Mary Butler (Waterford, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

Regarding utilisation of the EU cross-border directive, I understand the Senator asked officials at a recent meeting of the Seanad Special Committee on the Withdrawal of the UK from the EU which EU member state patients had accessed treatment in under that scheme. HSE data indicate that the top three EU member states where treatment was accessed so far this year under the directive are Spain, Poland and Germany.

I hope the Senator has found this update helpful and assure Senators that the placing of the Northern Ireland planned healthcare scheme on a statutory footing remains a priority. Importantly, the administrative scheme will remain until a statutory scheme is in place.