Sorca Clarke (Longford-Westmeath, Sinn Fein)
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6. To ask the Taoiseach and Minister for Defence the measures that his Department is taking to implement parity of healthcare between officers and enlisted personnel in the Defence Forces. [58288/22]

Sorca Clarke (Longford-Westmeath, Sinn Fein)
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I was somewhat taken aback when this issue parity of healthcare was raised with me again. I had understood that there was a commitment given about a year and a half ago that this issue would be resolved, hence the reason I am perplexed that it is still ongoing. Can the Minister confirm what outstanding issues there are, if any, what action he intends to take to address those outstanding issues and the timeline for same?

Simon Coveney (Cork South Central, Fine Gael)
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In fairness, I am surprised that the Deputy is perplexed that these issues have not been resolved because this is a commitment in the programme for Government to address this issue but this is through the lifetime of the Government. I hope to make a great deal of progress in the next 12 months but this is not an easy thing to address and there is quite a cost to it. I believe it will cost us, approximately €10 million a year. This is, incidentally, money well spent in addressing this issue and fully responding to the commitments which have been made in the programme for Government.

As the Deputy may be aware, the programme for Government contains a commitment to “ensure that all enlisted members of the Defence Forces have the same access to health care as officers currently do”. This commitment was endorsed by the Commission on the Future of the Defence Forces and is also one of its recommendations and we will deliver it.

Currently, a wide range of medical services is provided to members of the Permanent Defence Force at State expense.

These include an annual medical examination, sick parades, attendance at GP surgery outside of sick parade and out-of-hours GP services, prescription services, laboratory services, physiotherapy, chiropody, radiology, mental health services provided by a psychiatrist and two psychologists, inpatient and outpatient public hospital charges and routine dental treatment. In addition, commissioned officers and members of the Army nursing service can avail of private consultant appointments and diagnostic tests as well as private or semi-private hospital treatment, depending on rank.

In the case of Defence Forces personnel assigned to longer term overseas administrative posts such as the European Union Military Staff and the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe, these personnel and any accompanying dependents are provided with global comprehensive medical insurance for which a formal arrangement is in place with a health insurance provider. This involves the organisation paying the difference between a basic minimum payment and the cost of a global plan. The provision of this range of benefits is unique in the public and private sectors and these benefits are exempt from benefit-in-kind taxation.

Catherine Connolly (Galway West, Independent)
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We will come back. We are way-----

Simon Coveney (Cork South Central, Fine Gael)
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If I could finish, I just have a couple of lines. A working group on medical care was established in 2021 to bring forward proposals and identify an approach to implementing the programme for Government commitment, including analysing the range and cost of treatments currently provided to officers and how best to provide this access to enlisted personnel.

Catherine Connolly (Galway West, Independent)
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I will do my best on other questions.

Simon Coveney (Cork South Central, Fine Gael)
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I hear you.

Catherine Connolly (Galway West, Independent)
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Just generally, we are on Other Questions and I want to ensure everybody gets in. Every question is important to the Member asking it.

Sorca Clarke (Longford-Westmeath, Sinn Fein)
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Not to be pointing at the calendar, but the Government has been in place for over half the length of its potential term and members of the Defence Forces are hearing this is something the Government might get around to at some point in the near future. Will the Minister come back to the House or the committee with an updated list of what the proposals were, what action was taken in relation to each of them and which are outstanding?

I suspect what is happening here is a reflection of the conversation we had earlier on doctors' availability and staffing level. In this vacuum of misinformation, other data is being put out there that is not factual. If the Minister could do that, it would be immensely beneficial for this House, the committee and members of the Defence Forces.

Simon Coveney (Cork South Central, Fine Gael)
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If there is misinformation, I am not responsible for it in this instance. We have a working group looking at this. The group reported earlier this year and the matter is being progressed as one of the early actions in the high-level action plan of the report of the commission of the Defence Forces. It is in black and white and was part of the negotiation in terms of Estimates for next year because we want to progress it next year.

Let me be clear: we made a commitment in the programme for Government to do this. There is a significant cost to it but we will progress it and get it down. There is no misinformation there. I am putting it on the record. This is something the Government is committed to doing and we will look to progress it next year. It is not straightforward to provide these services overnight.

It is important to congratulate PDFORRA for the work it has been doing on cross-Border healthcare for many of its members in the absence of progress on this issue in the past. A member of the Defence Forces, whether an officer or in the ranks, should get the same access to medical treatment. For those who serve in uniform, that should be a common health support the State provides and it is part of the deal when people sign up.

Sorca Clarke (Longford-Westmeath, Sinn Fein)
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The Minister is correct to name PDFORRA as one of the driving forces of cross-Border healthcare but we need to see an end date at which members do not need to cross the Border to get the healthcare they need and deserve in a timely fashion and can go back to full recovery where possible.

I do not believe I used the word "misinformation". If I did, it was not my intention. I meant a lack of clarity and a vacuum. It is a specific timeline and specific challenges and events in this area need to be addressed. That is where clarity is lacking.

Simon Coveney (Cork South Central, Fine Gael)
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It is a commitment as an early action, which means we are looking to get on with it next year. This is not a simple thing to do. It costs money. We have to account for that, put it in Estimates and work with the representative bodies in the Defence Forces to make sure we are progressing it in a way that works. That work is under way. We have a working group that is focusing on this. It has already produced its first report. As a result of that report, we have the delivery of this commitment as part of the early actions which means they are prioritised to move forward next year.