822. Deputy Colm Burke asked the Minister for Health whether the commitment in the new National Sexual Health Strategy 2025-2035 to expand access to existing vaccination programmes in "private settings" includes pharmacy-based vaccination; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [37479/25]
765. Deputy Colm Burke asked the Minister for Health the number of patients that have had cardiovascular disease screening carried out on them as part of the opportunistic case finding and chronic disease prevention programme in each of the years 2020 to 2024 and to the 30 June 2025, in tabular form; if any general statistics from this data will be published; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [37158/25]
499. Deputy Colm Burke asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage to provide an update on a review of planning regulations in relation to a new and separate exempted development threshold for stand-alone nutrient storage, in view that the thresholds and conditions associated with the exemption are practical and enable farmers to make the necessary investment to deliver the required nutrient storage capacity to mitigate agriculture pressure on water quality; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [36359/25]
169. Deputy Colm Burke asked the Minister for Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science the action he is taking to ensure there is an increase in qualified people coming into the workforce, in particular those required in essential services such as dentistry, dental hygienists, radiology and radiation therapists, in order to meet the needs of citizens, in view of the fact the population of the country has increased by 43% since 2000; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [37375/25]
152. Deputy Colm Burke asked the Minister for Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science to confirm that he has engaged with both Trinity College Dublin and University College Cork with a view to increasing the number of Irish students that will be accommodated in dental training courses, in view of the fact that over 44% of training positions at the moment are provided to non-European students; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [37374/25]
136. Deputy Colm Burke asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the action his Department is taking to ensure the TB eradication programme is fully resourced, in view of staff shortages in regional offices which in turn leaves staff unable to carry out thorough investigations in to the cause of breakdowns and to implement a wildlife programme around all TB breakdowns; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [36358/25]
62. Deputy Colm Burke asked the Minister for Justice, Home Affairs and Migration the process in place within the Irish Prison Service system to co-ordinate services for the person being released, both in respect of their housing needs and the financial aid they require from the Department of Social Protection to ensure they have adequate supports in place when released; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [36373/25]
8. Deputy Colm Burke asked the Minister for Justice, Home Affairs and Migration the action taken by his Department to monitor the progress of young people who leave the youth diversion programme after their supervision period ends; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [36372/25]
198. Deputy Colm Burke asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine for an update regarding the ‘Better Farming for Water’ advisory programme; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [36367/25]
197. Deputy Colm Burke asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine for an update in relation to the retention of the Nitrates Derogation as per the Nitrates Derogation Renewal Plan published in August 2024; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [36366/25]
196. Deputy Colm Burke asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the number of vacancies currently in each departmental local office; whether the number of FRS operatives across all regions has been reduced in the past 18 months, in tabular form; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [36365/25]
195. Deputy Colm Burke asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the current number of deer management units (DMU’s) nationally; the current number of staff employed in each DMU; the current number of vacancies in each DMU, in tabular form; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [36364/25]
178. Deputy Colm Burke asked the Minister for Justice, Home Affairs and Migration the timeframe for processing of Irish citizenship applications via Irish association, in particular those who submitted additional requested documentation as per the new guidelines published by his Department in April 2025, taking into account that no timeframe has been given and many applicants have been waiting over five years for a decision; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [36382/25]
177. Deputy Colm Burke asked the Minister for Justice, Home Affairs and Migration his plans to introduce legislation that will criminalise individuals who use artificial intelligence to produce and distribute deepfake images and videos; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [36381/25]
831. Deputy Colm Burke asked the Minister for Health if, arising from the recent move of the National Immunisation Advisory Committee (NIAC) from the Royal College of Physicians to the Health Information and Quality Authority, NIAC will remain an independent committee with the ability to define its own work programme; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [35997/25]
830. Deputy Colm Burke asked the Minister for Health if, arising from the recent move of the National Immunisation Advisory Committee (NIAC) from the Royal College of Physicians to the Health Information and Quality Authority, there will be an increase in the budget and extra resources allocated to NIAC as a consequence of this move; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [35996/25]
829. Deputy Colm Burke asked the Minister for Health to outline details of the recent move of the National Immunisation Advisory Committee from the Royal College of Physicians to the Health Information and Quality Authority; the impact this development will have on the speed at which vaccines could be added to the national immunisation programme bearing in mind it currently takes on average six years; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [35995/25]
752. Deputy Colm Burke asked the Minister for Health to clarify the category of patients that will be provided for under the fit-out of the existing first floor shell and cores space of Mallow General Hospital to provide a 24-bed inpatient ward, as per the Acute Inpatient Bed Capacity Expansion Plan and HSE Capital Plan; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [35562/25]
687. Deputy Colm Burke asked the Minister for Health if her Department has analysed the research that is available re the dangers of vape devices (details supplied); the action proposed to be taken in order to restrict their use; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [35297/25]
686. Deputy Colm Burke asked the Minister for Health if she is aware of vape devices (details supplied); if her Department will legislate for them in the Public Health (Tobacco Products and Nicotine Inhaling Products) Act 2023; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [35296/25]
685. Deputy Colm Burke asked the Minister for Health if consideration would be given by her Department for the inclusion of vape devices (details supplied) in the Public Health (Tobacco Products and Nicotine Inhaling Products) Act 2023, in view that although the devices are marketed as rechargeable and replaceable because of supplementary pods they remain fundamentally environmentally wasteful; are attractive to young consumers owing to their low cost; contain significantly more vape liquid allowing 6,000 puffs compared with 600 puffs in a regular vape; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [35295/25]
552. Deputy Colm Burke asked the Minister for Justice, Home Affairs and Migration the status of a citizenship application (details supplied) and when it is likely that same will be completed; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [35305/25]
301. Deputy Colm Burke asked the Minister for Public Expenditure, Infrastructure, Public Service Reform and Digitalisation the current status of the project prepared by the OPW re the Blackpool flood relief scheme, in view of the fact that this project was delayed due to his Department failing to act back in 2022; the timeline for when approval for the project to proceed will be given; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [36070/25]
88. Deputy Colm Burke asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage if his Department has given a directive to Uisce Éireann and to the local authorities in respect of the taking in charge of estates regarding water supply, sewage treatment services and roads, and in particular, where all of the conditions of planning have been complied with, and where reports have been completed as per the requirements of the local authority clearly indicating that every aspect of the planning and the development of the estate is fully completed; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [35274/25]
53. Deputy Colm Burke asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage the engagement that has taken place between his Department and Uisce Éireann in relation to the progression of taking in charge of water services of completed housing estates, many of them which have been completed for more than 20 years, in view of the fact that Uisce Éireann has taken over the operation and maintenance of water services from local authorities, and to ensure that the development companies can transfer responsibly to Uisce Éireann; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [35273/25]
338. Deputy Colm Burke asked the Minister for Health whether women who have undergone surgery and now require support services, including breast protheses, can access those support services with a supplier of their choice, and that the HSE South/Southwest cannot dictate the supplier that they must attend for such services; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [35097/25]
275. Deputy Colm Burke asked the Minister for Social Protection the status of a domiciliary care allowance application for the daughter of a person (details supplied) for who it is documented and has medical difficulties; if serious consideration will be given to granting this allowance due to these difficulties and the level of care required; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [35061/25]
268. Deputy Colm Burke asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage to confirm that local authorities (details supplied) would not deem an application for the housing adaptation grant as incomplete, where outstanding supporting documentation is required, and return it by post along with supporting documentation to the applicant but instead accept the application, retain the documents and request further documentation from the applicant, as the current procedure of returning documentation is causing confusion and problems, particularly for elderly constituents; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [35087/25]
234. Deputy Colm Burke asked the Minister for Education and Youth to confirm that she and her Department will intervene to ensure that more school places will be made available in the Mallow, County Cork region for the forthcoming school year, as schools in the area are fully subscribed such as a school (details supplied) and there are a number of pupils from Mallow without school places for the forthcoming school year; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [35077/25]
156. Deputy Colm Burke asked the Minister for Culture, Communications and Sport to provide an update on the progress made to date by Coimisiún na Meán on the implementation of the Online Safety and Media Regulation Act 2022; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [34923/25]
248. Deputy Colm Burke asked the Minister for Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science to provide details of the total number of Irish/EU students and the total number of non-EEA students who have qualified from University College Cork and Trinity College Dublin for each of the years ending 31 December 2020 to 31 December 2024, in tabular form; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [34766/25]
247. Deputy Colm Burke asked the Minister for Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science if his Department can make additional funding available to third level colleges which are providing dental training courses in order that they may increase the total number of places available for Irish students; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [34765/25]
246. Deputy Colm Burke asked the Minister for Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science if he has engaged with all third level institutions with a view to increasing the total number of places available for the training of both dental nurses and dental hygienists; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [34764/25]
245. Deputy Colm Burke asked the Minister for Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science the total number of newly qualified dentists who qualified in Ireland, the number who were Irish/EU students and those who were non-EEA students but who qualified in Ireland, in tabular form; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [34761/25]
208. Deputy Colm Burke asked the Minister for Health the total number of people who have travelled abroad under the treatment abroad scheme to receive dental treatment for each of the years ending 31 December 2021, 31 December 2022, 31 December 2023, and 31 December 2024, in tabular form; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [34763/25]
207. Deputy Colm Burke asked the Minister for Health if there are plans to introduce an action plan to help increase the number of dental practitioners in Ireland who are prepared to provide care to those who are medical card holders; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [34762/25]
206. Deputy Colm Burke asked the Minister for Health the current number of dentists in each HSE area who are providing care for medical card patients, in tabular form; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [34760/25]
205. Deputy Colm Burke asked the Minister for Health if her Department has engaged with the Department of Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science with a view to increasing the number of training places in each of the dental schools both at University College Cork and at Trinity College Dublin; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [34759/25]
204. Deputy Colm Burke asked the Minister for Health the action her Department proposes taking in order to increase the number of dentists and dental practices who are prepared to provide for medical card patients in view of the fact that the number of dentists providing such care has dropped from 1,452 in 2012 to 810 in 2023; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [34758/25]
200. Deputy Colm Burke asked the Minister for Health if she will consider linking with pulmonary arterial hypertension specialists in Northern Ireland for an all-Ireland strategy; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [34704/25]
199. Deputy Colm Burke asked the Minister for Health if she will support the development of a national patient registry for pulmonary arterial hypertension in Ireland; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [34703/25]
198. Deputy Colm Burke asked the Minister for Health if she will support the establishment of a national clinical programme for pulmonary arterial hypertension, along with rare heart diseases; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [34702/25]
197. Deputy Colm Burke asked the Minister for Health if she will prioritise the Programme for Government commitment to investigate early access schemes for orphan medicines; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [34701/25]
196. Deputy Colm Burke asked the Minister for Health if she will work with the HSE to provide additional funding and resources that are required for the pulmonary arterial hypertension unit in the Mater Hospital (details supplied) given the unit has not had any additional resources since 2003; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [34700/25]
195. Deputy Colm Burke asked the Minister for Health if she has set a deadline for a design for the elective hospital for Cork in Sarsfield Court, Glanmire, to be finalised; whether she has set a deadline for the project to go to planning stage; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [34698/25]
194. Deputy Colm Burke asked the Minister for Health the actions she is taking to increase the number of dentists practising in Ireland and increase the number participating in the dental treatment services scheme, given that number of practising dentists in Ireland in 2022 stood at 2,420 dentists, and Ireland is at the lower end or bottom quartile of the OECD countries for number of practising dentists, and the national total of dentists with a dental treatment service scheme contract in 2024 was 810, down from 1,452 in 2012; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [34697/25]
806. Deputy Colm Burke asked the Minister for Health when a person (details supplied) can progress with cataract treatment; when an urgent appointment will be made available to them; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [33934/25]
751. Deputy Colm Burke asked the Minister for Health to provide an update on the development of the new Obesity Policy and Action Plan, due to be published in early 2026; whether a public consultation on the new iteration of the policy and action plan will be conducted in the coming months, in advance of publication; if so, the timing for that consultation; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [33551/25]