That is absolutely fair enough, except that this will happen under this service plan. On new money, we have additional money for new drugs, for example, in the drugs budget. We have an additional 3,300 people, which at a cost of €90,000 is all new money. They are all people who can be allocated not just to people with cancer, but people who have cancer with other things. This is the new money and the new investment. The distribution of that, which is what the Deputy is asking for, will be apparent in the service pl…

I thank the Deputy for raising this with me again. We should always acknowledge the extraordinary role, as the Deputy has done, of our healthcare workers and the role they played during the pandemic. They went far beyond the call of duty. Treating Covid in a front-line way at that time was an exceptional thing to do. In recognition of that, especially from 2020, a temporary special scheme was introduced in July 2022 to support eligible staff who were affected by long Covid, in particular, in the public health secto…

I appreciate what the Deputy is saying. I will make a couple of points in response. The public health sector recognised the risk that staff faced and because of that introduced a scheme that no other sector had. It was appropriate that it did, but it is important to state that so people have a full understanding of what was done. Eligible healthcare workers have had full pay for five years, which is important. The provisions now provide paid supports for a number of years beyond this current period. Recognition of …

I recognise the sufferers of long Covid and the change for 159 people who have been receiving full pay and are going onto a different scheme. While there are supports available on that scheme and its duration is also considerable, it is a change and I recognise that. My Department has championed the extension of that scheme, which enabled them to have full pay for as long as they did, on a number of occasions with the Department of public expenditure. As we thought that would end in June, there has been an addition…

Waiting times for radiology and diagnostic services have been an issue for some time and the Government committed to the implementation of the Sláintecare report of 2017, which included a maximum wait time target of ten days for a diagnostic test. A key step to achieving that is fully understanding the current position. Implementation of the NTPF’s national radiology diagnostic waiting list management protocol by all hospitals is the step to ensuring that patients are administratively managed in a safe, timely, fai…

I completely agree with the Deputy. Looking at the number of diagnostic scanners and machines in public systems, we have 550 scanners of different forms, including 62 CT scanners, 28 MRI scanners and so on, but it is about the use of them. One of the things we need to consider is how we might use the scanners available in a complementary local injury unit sitting alongside a hospital and how we can maximise the use of all of those diagnostics in different ways. That is another opportunity to expand capacity. I happ…

I agree with the Deputy. I am also conscious that we have increased the referral pathways for diagnostics, from physios for example. They are all good things, but they increase the number of referrals and, therefore, the waiting time. It is particularly important that the Deputy highlighted a case like that of his mother, who was referred for a scan and really needed it. There is the contrast with an emergency scan in a hospital that might step across her scan. So many people in Ireland are quietly waiting for a sc…

The hearing care plan working group was established to develop recommendations for a holistic and sustainable model of hearing care across Ireland. The group initially had a focus on the appropriate linkage of public and private provision to meet increasing demand for services in the short term and to consider the recommendations of the WHO World Report on Hearing in the development of the national hearing care plan. As the group carried out its work, it realised, through its research efforts and deliberations, tha…

The Deputy is right to identify the difficulty that would create. I do not have an answer at the moment as to the timeline of the public consultation, but I commit to getting that to the Deputy as soon as I can. The revised timeline for submission of a final report is quarter 1 in 2026 but that is more about the timeline for the broad work, as I understand it. Today or tomorrow, I will have a better answer for the Deputy on his very reasonable question on the public consultation element of it. I will also have clar…

I would like to have a bit more detail that I do not have to hand but I commit to getting it to the Deputy today or tomorrow if that is all right.

I am committed to supporting Ireland's population screening programmes which are a valuable part of our health service. The programme for Government commits to evaluate the current lung cancer screening pilot in line with the WHO criteria and to develop recommendations for a way forward. The pilot, which was led by researchers in Beaumont and the RCSI with support from the EU, the Irish Cancer Society and my Department, is under way. It has issued a call for proposals to advance research in this area focusing on ou…

I am not in a position to give that date at the moment but I will try to come back to the Deputy as soon as I can. Very few countries have introduced lung cancer screening because of the uncertainty around its effectiveness. That does not mean we should not explore it. As the Deputy has done, I want to commend the pilot programme that has been introduced, instituting a community-based lung health check programme by inviting individuals from north Dublin and the north-east region identified as being at high risk of …

I am not in a position to say that because I do not know what the recommendation will be. Thankfully this is a country driven by science and scientific evidence. This is a matter of real concern to me. The Deputy referenced advances in cervical screening. While I have the opportunity, I want to reference that it is expanding and that there are home testing kits, which is a huge advancement for women who do not necessarily feel comfortable presenting for screening or who just want to avail of their sheer convenience…

I thank Deputy O'Shea. As he is aware, over €230 million is invested in public oral healthcare services annually. The dental treatment services scheme, DTSS, provides oral healthcare free of charge to medical card holders aged 16 and over. Services are provided by private dentists and clinical dental technicians who hold a contract with the HSE. In the north Cork HSE area, there are currently 33 active DTSS contractors, which is up slightly from the 31 who were active in the same period in 2024, although it is not …

In fact, there are 836 contractors on the scheme as of September 2025, although that is a reduction because there was a major data clear-out. There were 1,490 in 2019, when the number was reducing, and there are now 836. A number of inactive dentists were taken off the list in 2022. I can confirm that the fees paid to private dentists to engage in this scheme have increased by 40% to 60%, depending on the nature of the treatment. It is a matter of some astonishment and some disappointment to me that more of them do…

I commit to trying to expand access to oral health and preventative oral health in every way. We need to look at the role of dental hygienists within the dental profession. In every other aspect of workforce planning in healthcare, we recognise that we do not have enough healthcare workers to meet our need. As I mentioned earlier, we are trying to have pharmacists work at the top of their expertise in their profession in order that they can diagnose basic common conditions. We now have an agreement with them that t…

I thank Deputy Timmins. I think it may be closer to one in seven - possibly one in six - women who are affected by endometriosis, rather than one in ten. We are learning more about it together. Our specialist endometriosis services are monitored by the HSE's national women and infants health programme. At the end of September 2025, 719 specialist endometriosis surgeries had been carried out. The most complex endometriosis surgeries are performed by multidisciplinary teams. Some 263 of the reported 719 surgeries too…

Not all of the surgeries take place in Cork and Tallaght but the most complex ones do. I have expanded a scheme to treat women who require complex surgery abroad. It was the case that they would go abroad and get the funding back via the cross-border directive. We very quickly put in place a scheme whereby people could get funding upfront for such surgery in many clinics in the UK and Europe. I have actively asked clinicians in the HSE to visit two clinics in Athens and Bucharest that women report to me as being ve…

There are not 35,000 people with endometriosis on outpatient gynaecology lists. Approximately 700 are waiting for endometriosis surgeries. An additional colorectal post has been prioritised and advertised for recruitment in Cork University Hospital. The time it will take will depend on the interest generated but I very much hope it will be done as soon as possible. The Deputy is correct. I do not necessarily want women to be travelling abroad. I would much rather they get surgery here but it is not an either-or sit…

I thank the Deputy for raising this case. He is right that this drug is reimbursed for postmenopausal women with osteoporosis. I would like an opportunity to check this but, as I understand it, the European Medicines Agency, EMA, originally assessed the drug for use in both women and men. However, the company withdrew the male indication during the process following concern over the benefit-risk profile. It has been added to the HSE reimbursement list for postmenopausal women at high risk of fracture but it is not …