Brian Stanley (Laois-Offaly, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I wish to raise the issue of the cross-Border health programme and its funding. Some of the people who go to the North for cataract surgery have been waiting for four or five years. It is a scandal in itself that we cannot do this surgery in this State. However, people, who are, typically, elderly, are going to the North to have this surgery. The cost of it is just in excess of €2,000. Until recently, the reimbursement was to the tune of €1,928. As the Tánaiste and I know, many of these people have taken credit union loans out for this. Without any warning, the HSE has now slashed this reimbursement to €863. I have a letter from a clinic in Belfast stating it has been notified of this by the HSE. The first question I have is whether this decision was taken on the orders of a Government Minister. There are two Ministers of State here from the Department of Health. This has now blocked off one of the few remaining avenues elderly people, and people who have bad cataract problems, had to actually get their eyes done. It has blocked this off. Can the Tánaiste come back to me on this matter?

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