Mr Patsy McGlone (Mid Ulster): To ask the Minister of Health to detail the discussions he has had with his counterpart in the Irish government in relation to collaborating on a new waiting list initiative to replace the Cross-Border Healthcare Directive.
Minister of Health: I am open to collaboration with the Minister for Health in the Irish Government on areas such as waiting list initiatives amongst many others. However, under the 2024/25 Budget recently approved by the Executive, precisely zero additional funding has been provided for tackling our waiting lists.
Following the success of the Republic of Ireland Reimbursement Scheme (RoIRS) which was based on the Cross-Border Healthcare Directive and introduced in June 2021, a bid for funding for a replacement scheme was submitted to the Department of Finance during this year’s budget setting process. It was intended that a new reimbursement scheme could have treated over 4,000 patients this financial year.
Unfortunately, instead of now being able to invest in such waiting list initiatives, the Department’s budget has been cut by over 2%. This is a deeply regrettable and concerning position.
ENDS
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