Róisín Shortall (Dublin North West, Social Democrats)
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144. To ask the Minister for Health further to Parliamentary Question Nos. 172 and 173 of 17 May 2018, if funds will be made available to deliver HCV care in primary care settings; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [25893/18]

Simon Harris (Wicklow, Fine Gael)
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On foot of a 2014 report by an expert National Group, entitled Public Health Plan for the Pharmaceutical Treatment of Hepatitis C, the Government decided that the HSE should establish a National Treatment Programme. This involved a multi-annual plan for the pharmaceutical treatment of Hepatitis C, based on clinical prioritisation. Patients with the highest risk were prioritised and a phased treatment process delivered over a number of years to ensure that resources were managed efficiently and effectively. An annual sum of €30m has been provided in each year since 2015 to facilitate this treatment programme. At the request of my predecessor as Minister for Health, the HSE established a governance and management structure to oversee the implementation of the multi-annual pharmaceutical treatment plan. This was to ensure that clinical needs were addressed and that there was appropriate national direction and co-ordination such that treatment plans were cost-effective and matched to the level of funding available.

The Government remains committed to the objectives of the Public Health Plan for the Pharmaceutical Treatment of Hepatitis C and to the ultimate eradication of hepatitis C in the Irish population. In the light of experience with the programme to date and its success in treating more than 2,000 patients, the HSE is, as the Deputy will be aware, working to develop proposals for integrated care models for hepatitis C treatment, in community and acute settings, and I will consider these, including any resourcing aspects, when I receive them.