Colm Burke (Cork North Central, Fine Gael)
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1330. To ask the Minister for Health to extend the cycle of care for children aged under eight years with an asthma diagnosis, to all people under the age of 18 years, with or without a GP card; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [48594/23]

Stephen Donnelly (Wicklow, Fianna Fail)
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Under the provisions of the Health Act 1970 (as amended), eligibility for health services in Ireland is based primarily on residency and means. The Act provides that persons who are unable, without undue hardship, to arrange GP services for themselves and their family can qualify for a medical card or GP visit card. Certain groups, including all those under 8 years of age and those over 70 years of age, are automatically entitled to a GP visit card.

GP care without charges for all children under 6 years of age was introduced from July 2015. In addition to the provision of GP services, the Under 6s Contract also provided for periodic wellness assessments at ages 2 and 5 and for the Asthma Cycle of Care programme.

The Asthma Cycle of Care programme required GP contract holders to maintain a register of all child patients aged between 2 and 5 years with a confirmed diagnosis of asthma, and to provide services for those patients in accordance with the agreed cycle of care set out within the contract.

As part of the 2023 GP Agreement, the annual review provided for under the Asthma Cycle of Care will continue to be provided until the registered child patient has reached 8 years of age.

Colm Burke (Cork North Central, Fine Gael)
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1331. To ask the Minister for Health if he will expand access to the chronic disease management programme to all adults aged 18 years or over, with or without a GP visit card; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [48595/23]

Stephen Donnelly (Wicklow, Fianna Fail)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 1331 and 1356 together.

Under the provisions of the Health Act 1970 (as amended), eligibility for health services in Ireland is based primarily on residency and means. The Act provides that persons who are unable, without undue hardship, to arrange GP services for themselves and their family can qualify for a medical card or GP visit card. Certain groups, including all those under 8 years of age and those over 70 years of age, are automatically entitled to a GP visit card.

Under the GMS scheme, the HSE contracts GPs to provide medical services without charge to medical card and GP visit card holders. The General Practitioner (GP) Chronic Disease Management (CDM) Programme commenced in 2020 and has been rolled out on a phased basis to adult GMS (Medical Card and GP Visit Card) patients over a 4-year period. The specified chronic conditions included in the Programme are Type 2 Diabetes; Asthma; Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD) and Cardiovascular Disease (including Heart Failure, Ischaemic Heart Disease, Cerebrovascular Disease (Stroke/Transient Ischemic Attack (TIA), Atrial Fibrillation).

The CDM programme is an entirely new healthcare service in Ireland that has brought the care for chronic disease further into the community and it aims to reduce hospital attendance by patients with one or more of these specified conditions.

People who do not hold a medical card or a GP visit card access their GP service on a private basis. As such, clinical care decisions and the fees charged for services to private patients are a matter of private contract between the patient and their GP.

Colm Burke (Cork North Central, Fine Gael)
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1332. To ask the Minister for Health if he will ringfence dedicated funding for the purposes of recruiting additional respiratory physiologists; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [48596/23]

Stephen Donnelly (Wicklow, Fianna Fail)
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As this is a service matter, I have asked the Health Service Executive to respond to the Deputy directly, as soon as possible.