Simon Harris (Wicklow, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I am the Minister for Health for people in all parts of this country so I am very sympathetic to the point the Deputy is making on behalf of his constituents. However, I wanted to highlight the challenges and difficulties we face in this regard. These are not new challenges or difficulties and they do not come as any great surprise to Deputy Ó Caoláin as an experienced Deputy in this House because they were highlighted, considered and debated in this House in 2009. Seven years later, he is still highlighting and debating them with me this evening. These issues were considered in great detail by the Government of the day and the Attorney General in 2009 and I am sure they were subjected to a significant debate in this House with different views on different sides.

The issues are not straightforward and simple. If they were, this anomaly, as the Deputy calls it, would never arisen in the first place. I will engage with the Minister for Health in Northern Ireland, Michelle O'Neill, MLA, on this issue as one of a number of issues, some of which have been identified by her and others by me, that we would like to discuss as part of how we can support each other's health systems and support citizens on the island of Ireland in terms of ensuring that they can get the best outcome from the health service. When I meet the Minister in Dublin in July, I will certainly raise this issue with her, as, I am sure, Deputy Ó Caoláin will as a colleague.

I am more than happy for discussions to take place but I am duty bound to highlight the challenges in terms of the national treatment purchase fund and changes that have occurred in recent years such as the development of HIQA, which was not an issue in previous years, and the fact that we must ensure proper quality and safety for patients. HIQA does not have jurisdiction in Northern Ireland. I know this would be a concern for the Deputy who has been a great advocate of patient safety in this House. We need to get this right. I will undertake to engage with the Minister on the issue and to keep in contact with the Deputy. I am not unsympathetic to the point he makes but I do not have a ready-made solution for it this evening. However, I will certainly engage with my counterpart in Northern Ireland and keep in touch with the Deputy.

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