Mr. Muiris O'Connor:

I will take most of the questions, while Mr. Goodman will speak about the cross-border health care treatment directive and the treatment abroad scheme.

Deputy Louise O'Reilly asked for reassurance on the comprehensiveness of our preparations. I can reassure the committee that the Department is fully engaged and has been since before the Brexit referendum in the United Kingdom. It is a very comprehensive engagement with the challenges. All units are working with it and liaising with the agencies. There is a sub-committee of the management board on Brexit which co-ordinates our involvement at departmental level and connects us to the broader interdepartmental preparations for Brexit.

We have a national director of the HSE on our board and are engaging the HSE at all levels, particularly the North-South unit. The Department has been working closely with the HSE and other agencies to conduct an analysis of the implications of Brexit in the area of health. The Department also took part in an in-house seminar organised by the HSE for its organisation on the implications of Brexit. The North-South unit of the HSE has provided valuable expertise and assistance in examining the implications of Brexit for North-South co-operation and citizens in the area of health.

The Department and the HSE will continue to work closely together with the aim of ensuring minimum disruption in the area of health and that essential services will be maintained on a cross-Border, all-Ireland and Ireland-UK basis.

With some very senior members of the HSE, I recently attended an EU-exit health care workforce round table discussion with counterparts from Britain and Northern Ireland. We are very concerned about the concern in Border areas about the continuity of services. We were asked about the extent to which Altnagelvin Hospital is Brexit-proofed. It operates a joint service level agreement on radiotherapy services between the Western Health and Social Care Trust in Northern Ireland and the HSE. There is good will on both sides and a determination to continue and deepen co-operation.