Pádraig Rice (Cork South-Central, Social Democrats)
Link to this: Individually | In context

866. To ask the Minister for Health to respond to matters raised in correspondence (details supplied); to outline in detail the procedures undertaken by her Department for medical evacuations from Gaza; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [54953/25]

Jennifer Carroll MacNeill (Dún Laoghaire, Fine Gael)
Link to this: Individually | In context

I thank the Deputy for his question in relation to medical evacuations from Gaza to Ireland.

I can advise that Ireland continues a strong tradition of providing humanitarian assistance including through the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade, Irish Aid humanitarian and development assistance programme, and the HSE Global Health Programme.

In September 2024, a Government decision was made that Ireland would evacuate up to 30 paediatric patients from Gaza (under 17 years of age) and their carers out of Egypt, in response to the World Health Organisation's (WHO) request to activate the EU Civil Protection Mechanism (UCPM) to assist in addressing the Gaza healthcare needs through medical evacuation.

On 15 July 2025, the Government amended the scope of the Gaza Medevac Initiative to allow for family members of paediatric patients that are parents, minor siblings or adult dependent siblings of the patient, on grant of visas, permission to enter the State. This decision not only applies to future medical evacuation operations but also to the families already here under the Medevac Initiative who have qualifying family members still in Gaza.

To date, 12 paediatric patients, their carers and a further 21 family members have been medically evacuated out of Egypt to Ireland in two medevac operations in December 2024 and May 2025.

My Department is working with all relevant Government Departments, agencies and international bodies towards a medical evacuation out of Gaza via Jordan in the near future. This is subject to all permissions and logistics being put in place. Such a medical evacuation is highly complex and many determining factors are subject to challenging and shifting external circumstances.

The Ministry of Health in Gaza has the primary role of selecting patients for medical evacuation overseas. In consultation with WHO and other partners, the Ministry for Health in Gaza developed a strict set of criteria for selecting patients to be evacuated.

In addition to the process for patient selection for the WHO-approved lists, each country participating in the UCPM with medical evacuation has its own process for patient selection from the WHO-approved lists. Only paediatric patients are considered for the Irish Gaza Medevac Initiative, as is the case with many other European countries carrying out medical evacuations. Paediatric patients are selected by the Health Service Executive (HSE) and Children’s Health Ireland (CHI) from the WHO medevac approved list, strictly subject to treatment capacity in the HSE and CHI.

Once CHI has confirmed that the selection criteria is met, and offers of medical evacuation are accepted by the patients and their parents or carer, relevant authorities work to secure all required documentation to allow the patient and their family members to be evacuated and plans are drawn up to carry out the complex medical evacuation in cooperation with key organisations on the ground and in Ireland.

While we are fully aware of the increasing numbers of patients from Gaza requiring medical evacuation, it is unfortunately not possible for my Department to consider direct requests or representations for inclusion of particular patients in future medevac operations.

It is important for the integrity of the Gaza Medevac initiative that patient selection be made by the HSE and CHI in line with the agreed process.