whereby there is no specific legislation in place in relation to the sanctioning of hospitals if they do not operate to minimum standards of clinical governance. The proposed Patient Safety (Licensing) Bill seeks to rectify this situation. This will be done by giving HIQA the power of sanction when conditions of a license are not met, up to or including the cancellation of a license which may result in closure as under the Licensing Bill, it will be an offence to operate a hospital without a license.
Standards will be underpinned by Ministerial regulations in secondary legislation in order to ensure that HIQA has powers of enforcement.
This legislation provides an important opportunity to support staffing standards and governance, examining the options available to support local decision-making, flexibility and the ability to redesign and innovate across multi-disciplinary and multi-agency settings. The Department is working with the Office of Parliamentary Council and will ensure that legislative and regulatory options to strengthen safer staffing across the health and social care service are fully explored in the context of this Bill.
923. Deputy Pádraig O'Sullivan asked the Minister for Health the current status of the national delegation framework for healthcare assistants; the bodies involved in its development; the expected timeline for completion and implementation; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [45281/26]
Amharc ar fhreagra924. Deputy Pádraig O'Sullivan asked the Minister for Health the criteria that will be used under the proposed framework for professional regulation to determine whether healthcare assistants should be subject to statutory regulation; whether a formal risk assessment of the healthcare assistant role has been undertaken; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [45282/26]
Amharc ar fhreagraI propose to take Questions Nos. 923 and 924 together.
With regard to regulation of healthcare assistants, as the Deputy may be aware, work is ongoing in my department to develop a framework to guide policy on the regulation of health and social care professionals into the future. The framework will modernise our approach to professional regulation both in terms of how decisions are made regarding professional regulation and the ways in which we regulate professions. The framework will be informed by an evidence and risk-based approach to regulation in line with requirements set out in the EU Proportionality Test Directive. The issues to be considered regarding the proportionate degree of regulatory force required to protect the public are complex and this is therefore a significant project requiring considerable research and engagement with relevant stakeholders.
Regulation of additional individual professions, including healthcare assistants, is not planned until the risk-based assessment framework is place in compliance with best practice, international evidence, and the Proportionality Test Directive. Once the framework is in place, professions will then be assessed. Work to develop the framework and to assess professions is likely to take a number of years. Officials are currently engaging with relevant stakeholders regarding the development of the framework. A workshop with unregulated professions took place in March of this year and healthcare assistants were among the professions represented at the workshop.
Healthcare assistants work as part of a multidisciplinary team and do not practise independently. They work under the supervision of registered nurses or midwives, who are regulated professionals bound by clear professional standards. Where tasks are delegated to an healthcare assistant, the nurse or midwife remains accountable for that decision and for the overall care provided. This means there is clear professional oversight, clear lines of responsibility and established safeguards for patients. For that reason, the risks associated with the role are managed through existing regulated professionals and workplace governance arrangements, rather than through a separate statutory register at this time.
The Department is committed to further strengthening these arrangements. A National Delegation Framework for Nurses and Midwives is currently being developed as a priority action under the Strategy for the Office of the Chief Nursing Officer 2024–2026. This framework will support safe, consistent and appropriate delegation of care. This will help ensure that tasks are carried out by the most suitable staff member, while maintaining high standards of patient care.
This work is being informed by international evidence, as well as engagement with key national and international stakeholders, including the Nursing and Midwifery Board of Ireland and Health Service Executive. The Department anticipates completion of the framework in 2026, followed by a structured phase of implementation.
925. Deputy Pádraig O'Sullivan asked the Minister for Health the measures in place to ensure consistency in the role, training, supervision and scope of practice of healthcare assistants across acute hospitals, community services, home support and long-term residential care settings; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [45283/26]
Amharc ar fhreagraAs this is an operational matter, this has been referred to the HSE for a direct response to the Deputy.
