Fergus O'Dowd (Louth, Fine Gael)
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250. To ask the Minister for Health if the spark initiative (details supplied) will be considered for long-term funding and/or expansion across all of CHO8, considering the impact and effectiveness the programme has had to date and with consideration of the award it has won for innovation in the CHO8 awards. [24482/24]

Colm Burke (Cork North Central, Fine Gael)
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The Department of Health and HSE are co-ordinating the provision of healthcare services for more than 107,000 Ukrainian refugees (Beneficiaries of temporary Protection) together with a further 35,000 International Protection applicants who have arrived in Ireland since 2022.

€50 million has been made available for the provision of healthcare services for refugees and migrants in €2024. This funding is used to deliver a suite of healthcare services that are responsive to areas of higher demand and local health service factors.

The HSE has developed a Refugee Health Model to provide a flexible healthcare response to address the health needs of refugees who are living in temporary accommodation, including the new Designated Arrival Centres for Ukrainian refugees. Refugees can access a range of health care services from the HSE, including Covid-19 vaccinations, GPs, community care and hospital or emergency care. This is in addition to services for children’s health, mental health, disabilities, maternity care, and older people.

The roll-out of specific measures, including mental health services and initiatives, across Community Healthcare Organisations is a service matter for the Health Service Executive. As such, I have requested that the HSE respond directly to Deputy O'Dowd.