Jerry Buttimer (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Chairman for giving me this opportunity to speak and for the work he has been doing along with his colleagues on this committee. I would like to begin by referring to something that does not relate to Brexit. I congratulate and pay tribute to Mr. Doran regarding his tenure as general secretary of the INMO and for his stewardship of that organisation over the years. I had the privilege of getting to know him during my term as Chairman of the Joint Committee on Health and Children. Even though we come from different hurling counties - Cork and Kilkenny - I have to say he has always acted with professionalism and courtesy as an official representing his members and as a person. On a personal level and on behalf of everyone on this side of the Oireachtas, I thank Mr. Doran and his family and wish him well. At a time when people were under severe pressure, Mr. Doran never lost sight of his task and continued to do his job in a personal and convivial manner. I thank him for that.

I was interested in what Mr. Doran had to say. This is an important session because there has been very little discussion on these issues. It is important that there is a focus on health today because Brexit will have a profound impact in this area. Mr. Doran referred to the aggressive manner in which the UK is coming in and taking some of our qualified nurses and other health care professionals. The issue of access to treatment arises in this context. We must be absolutely resolute that there can be no physical return to a hard Border in the area of health care. We must continue to support those who need to access treatment in hospitals on this island, including Altnagelvin Area Hospital and Our Lady's Children's Hospital in Crumlin, and those who need to go elsewhere under the treatment abroad scheme or the cross-border health care directive. The figures show that a staggering number of people cross the Border or the Irish Sea for health care purposes. I ask Mr. Doran to comment on whether it is possible, in the interests of the quality of that interaction, for us to retain some of best personnel here rather than having to export them abroad. I would like to hear his views on the role of remuneration in ensuring we can continue to retain staff in our health system in a post-Brexit scenario. How does Mr. Doran envisage that the cross-border health care directive and the treatment abroad scheme will have an impact from a patient perspective? He raised an issue with regard to the quality of registration. How can we ensure there is a value system that is upheld in the same way that currently happens with the EU?

It is also important to look at the impact of Brexit from a European point of view. The Chairman and others have argued strongly in favour of the European Medicines Agency moving from the UK to Dublin. I was hoping it would go to Cork. The Chairman has been making the case for Dublin. I know the Minister of State, Deputy Corcoran Kennedy, recently attended a meeting on this matter in Brussels. It is important for us to lend our support in any way we can to the relocation of the European Medicines Agency in Ireland. How does Mr. Doran envisage that EU regulations and directives on medical devices, the quality of drugs and the monitoring of standards will have an impact? What can we do in this regard by using our negotiating power within the EU? I was struck by Mr. Doran's remarks about the national maternity strategy and the need not to be impeded by bureaucracy. I would be interested to hear his view on my fear that in a post-Brexit scenario, we will put on hold many things that are of importance for the evolution of a modern professional health care system.

My final question relates to the possible strategies that have been proposed by the INMO. How does Mr. Doran envisage that the regulatory bodies involved in the regulation of practice will move from an all-Ireland perspective? There is no power structure in Stormont at the moment. Voting is under way. I wish all the candidates well in today's elections in the North. There is no assembly and no Executive. How can the various organisations that are working with the Good Friday Agreement, including the Oireachtas and the assembly, ensure there will continue to be an all-island approach regardless of what happens?