Mr. Muiris O'Connor:

I thank Senator Wall for his questions. I can take some of them. First, I assure the Senator that in the event of the legislative target of quarter 1 or quarter 2 of 2022 not being met, we commit absolutely to maintaining the administrative scheme until it is replaced by a statutory-based scheme. Ms Donohoe can come back in on the waiting times in respect of PDFORRA and Ms Morgan might then talk about the interaction with colleagues in Northern Ireland.

Many of the procedures that people avail of in private health facilities through the Northern Ireland scheme are in the areas of cataracts and ophthalmology. Those are procedures where we have substantially improved delivery here. Waiting times have come down, with the numbers waiting for cataract operations having halved in the last five years. Waiting lists in ophthalmology are going in the right direction now. A good deal of waiting is involved and there seem to be issues with the ophthalmology outpatient waiting list, where we are not getting similar improvements. Some of the procedures the private health providers target are procedures on which we are improving. The scheme still serves as an important safety valve but this is an area in which we want to build capacity and address these needs in our own health system.

Ms Donohoe will discuss waiting times and whether waiting times are associated with the scheme, as well as access for the families of PDFORRA members. Ms Morgan might then address interaction with the authorities in Northern Ireland and the scheme there.