Mary Butler (Waterford, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Senator for raising this important issue. I apologise on behalf of the Minister for Health, Deputy Stephen Donnelly, who is in a Cabinet meeting.

I understand Department officials recently discussed this issue with the Senator and colleagues at the Seanad Special Committee on the Withdrawal of the United Kingdom from the European Union. As a result of Brexit, the EU cross-border directive ceased to apply in Northern Ireland. To mitigate this loss, this Government made the important decision to introduce the Northern Ireland planned healthcare scheme which has been in effective operation since 1 January of this year. Under this scheme persons resident in the State can access and be reimbursed for private healthcare in Northern Ireland by the HSE, provided such healthcare is publicly available within Ireland. Therefore, despite the various consequences and challenges which have arisen as a result of Brexit, this scheme continues to ensure that patients have access to healthcare in Northern Ireland.

The Northern Ireland planned healthcare scheme is currently operating on an interim administrative basis pending the drafting of a general scheme to place it on a statutory footing. In that regard, Department officials have undertaken a comprehensive analysis to inform the design of the statutory scheme, including detailed consideration of the operation of the current administrative scheme, stakeholder feedback and, helpfully, the recommendations of the Seanad Brexit committee's interim report and feedback from Senators at the most recent committee meeting with officials.

Furthermore, officials have been engaged with our Northern Ireland counterparts, who have introduced an administrative Republic of Ireland reimbursement scheme to enable patients to access care in this State. We are examining the parameters of that scheme. This extensive analysis is continuing at pace and while it will continue into 2022, I assure the Senator that this remains a priority and, importantly, the administrative scheme, which is operating successfully, will remain until a statutory scheme is in place.

I am confident this assurance will provide certainty for patients that they will continue to access care under the administrative scheme beyond the end of this year. Further information regarding how to access the Northern Ireland planned healthcare scheme and be reimbursed for private healthcare in Northern Ireland is on the HSE website.

It would be helpful to provide the latest data from the HSE. Those data indicate that almost 4,000 reimbursements have been made so far this year for persons who have continued to access healthcare in Northern Ireland under either the cross-border directive transitional arrangements or the new Northern Ireland planned healthcare scheme. This equates to a reimbursement cost in excess of €7 million. These schemes are primarily servicing a demand for private healthcare in Northern Ireland across the primary specialties of orthopaedics, ophthalmology, ear, nose and throat, and gynaecology. As with cataract, hip and knee procedures, for which the Senator provided figures, these are the areas where we are most challenged in relation to waiting lists. Many people who travel, especially for a cataract operation, can return home on the same day. That is important.

I reiterate what the Minister said. The administrative scheme, which is operating successfully, will remain until a statutory scheme is in place.