4149. Deputy Ruairí Ó Murchú asked the Minister for Health the progress of the National Hearing Care Plan; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [59434/26]

The National Hearing Care Plan Working Group is jointly chaired by the Department of Health and the Health Service Executive (HSE). Membership of the Working Group is drawn from relevant stakeholders, including clinicians, the Irish Society of Hearing Aid Audiologists (ISHAA), the Irish Academy of Audiology (IAA), and the Department of Social Protection.

The Working Group has been tasked with developing recommendations for a holistic model of hearing care in Ireland. To support this, a structured workstream has been developed, focused on progressing priority issues. Significant progress has been made to date.

The scope of the work being considered by the Group has expanded beyond initial expectations, which has impacted on the timeline of the delivery of the report. The Group saw this as an opportunity to deliver a more comprehensive plan that considers all aspects of audiology care, thus ensuring the greatest benefit to patients.

A public consultation process recently concluded. This is an important milestone in progressing the development of the Plan. The views and opinions gathered through this process will directly inform the development and finalisation of the National Hearing Care Plan. The draft Plan produced by the Group will be presented to the Minister in Q3 for approval prior to publishing.