Health Services Waiting Lists Seanad Éireann — 2026-06-09 ============================================================ Jennifer Murnane O'Connor (FF), Carlow-Kilkenny I thank the Senator for raising this important issue, which I am taking on behalf of the Minister, Deputy Carroll MacNeill. I understand from looking at the waiting lists. The Senator might send me the information and I will see what I can do, if that is okay. I again thank the Senator for raising the matter. In Europe, neurological disorders are the third leading cause of death and disability. The numbers are expected to rise in line with our ageing population. In Ireland, approximately one in six people has a neurological condition. The Department of Health is committed to working with all relevant stakeholders, including the Neurological Alliance of Ireland, the HSE and the patients' representatives, to strengthen key services and supports. That is really important, going forward. We have made significant investments as well as committing to further measures in the programme for Government. The Minister for Health allocated €4.3 million in 2025 to support the implementation of the neurology model of care and the hub-and-spokes model for neurology services. I am sure the Senator is aware of that. This funding is enabling the recruitment of five consultant neurologists and 25 specialist nursing posts. Those posts are specific to this area. The funding is also enabling the development of the deep brain stimulation, DBS, service at the Mater hospital in Dublin, which was allocated 1.5 posts. The DBS is an effective treatment for Parkinson’s disease and other movement disorders. As of April 2026, approximately 78% of the posts have been recruited. We need to do more. The Minister is committed. This service development is to progress the implementation of the HSE model of care for neurology. The focus of the neurology initiative is aimed at achieving improved access to appropriate neurology services, and the Senator spoke about the lady she knows in that regard; improved safety and quality in the delivery of patient-centred neurological care; and improved value for both patient and health services across neurology services. More broadly, the national clinical programme for neurology is actively working on a hub-and-spoke model to guide equitable neurology services around the country. Therefore, the Minister is working on this. The services will align with the new health regions and tackle the gaps in neurology services nationally. We know the gaps exist and this is something we have to work on. The model will cater for people with all neurological conditions and deliver on the Sláintecare principle of delivering care closest to patients' homes. The model will include one model 4 hospital hub per health region, catering for the most complex neurological care. The sites will support model 3 hospital spoke sites, which will provide services for people with less complex needs. Many hospitals already have well-developed services. Funding received in 2025 is enabling the delivery of phase 1 of the hub-and-spokes model. It is expected that this proposed hub-and-spokes model will enable a reduction in waiting lists and timely access to diagnosis and treatment and, thus, improve quality of life and prognosis for people with neurological symptoms. I thank the Senator. --- Source: Houses of the Oireachtas. Licensed under CC BY 4.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). The Official Report is revised after first publication; the fetch timestamp below identifies the version quoted. Record URI: https://data.oireachtas.ie/akn/ie/debateRecord/seanad/2026-06-09/debate/main Retrieved: 2026-08-14T04:55:01+00:00 Sitting date: 2026-06-09