Committees of the Oireachtas are back, but why can’t Irish politicians ask a good question?
Inside Politics podcast with Hugh Linehan
Jennifer Carroll MacNeill
Public Accounts Committee recalls CHI and HSE following fresh revelations about alleged patient referrals
Four board members had resigned over the past week, as CHI faced controversies over children’s scoliosis and hip surgeries
Children’s Health Ireland may be merged into HSE following recent controversies
‘Lack of confidence’ in governing body facing growing number of issues
Up to 6,800 more inpatient beds will be needed by 2040, says ESRI report
Ireland’s ageing and increasing population will mean greater capacity requirements in public hospitals over next 15 years
Four Children’s Health Ireland board members resign following months of controversy
Latest departures follow resignation of board chairman in April
Extensions to planning permissions for developments delayed by judicial reviews to be considered
Proposed measure is bid to activate developments such as large-scale apartment schemes which might otherwise go beyond their permission timeline
Hip surgeries: Parents call for independent review by international experts
Audit found almost 70 per cent of surgeries were not necessary
Hip surgery audit: How many more times will we hear ‘this can never happen again’?
Once more there are serious questions to be asked about clinical governance failures
Health staff found ‘ingratiating themselves financially’ will be referred to gardaí, HSE chief says
Bernard Gloster says he was not informed about report alleging consultant abused waiting system and delayed operations for sick children
Hip surgery audit: Almost 70% of operations in two children’s hospitals ‘unnecessary’
Report examined 147 surgeries performed at three hospitals between 2021 and 2023
Ireland U-turns to oppose EU pharma reforms after intense lobbying
Pharmaceutical companies stepped up blitz to push Government to back industry position, lobbying logs show
Ireland increases support to crisis-hit World Health Organisation
US withdrawal from global body leaves financial hole that must be plugged to prevent millions of deaths
Oireachtas health committee must hear from HSE on Portiuncula maternity services, says Opposition
‘Questions need to be asked now about what exactly is going on here,’ says Labour health spokesperson as 10 reviews ongoing
Free HRT widely available in pharmacies from June after agreement reached with Department of Health
Increased one-off grant offered to pharmacists after union talks with department
Death of baby at Portiuncula Hospital leads to new review
Ten reviews ongoing into maternity and baby care at Co Galway hospital
Staffing still an issue in key areas of HSE intended to benefit from seven day rostering
Health union Fórsa ‘concerned about employment gaps’ but Minister says she intends changes will come into effect by end of June
Mother of hip surgery child sent 30 emails to hospital and only received reply after solicitor got involved
Sinn Féin TD says parents going abroad as CHI, Government not giving them answers over hip surgery controversy
Mother ‘devastated’ to be told her young son’s hip operation was not necessary after all
Publication is imminent of independent audit report on surgery on children
Sinn Féin’s ‘Mr Angry’ meets immovable object that is Micheál
Martin has measure of Pearse Doherty and Co as Dáil standoff continues over delayed report into children’s hip surgery
Over 2,200 families of children who received hip surgeries over 15 year period written to by CHI and Cappagh Orthopaedic Hospital
Report of independent review into surgeries due shortly
Chronic inability to build anything big in the State is baked into the system
New Oireachtas committee needs continued failure in big projects if it is to function effectively for its members
Families whose children had hip surgeries sent letters in advance of report publication
Taoiseach says nobody ‘ducking, diving, dodging’ on paediatric hip operation audit
HSE chief executive Bernard Gloster to step down next March
Gloster tenders resignation and says he is ‘privileged to serve’ in role over coming months
State in bid to lure from US top researchers and academics disillusioned by Trump
Initiative is expected to target, among others, disillusioned academics who have lost financial backing due to Trump administration
National Maternity Hospital bill projected to reach 10 times original cost
Minister for Health expected to bring final business case for project to Cabinet after HSE examine submitted tenders
CHI unable to move in to national children’s hospital due to continued delays
Early access to site was supposed to be granted in April to allow operational commissioning to begin
Drug shortages adding to workloads at Irish pharmacies
Medicine shortages increasingly negatively affecting patient outcomes, Irish Pharmacy Union says
More than 11 nurses and midwives assaulted daily, union conference told
Nurses call for more security and CCTV amid rise in assaults and abuse
Consultants diverted public patients to private companies, earning €14.2 million in a year, Dáil told
Minister says detailed survey underway of all ‘insourcing’ across HSE
‘Wrong on so many levels’: are we paying too much for our drugs to be dispensed?
A reader wonders if pharmacies’ reluctance to dispense more than a month of a longer prescription at a time is down to maximising prescription fees
Government and HSE appear to hate doctors, new head of the IMO says
Dr Anne Dee calls out ‘underlying hostility’ towards doctors who are blamed for health service woes
HSE cancels tender for enhanced flu vaccine due to cost
Enhanced flu vaccines are designed to better protect those aged 65 or older from severe illness and hospitalisation
Plan to make pharmacies display dispensing fees will not make ‘a blind bit of difference’
Minister for Health seeking greater ‘visibility’ for private customers but Irish Pharmacy Union says move won’t change what they pay
Leave pharma out of any European Union tariff retaliation, Government told
Pharmaceutical industry asks Coalition to use EU influence to push ‘competitiveness’ agenda
Ireland’s free HRT scheme: Why has it been delayed?
Free hormone replacement therapy was due to be introduced on January 1st, now it’s June 1st - but issues remain
Minister tells hospitals group to enact spinal surgery report recommendations fully and quickly
Jennifer Carroll MacNeill to seek an update on progress by next week and to meet CHI board again on April 28th
Long Covid sick pay scheme for healthcare staff to be wound down
Minister for Health says 166 healthcare workers currently in receipt of special scheme
Oliver Callan’s mood darkens: ‘In this incredibly rich country of ours we get this’
Radio: RTÉ host hears about waiting-list misery as Kieran Cuddihy exchanges tart words with Minister for Health
Deal or no deal? Independent TD claims deal with Government on health projects
Dublin Bay North TD Barry Heneghan issues statement on welcoming a €240 million investment in the HSE capital plan on projects in his constituency
More departures from Children’s Health Ireland expected after Hiqa report finds use of springs in surgery ‘wrong’
CHI chief Lucy Nugent seeks to assure families of ‘commitment to ensuring that something like this never happens again in our organisation’
Watchdog report to criticise surgeon over use of unauthorised springs in spinal operations
Minister to brief Cabinet on findings into controversy over children’s operations at Temple Street hospital
Access to new cancer drugs key focus of new patient advocacy group
United Cancer Advocates Network Ireland brings together people currently campaigning for specific cancers to address common issues
More than 200 children awaiting spinal surgery as Minister says ‘trajectory’ improving
Long waiting lists have resulted in unacceptable delays for children with a deteriorating condition
Majority of Irish homeowners to see property tax increases this year
Paschal Donohoe expected to brief colleagues on proposed changes to LPT charging mechanism to limit the impact of rising property values on householders
Health service plans to save €630m: More weekend work, ‘virtual wards’, cutting medical supply and travel costs
Health workforce should be maximised by rostering personnel across five in any seven days a week, Cabinet also to be told
Who got what in the deal between unions and HSE that averted Monday’s strike?
Analysis: Patients will be the real winners says HSE chief as threat to service disruption this week is lifted
Industrial action by more than 80,000 healthcare workers on Monday called off
Decision follows 22 hours of engagement at Workplace Relations Commission
In an unhinged world, Ciara Kelly and Shane Coleman are sane company. Even Ivan Yates seems sensible
Radio: Shane Coleman and Ciara Kelly remain reassuringly sensible presenters, while Ivan Yates plays puckish guest host
Surgeons carried out 513 scoliosis procedures last year but 233 children still on waiting list
‘We are nowhere near where we would want to be’ with waiting times, Minister for Health says
Complaint sent to regulator over An Bord Pleanála’s scrutiny of wind farm cases
Community & Environmental Protection Alliance claims HSE is precluded from reviewing developments that could affect public health
Fewer St Patrick’s Day fairytales in New York for today’s ‘undocumented’ Irish
A new generation of emigrants never arrived to replenish the ranks who came in droves in the 1980s, but the connection is still precious
Rising demand for HRT is ‘making it harder for pharmacists to ensure consistent supply’
There are shortages of four hormone replacement therapy patches
Heart attack survivor speaks of her ‘traumatic’ brush with death at 56
One in four women in Ireland dies from heart disease or stroke despite perception that heart failure is a men’s health issue
Charlie Haughey was framed and then he disappeared. But soon the mystery was solved
Micheál Martin was thrilled although for a while it looked like there’d been a drastic rewriting of history
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