Gerald Nash (Louth, Labour)
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671. To ask the Minister for Health if the HSE has any plans to introduce an over eight’s voucher scheme for optometry assessment and treatment; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [29394/23]

Patrick Costello (Dublin South Central, Green Party)
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716. To ask the Minister for Health if he will review the over-eights eye-care scheme across the nine HSE CHOs; whether he believes a dedicated national programme is required in relation to this; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [29678/23]

Paul Murphy (Dublin South West, RISE)
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730. To ask the Minister for Health if he is aware of a call by an organisation (details supplied) for an end to a significant geographical inequality in children’s eye-care and for a national public eye-care programme for children over eight years; the steps his Department is taking to tackle this inequality; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [29834/23]

Stephen Donnelly (Wicklow, Fianna Fail)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 640, 671, 716 and 730 together.

Sight testing, eye examinations and optical appliances are provided to medical card holders by ophthalmologists, optometrists and dispensing opticians through the Community Ophthalmic Services Schemes (COSS). Patients may access these services following a referral by a healthcare professional such as their general practitioner.

All children, including those not covered by a medical card, receive a vision screen while in national school from a Public Health Nurse. The Health Service Executive (HSE) provides optical services free of charge to preschool children and national school children referred from child health service and school health service examinations who are discovered to have sight problems. These children are referred to the appropriate consultant for treatment. In such circumstances, these services will continue to be provided until the child has reached the age of 16.

The HSE Primary Care Eye Services Review Group Report, published in June 2017, highlighted the limitations of the current model of service delivery and set out the way forward for a significant amount of eye services to be delivered in a primary care setting. The Report estimated that 60% of existing outpatient activity could be moved to primary care thus enabling hospital services to focus on patients who require more specialist diagnostics or treatments.

The National Clinical Programme for Ophthalmology has developed a model of care which details how the realignment of eye services from the acute hospitals to the community will be undertaken. Included in current priorities is transferring the care of children aged 8+ years to the care of local private optometrists.

A project team with a wide-ranging membership was established in late 2019 / early 2020 to progress this initiative. The work of the team was paused due to the requirement to focus resources on the COVID 19 pandemic. However, the project team has been reconvened and is progressing matters in relation to this initiative.

As this also involves a service matter, I have asked the HSE to respond to the Deputy directly in regards to progress made, as soon as possible.