Written Answers Nos. 750-769
750. Deputy Shane Moynihan asked the Minister for Health the extent to which paediatric hearing assessments are outsourced, including the number and proportion of cases referred externally; and the total annual cost of such outsourcing. [51026/26]
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.
751. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Health further to Parliamentary Question No. 2792 of 14 April 2026, the number of instances since July 2025 in which a health region exceeded its agency expenditure limit; and the corrective action taken in each such instance, by region. [51031/26]
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.
752. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Health further to Parliamentary Question No. 1079 of 6 May 2026, which confirmed that no formal cost-benefit analysis comparing long-term direct employment with agency staffing has been conducted, and that the only comparator in use is a generic 30% premium which by her Department's own account excludes pension provisions over an employee's career; if her Department intends to commission a full lifecycle cost-benefit analysis; and if not, the reason. [51032/26]
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.
753. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Health further to Parliamentary Question No. 1083 of 6 June 2026, to confirm whether the HSE holds any grade-specific cost comparison between agency and directly employed staff for nursing, medical and allied health grades respectively; if so, to provide same; and if not, the reason a single blended premium is applied across distinct grade markets. [51033/26]
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.
754. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Health further to Parliamentary Question No. 2314 of 9 June 2026, and noting that the same reply confirms health regions hold autonomy to reconfigure vacancies, whether any national assessment has been undertaken of the number of funded posts left unfilled or reconfigured as a result of agency spend limits; and whether any such risk is recorded on a national risk register. [51034/26]
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.
755. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Health further to Parliamentary Question No. 2415 of 9 June 2026, to provide the data on the number of pharmacy reimbursement claims adjusted and the number successfully appealed in each year from 2020 to date (details supplied).; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [51052/26]
Amharc ar fhreagraUnder 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.
756. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Health whether the Primary Care Reimbursement Service holds a national dataset recording the number of pharmacy reimbursement claims adjusted and the number successfully appealed; and if no such dataset is held, to state this plainly; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [51053/26]
Amharc ar fhreagraUnder 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.
757. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Health to set out the formal mechanism, if any, by which a pharmacy may appeal a rejected reimbursement claim; the average time to determination; the number and proportion of such appeals upheld in each year from 2020 to date; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [51054/26]
Amharc ar fhreagraUnder 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.
758. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Health further to Parliamentary Question No. 2415 of 9 June 2026, to reconcile the figures provided in the reply, given that the difference between claims submitted (details supplied); and if she will make a statement on the matter. [51055/26]
Amharc ar fhreagraUnder 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.
759. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Health further to Parliamentary Question No. 2415 of 9 June 2026, recording "eligibility expired" as the leading reason for pharmacy claim rejection in the years 2020 to 2022, peaking at 30,005 rejections in 2021; the assessment that has been made of the impact on patients dispensed medicines whose eligibility had lapsed at point of dispensing, including whether any such patients were charged; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [51056/26]
Amharc ar fhreagraUnder 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.
760. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Health further to Parliamentary Question No. 1830 of 9 June 2026, which referred to "the ambition of driving towards self-sufficiency in workforce supply," to confirm whether the HSE has set any numerical target to reduce reliance on international recruitment over the next five years; and if so, to state the target, the baseline year and the target date; or, if no such target exists, to confirm that none has been set. [51057/26]
Amharc ar fhreagraI have asked the Health Service Executive to respond to the Deputy as soon as possible.
761. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Health the proportion of new HSE clinical recruits that were internationally recruited in each of the years 2023, 2024 and 2025, broken down by profession, in order to establish the current baseline of reliance against which any self-sufficiency ambition would be measured [51058/26]
Amharc ar fhreagraI have asked the Health Service Executive to respond to the Deputy as soon as possible.
762. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Health further to Parliamentary Question No. 1830 of 9 June 2026, the specific metric by which "self-sufficiency in workforce supply" is defined and measured; the named body responsible for monitoring progress towards it; and the date on which that body next reports. [51059/26]
Amharc ar fhreagraAs this is a service matter, it has been referred to the Health Service Executive for attention and direct reply to the Deputy.
763. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Health further to Parliamentary Question No. 1830 of 9 June 2026, which states that "demand continues to outstrip supply," whether the HSE projects reliance on international recruitment to rise or fall over the next five years; and to set out the modelling on which that projection is based [51060/26]
Amharc ar fhreagraI have asked the Health Service Executive to respond to the Deputy as soon as possible.
764. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Health further to Parliamentary Question No. 2415 of 9 June 2026, to now provide those figures for each year, or to confirm that no such data is held by the Health Service Executive (details supplied). [51061/26]
Amharc ar fhreagraI have asked the Health Service Executive to respond to the Deputy as soon as possible.
765. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Health further to Parliamentary Question No. 2415 of 9 June 2026, to clarify whether the figure provided for the number of pharmacy reimbursement claims rejected in each year counts unique claims finally refused or counts error events including claims that were subsequently paid; and the reason the combined total of claims approved and claims rejected exceeds the number of claims submitted in 2022. [51062/26]
Amharc ar fhreagraUnder 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.
766. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Health further to Parliamentary Question No. 2415 of 9 June 2026, in which "claim set to pay or already paid" appears among the top five recorded reasons for claim rejection; to provide and the number of pharmacy reimbursement claims that were initially rejected and subsequently paid in each year from 2020 to date, or to confirm that this is not separately recorded [51063/26]
Amharc ar fhreagraUnder 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.
767. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Health further to Parliamentary Question No. 2415 of 9 June 2026, whether a formal appeals mechanism exists for rejected pharmacy reimbursement claims; if so, the body responsible for deciding such appeals; and the number of appeals received and the number upheld in each year from 2020 to date. [51064/26]
Amharc ar fhreagraUnder 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.
768. Deputy Michael Healy-Rae asked the Minister for Health when an assessment will take place with CAMHS for a child (details supplied); and if she will make a statement on the matter. [51075/26]
Amharc ar fhreagraAs this is a service matter, I have asked the HSE to respond to the deputy directly, as soon as possible.
769. Deputy Sorca Clarke asked the Minister for Health her plans on establishing an independent inquiry into persons who were wrongly incarcerated and unlawfully detained in psychiatric hospitals; if not, the reasons; and whether a timeline has been set for any such inquiry. [51078/26]
Amharc ar fhreagraThe involuntary admission of persons to a psychiatric hospital or unit prior to the introduction of the Mental Health Act 2001 was governed by statute, in this case the Mental Treatment Act 1945. The 1945 Act specifically allowed for the admission and detention without their consent, of a person as a ‘temporary patient' or a 'person of unsound mind'. Such admissions took place following an application made in this regard and required a medical certificate signed by a doctor and also a reception order signed by a consultant psychiatrist.
The Act also provided patients with the right to contact the Minister for Health, the Inspector of Mental Hospitals or the President of the High Court in relation to their detention. In addition, it also required the Inspector of Mental Hospitals, in the course of his inspections, to visit any patient "the propriety of whose detention he had reason to doubt".
Mental health legislation has evolved over the last decades to ensure that it reflects the modern, person-centred ethos of our services and broader mental health policies.
Since 2001, the Mental Health Act has provided safeguards for persons involuntarily admitted and detained in mental health approved centres and puts in place mechanisms for the regulation and inspection of these centres. It also provided for the establishment of the Mental Health Commission, who have an independent role in the inspection and regulation process. The establishment of the tribunal process under the 2001 Act also provides an automatic review process of the person’s detention, within 21 days of their admission, ensuring that the rights of those admitted under the Act are vindicated and recognising the importance of safeguards in relation to deprivation of liberty, in all circumstances.
In relation to any redress to patients of psychiatric hospitals who feel they have an historic claim, it is open to any person to raise such concerns in the first instance either with the HSE or to seek legal advice, as appropriate.
