Mr. Muiris O'Connor:

Deputy Billy Kelleher sought an assurance that North-South co-operation was a factor. It has been well documented that North-South collaboration in the health arena is real and that real benefits accrue to citizens. There are many examples which illustrate the level of co-operation between the North and the South on health issues. As the committee is well aware, North-South co-operation on health matters takes place through the North-South Ministerial Council, as well as through joint departmental projects. There has been significant cross-Border health and social care activity in the past decade or more. Matters being considered and progressed in the North-South Ministerial Council since its commencement include health promotion campaigns on such issues as alcohol, tobacco, obesity, cancer services, research, suicide prevention and food safety. We will include the specific issue of vaccines in our analysis. The chief medical officer's team is looking at the general implications of Brexit. That is one we will bottom out in considering the implications.

Significant projects have been undertaken in recent years and they have made a difference to the lives of patients. Deputy O'Reilly referred to the Altnagelvin Area Hospital radiotherapy unit that was completed last year. Deputy O'Reilly adverted to how it provided access to radiotherapy services for people in the north west of the island, including people in this jurisdiction. Other important examples of cross-Border collaboration include the primary percutaneous coronary intervention services - also known as stenting - in Altnagelvin. The arrangement allows Donegal patients to have access to these services on a 24-7 basis. In July 2016, the then Northern Ireland Minister of Health, Ms O'Neill, and the Minister for Health, Deputy Harris, opened the hybrid cardiac catheterisation laboratory at Our Lady's Children's Hospital, Crumlin. The laboratory provides emergency surgery to babies born with congenital heart disease in Northern Ireland in addition to providing services for patients in the South. As Deputy Kelleher pointed out, these are good examples of how North-South collaboration can generate the critical mass of patients to make services of a specialist nature feasible at local level.