Carol Nolan (Offaly, Independent)
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876. To ask the Minister for Health if she will support the calls of an organisation (details supplied) for the introduction of viable fees for public eyecare schemes (medical card and PRSI-estimated cost of €20m annually and the roll out of an over 8s national eyecare programme estimated cost €1.2m annually; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [51505/25]

Jennifer Carroll MacNeill (Dún Laoghaire, Fine Gael)
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I acknowledge the important work that optometrists perform in ensuring the appropriate eye health care of the citizens of Ireland.

The Health Service Executive (HSE) provides optical services free of charge to pre-school 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 service for treatment. In such circumstances, these services will continue to be provided until the child has reached the age of 16.

The Community Ophthalmic Services Scheme (COSS) is a national fee-per-item scheme which was introduced in 1979. Under the COSS, medical card holders aged over 16 years can be seen by ophthalmologists, community ophthalmic physicians, optometrists or dispensing opticians.

The HSE Primary Care Eye Services Review Group Report, published in 2017, 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, published in 2017, developed a model of care detailing how the realignment of eye services from an acute hospital setting to the community would be undertaken.

The HSE is currently in the process of implementing multidisciplinary Integrated Eye Care Teams. These teams facilitate assessment, diagnoses, management and treatment and in some cases pre-op/post-op care enabling most patients to be seen in their own locality. Where necessary, patients can be referred onwards to acute Ophthalmology services to receive the necessary specialist input.

Transferring the routine care of children aged 8+ years to the care of local private optometrists remains a priority. Work is also ongoing to explore the best way to expand the scope of practice of optometrists so that they can do more in their daily practice. Any relevant budget changes will be made in the context of the commitments in the Programme for Government and the budget available to progress healthcare priorities.