Mark Wall (Kildare South, Labour)
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893. To ask the Minister for Health her plans to allow those with a medical card for long-term illness to receive free blood tests from their GP's; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [51741/25]

Jennifer Carroll MacNeill (Dún Laoghaire, Fine Gael)
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Under the Long-Term Illness (LTI) Scheme, for the 16 conditions covered by the Scheme, patients receive drugs, medicines, and medical and surgical appliances directly related to the treatment of their illness, free of charge. The cost of blood tests provided by a GP are not covered under the LTI Scheme, however it is important to remember that the LTI Scheme exists within a wider eligibility framework.

Under the General Medical Services (GMS) Scheme, medical card and GP visit card holders are entitled to GP care without charge. Medical card and GP visit card eligibility is primarily based on residency and means, while some people may be automatically eligible for either card, for example all children under 8 years of age and those aged 70 years or more are eligible for a GP visit card.

As per the terms of the current GMS contract, GPs are required to provide eligible patients with ''all proper and necessary treatment of a kind usually undertaken by a general practitioner and not requiring special skill or experience of a degree or kind which general practitioners cannot reasonably be expected to possess". Persons who hold a medical card or a GP visit card are not subject to any co-payments or other charges in respect of such services. There is no provision under the GMS GP contract for persons who hold a medical card or a GP visit card to be charged for clinically necessary blood tests that either assist in the diagnosis of illness or the treatment of a condition.

In addition, blood tests undertaken in the context of the GP Chronic Disease Management programme are covered by the fees paid to GPs by the HSE for this care.

Fees charged by GPs outside the terms of the GMS contracts (and other HSE GP held contracts) are a matter of private contract between the clinician and their patient.

Mark Wall (Kildare South, Labour)
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894. To ask the Minister for Health if she will consider a scheme to subsidise the cost of a prostate check for those in receipt of a State pension; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [51742/25]

Jennifer Carroll MacNeill (Dún Laoghaire, Fine Gael)
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In April 2025, the HSE and the National Cancer Control Programme (NCCP) published updated National Clinical Guidelines for prostate cancer. See: www.hse.ie/eng/services/list/5/cancer/profinfo/guidelines/prostate/

As per the guidelines, those who have any symptoms associated with a prostate health problem should contract their doctor to discuss those symptoms and their possible cause. Most people with these symptoms will not have prostate cancer. Those who have any of the more serious symptoms listed in the guidelines, which could be a sign of more serious illness, should raise the matter with their doctor without delay.

Persons who want to have their prostate checked should discuss this with their GP who can help the patient decide whether they should have their prostate checked and what this may involve.

PSA (prostate-specific antigen) testing as appropriate is available to GPs, and their patients, in Ireland. Testing for PSA has a role in assessment of men with clinical features suspicious for and/or suggestive of prostate cancer and in follow up of men with a diagnosis of prostate cancer.

The NCCP has advised that PSA testing is not recommended as a routine screening test for men with no clinical features suggestive of prostate cancer. While there is evidence to demonstrate that PSA testing of asymptomatic men is associated with increased detection of prostate cancer, debate continues about the benefits of increased detection as men with non-lethal cancers may, as a result, undergo radical treatments that compromise quality of life.

Europe’s Beating Cancer Plan, an updated European Council (EC) Recommendation on Cancer Screening, was published in December 2022. The Recommendation calls, amongst other things, for member states to explore the feasibility and effectiveness of a screening programme using PSA testing for men, in combination with MRI scanning as a follow-up test. The Programme for Government also commits to undertake a review of European screening and early detection programmes including for prostate and gastric cancers, to guide any further expansion of screening programmes.

In addition, my Department is coordinating Irish inputs into a four-year EU4Health-funded Joint Action project, titled EUCanScreen (2024-2028) which is aimed at coordinating research activities associated with the EC Recommendation across Europe. Irish-based researchers are involved in another EU4Health funded project, titled PRAISE-U, which is exploring the feasibility of risk-stratified screening for prostate cancer to help reduce morbidity and mortality caused by the disease, while avoiding overdiagnosis and unnecessary treatment.

Note that any changes to Ireland’s screening programmes, including the potential introduction of one for prostate cancer, will be facilitated through established evidence-driven protocols. The National Screening Advisory Committee (NSAC) is the independent expert group that considers proposed changes to Ireland’s screening programmes. NSAC assesses the evidence in a robust and transparent manner and against internationally accepted criteria, before making recommendations to myself as Minister.

While there is not a specific subsidy for the cost of a prostate check for specific groups of persons, a wider eligibility framework is in place which includes access to GP care without charges for medical card and GP visit card holders under the General Medical Services (GMS) scheme. Medical card and GP visit card eligibility is primarily based on residency and means with regard to the person's overall financial situation. Furthermore, some groups are automatically eligible for either card, including all children under 8 years of age and those aged 70 years or more who are eligible for a GP visit card.