Written Answers Nos. 394-416
394. Deputy Pádraig Rice asked the Minister for Health her views on the withdrawal of previously made job offers to graduate nurses in Cork University Hospital; to outline in detail, the reason these offers were withdrawn; if a direction came from HSE South West or HSE Centre to withdraw these offers; and if a similar direction has been issued to other regions. [66158/26]
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.
395. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Health the total number of management and administrative posts created under the Enhanced Community Care programme set against the number of frontline clinical posts filled under the same programme, and the combined annual cost of each category. [66153/26]
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.
396. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Health whether public health nurses and health and social care professionals in work sharing arrangements who wish to increase their hours or return to full time are being refused on budgetary grounds or under the pay and numbers strategy; and the number of such requests refused in 2025 and to date in 2026. [66152/26]
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.
397. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Health the number of public health nurse posts currently vacant, and the current waiting times for public health nursing and for community therapy services including physiotherapy, occupational therapy, dietetics and speech and language therapy, broken down by health region. [66151/26]
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.
398. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Health the specific key performance indicators against which community healthcare network managers are assessed; whether any evaluation or value for money review of the role has been carried out since its introduction; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [66150/26]
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.
399. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Health the date on which the role of community healthcare network manager was first sanctioned; to provide the approved job specification and competency framework for the role; and to set out the business case that supported its creation. [66149/26]
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.
400. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Health the number of community healthcare network manager posts sanctioned since the establishment of the Community Healthcare Networks; the grade at which each is employed; and the total annual cost of these posts including employer costs, broken down by HSE health region. [66148/26]
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.
401. Deputy Marie Sherlock asked the Minister for Health the projected growth in demand and associated cost, across all existing primary care services for 2027. [66197/26]
Amharc ar fhreagraThe projected growth in demand and associated funding requirements for 2027, including those relating to primary care services, are currently being considered as part of the Estimates and budgetary process. The 2027 Budget and Estimates have not yet been finalised.
The demand for primary care services is influenced by a range of factors, including population growth, demographic changes, service utilisation patterns and policy developments. As a result, demand growth rates and associated costs can vary across different primary care programmes and service settings.
In developing the Health Vote funding requirements for 2027, the Department of Health and the HSE are assessing the expected cost of maintaining existing primary care services and meeting anticipated demand pressures. This work includes consideration of activity levels, demographic factors, existing commitments and other cost drivers.
As the budgetary process is ongoing, it is not possible at this stage to provide a definitive estimate of the projected growth in demand and associated cost across all existing primary care services for 2027.
402. Deputy Pádraig Rice asked the Minister for Health if she will meet with an organisation following their request for an urgent meeting (details supplied). [66195/26]
Amharc ar fhreagraThis matter is currently being actively considered by the Department. The Department has recently proposed meeting dates to the Hospital Pharmacists’ Association of Ireland to ensure that the concerns they have identified can be fully considered and discussed.
403. Deputy Marie Sherlock asked the Minister for Health the number of cancer drug clinical trials operated in acute hospitals for each of the years from 2019 to date in 2026. [66194/26]
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.
404. Deputy Pádraig Rice asked the Minister for Health for a breakdown of the funding provided to each approved provider of home care in each of the years 2024, 2025 and to date in 2026, in tabular form; and the amount spent on home care provided directly by the HSE in each of those years. [66193/26]
Amharc ar fhreagraAs this is an operational matter, I have asked the Health Service Executive to respond directly to the Deputy as soon as possible.
405. Deputy Marie Sherlock asked the Minister for Health to list the pilot cancer screening programmes in operation; the start date and end date for each, in each of the years between 2019 and 2026. [66192/26]
Amharc ar fhreagraAs Minister for Health, I am determined to support Ireland’s cancer screening programmes, which are a valuable part of our health service, enabling early treatment and care for many people, and improving the overall health of our population. As the Deputy is aware the current cancer screening programmes in operation are CervicalCheck, BreastCheck and BowelScreen.
The Programme for Government commits to undertake a review of European screening and early detection programmes including for prostate and gastric cancers, to guide any further expansion of screening programmes. It also commits to research, implement and evaluate cancer prevention and early detection initiatives, including prostate cancer and the lung cancer screening pilot in line with WHO criteria and develop recommendations for a way forward.
I am aware of several EU4Health-funded research initiatives underway to assess the feasibility of new cancer screening programmes, many involving Irish-based researchers. This includes the SOLACE consortium for lung cancer, TOGAS for gastric cancer and PRAISE-U for prostate cancer.
I would note that any proposed changes to Ireland’s cancer screening programmes, will be facilitated through established evidence-driven protocols. The National Screening Advisory Committee (NSAC) is the independent expert group that considers proposed changes to Ireland’s screening programmes. NSAC assesses the evidence in a robust and transparent manner and against internationally accepted criteria, before making recommendations to myself as Minister.
Recommendations from NSAC are generally based on the findings of comprehensive Health Technology Assessment (HTA) reports, which are undertaken by the Health Information and Quality Authority (HIQA) at the request of the Committee.
HTAs facilitate the assessment of relevant evidence and knowledge on the effects and consequences of healthcare technologies to guide decisions regarding the appropriate use of technology and efficient allocation of resources. They involve a multi-disciplinary assessment of the clinical, economic, ethical, legal and societal perspectives that may be impacted by the introduction of a new technology.
The findings from the aforementioned pilots/studies are expected to contribute to the evidence base for future consideration by NSAC. I look forward to receiving recommendations from the Committee in due course.
For more information about the pilots, I am setting out links for their respective websites :
• Prostate cancer pilot www.ucd.ie/medicine/news/2025/praiseuprostatecancerpilotscreeningstudybeginsinireland/
• Lung cancer pilot prican.eu/collaborators/solace/
• Gastric cancer pilot bhri.ie/research-themes/general-medicine/
Finally, I would like to emphasise that population-based screening programmes are for people without symptoms. If anyone becomes aware of symptoms, or if they have concerns or worries, they should contact a medical professional.
407. Deputy Pádraig Rice asked the Minister for Health further to Parliamentary Question No. 3889 of 28th July 2026, to provide a copy of the job specification for a role (details supplied); and the date at which this job specification was published. [66198/26]
Amharc ar fhreagraAs this is a service matter, I have asked the Health Service Executive to respond to the Deputy as soon as possible.
408. Deputy Marie Sherlock asked the Minister for Health the number of acute voluntary hospitals that have yet to sign off on their service level agreement for 2026. [66205/26]
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.
409. Deputy Pádraig Rice asked the Minister for Health the number of new roles approved by the HSE between January and August 2026, by month and grade. [66204/26]
Amharc ar fhreagraI have asked the Health Service Executive to respond to the Deputy as soon as possible.
410. Deputy Marie Sherlock asked the Minister for Health the number of acute voluntary hospitals that signed off on their service level agreement by each of the following dates, month end February 2026, April 2026 and June 2026. [66203/26]
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.
411. Deputy Marie Sherlock asked the Minister for Health the projected growth in demand and associated cost, across all existing acute health services for 2027. [66202/26]
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.
413. Deputy Roderic O'Gorman asked the Minister for Health for an update on the implementation of the HSE Telehealth Roadmap 2024–2027; the number and percentage of outpatient consultations delivered via telehealth to date, by HSE health region and hospital group; the clinical grades involved in delivering these consultations in each region; and the specialties or care pathways in which telehealth adoption remains lowest. [66241/26]
Amharc ar fhreagraI have asked the Health Service Executive to respond to the Deputy as soon as possible.
414. Deputy John Clendennen asked the Minister for Health for an update on the reimbursement of belzutifan, for the treatment of von Hippel-Lindau (VHL) disease, by the HSE; whether the application is being assessed on the most up to date information on the performance of the drug and subsequent patient outcomes; and when a final decision is likely. [66250/26]
Amharc ar fhreagraUnder 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.
The HSE 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 tumors (pNET), and for whom localised procedures are unsuitable.
Further information on the progress of belzutifan (Welireg®) through the HSE assessment and approval processes is available via the Pricing and Reimbursement Application tracker available at healthservice.hse.ie/staff/information-healthcare-workers/pcrs/corporate-pharmaceutical-unit/ . HSE application ID HSE100023 has been assigned to this application.
The HSE Corporate Pharmaceutical Unit (CPU) is the interface between the HSE and the Pharmaceutical Industry in relation to medicine pricing and reimbursement applications. Following a commercial meeting, the applicant submitted a commercial proposal which is currently under review.
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.
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.
This application remains under consideration with the HSE and the HSE cannot make any comment on possible outcomes from the ongoing process
415. Deputy John Clendennen asked the Minister for Health the number of patients in the State in receipt of dialysis treatment in each of the years 2021-2025 and to date in 2026, broken down by type of treatment, in tabular form. [66249/26]
Amharc ar fhreagraUnder 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.
The HSE 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 tumors (pNET), and for whom localised procedures are unsuitable.
Further information on the progress of belzutifan (Welireg®) through the HSE assessment and approval processes is available via the Pricing and Reimbursement Application tracker available at healthservice.hse.ie/staff/information-healthcare-workers/pcrs/corporate-pharmaceutical-unit/ . HSE application ID HSE100023 has been assigned to this application.
The HSE Corporate Pharmaceutical Unit (CPU) is the interface between the HSE and the Pharmaceutical Industry in relation to medicine pricing and reimbursement applications. Following a commercial meeting, the applicant submitted a commercial proposal which is currently under review.
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.
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.
This application remains under consideration with the HSE and the HSE cannot make any comment on possible outcomes from the ongoing process
416. Deputy John Clendennen asked the Minister for Health whether the pharmacoeconomic and reimbursement assessment of belzutifan for von Hippel Lindau disease takes account of the full long-term healthcare costs associated with the natural progression of the disease and repeated treatment of VHL-associated tumors including renal surgery, loss of renal function, chronic kidney disease, dialysis, renal transplantation and other VHL-related interventions; and the manner in which such potentially avoided or deferred costs are incorporated into the assessment. [66248/26]
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.
