Ceisteanna Parlaiminte

School Enrolments

Micheál Martin

7. Deputy Micheál Martin asked the Taoiseach if the end to baptism barriers for school entry was discussed when he last met church leaders; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [43468/15]

School Enrolments

Gerry Adams

8. Deputy Gerry Adams asked the Taoiseach the discussions he has had with church leaders and others regarding the practice of parents having to get their children baptised in order to gain entry to the school of their choice; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [3918/16]

Health Services Reform

Billy Kelleher

57. Deputy Billy Kelleher asked the Minister for Health why the undertakings on universal health insurance and the introduction of free general practitioner care for the whole population, the two key health commitments in the 2011 programme for Government, were not honoured; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [4093/16]

Ambulance Service Provision

Caoimhghín Ó Caoláin

58. Deputy Caoimhghín Ó Caoláin asked the Minister for Health the steps he is taking to address the seriously inadequate ambulance provision, on standby and in service, in County Monaghan and in counties Cavan, Louth and Meath generally; if he accepts that, despite this Deputy highlighting to him in advance the serious lack of ambulance cover across these counties over the Christmas-new year period, there was a total failure on his part and on the part of the ambulance service to act; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [4081/16]

Hospital Equipment

John Halligan

59. Deputy John Halligan asked the Minister for Health why it took 11 months to redeploy staff from an old computed tomography, CT, scanner in University Hospital Waterford to a new scanner which opened in April 2015; if he is aware that the older machine was in perfect working order when it was taken out of use; if the hospital ever made an application for additional staff in order that both machines could be operated simultaneously; if it is best practice to have a perfectly functional CT machine not in use at the hospital while waiting lists for scans are at an unacceptable level; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [4100/16]

Congregated Settings Report

Colm Keaveney

60. Deputy Colm Keaveney asked the Minister for Health the funding the Health Service Executive will provide in 2016 for moving persons out of congregated settings; the number of persons this will benefit; the proportion of persons currently in congregated settings that will benefit; how long it will take to move all those in congregated settings out of them at this rate of support; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [4094/16]

Medicinal Products Availability

Caoimhghín Ó Caoláin

61. Deputy Caoimhghín Ó Caoláin asked the Minister for Health why the drug Sativex is not available to persons who suffer from multiple sclerosis despite the then Minister of State for Primary Care, Deputy Alex White, signing a statutory instrument legalising its use in July 2014; when it will be available; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [4082/16]

Vaccination Programme

Clare Daly

62. Deputy Clare Daly asked the Minister for Health if he has recently met with representatives of the Reactions and Effects of Gardasil Resulting in Extreme Trauma, REGRET, group, to discuss available or potential health support services, and other supports for families represented; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [3892/16]

Hospital Waiting Lists

Richard Boyd Barrett

63. Deputy Richard Boyd Barrett asked the Minister for Health if he will address the increasingly long waiting times for operations at Cappagh Hospital in County Dublin, where waiting times of 18 months and longer are leading to some patients developing conditions arising out of the long-term use of pain medication, which is necessary given the waiting times; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [3942/16]

Disability Services Funding

Maureen O'Sullivan

64. Deputy Maureen O'Sullivan asked the Minister for Health to address serious concerns regarding intellectual disability care given successive cuts to funding, staff and available care, given that an ageing population is impacting on intellectual disability care and that carers, such as parents, are often elderly and given the need for care for such persons. [3941/16]

Accident and Emergency Departments

Billy Kelleher

65. Deputy Billy Kelleher asked the Minister for Health why the overcrowding in hospital emergency departments has not seen a significant improvement despite the initiatives taken during 2015; if the €100 million shortfall in the funding for hospitals will have a detrimental impact on access to emergency department and scheduled waiting list targets in 2016; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [3924/16]

Vaccination Programme

Maureen O'Sullivan

66. Deputy Maureen O'Sullivan asked the Minister for Health if he is aware of revelations made by a doctor (details supplied) to the World Health Organization, of the manipulation of data and the suppression of science, in order to maintain the illusion of the safety of the human papilloma virus vaccine, in the face of valid contradictory evidence and that the length of time for which Gardasil is effective is suspect; and if he will address the serious health issues experienced by more than 200 girls, where the common denominator is the vaccine. [3940/16]

Hospital Beds Data

John Browne

67. Deputy John Browne asked the Minister for Health if hospital acute bed capacity here is sufficient and if the norm for hospital bed occupancy should be 85% capacity, as is the case in other countries; the details of the acute bed capacity here on 1 January 2016 and the number of additional beds that are required in order that the bed capacity here will have a norm of 85% occupancy; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [3929/16]

Mental Health Services Provision

Mick Wallace

68. Deputy Mick Wallace asked the Minister for Health if he has plans to put a 24-hour acute mental health unit in County Wexford; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [3923/16]

Hospital Groups

Michelle Mulherin

69. Deputy Michelle Mulherin asked the Minister for Health the status of the review of the emergency department at Mayo General Hospital; when the recommendations will be published; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [3889/16]

Programme for Government Initiatives

Billy Kelleher

70. Deputy Billy Kelleher asked the Minister for Health why two fundamental health commitments in the 2011 programme for Government, namely, the undertakings on universal health insurance and the introduction of free general practitioner care for the entire population, were not met; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [3926/16]

Legislative Measures

John Halligan

71. Deputy John Halligan asked the Minister for Health where he has amended the Health (Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill 2015, which is shortly due to come before both Houses of the Oireachtas and which will seek to amend the Medical Practitioners Act 2007, to remove the requirement for an equivalence of a certificate of experience for doctors who qualified outside the European Union and who are seeking registration in the trainee specialist division of the register; if he made a commitment to so amend the Bill; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [3933/16]

Medicinal Products Licensing

Caoimhghín Ó Caoláin

72. Deputy Caoimhghín Ó Caoláin asked the Minister for Health if he is aware of the drug Nivolumab, an immunosuppressant drug treatment for cancers that experts have described as a game-changer; if he will license this drug once clinical trials are completed; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [3936/16]

Ambulance Service Response Times

Seán Kyne

73. Deputy Seán Kyne asked the Minister for Health the progress in improving emergency vehicle response times in rural areas and in Connemara, County Galway, in particular; if the stationing of ambulances at primary care centres or local hospital facilities and the introduction of advance emergency vehicles, with a paramedic, is being considered; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [3887/16]

Hospital Beds Data

John Halligan

74. Deputy John Halligan asked the Minister for Health the number of beds that were allocated to University Hospital Waterford in the recent winter hand-out allowance for overcrowded hospitals; the number of beds allocated, by hospital, in tabular form; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [3931/16]