Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 28 November 2023
549. Deputy John Brady asked the Minister for Health if there are personnel in his Department who could be classified as having a significant or exclusive focus of their role dedicated to dealing with integration; if so, to detail the title of the post; the grade level of that post; the core functions of that role; to provide details of the exact nature of their responsibilities; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [51827/23]
View answerThe Department of Health is providing access to healthcare services for Ukrainian refugees under the temporary protection directive, as part of the cross-Government humanitarian response to Ukraine. To-date, the Department has issued over 97,000 Individual Health Identifiers to Ukrainian refugees and issued over 76,000 medical cards.
In addition, access to healthcare services is provided for c 25,000 applicants for international protection, in conjunction with the International Protection Accommodation Services.
The provision of healthcare services for refugees is part of a cross-government strategy to provide access to public services and to support community integration and social cohesion, that together will enable refugees and migrants to have the highest attainable standard of health.
The Department has established a Refugee Coordination Group to coordinate access to healthcare services for refugees in conjunction with the HSE. This group is made up of two staff members; one Higher Executive Officer and one Administrative Officer. The group actively liaises with other Government departments to ensure a whole of Government response. It engages with policy units in the Dept to support the Ukraine response, addressing issues such as eligibility for medical cards, professional regulation and EU coordination and support.
The group oversees the allocation of €50m in non-core funding to the HSE to meet the health needs of Ukrainian and other refugees in 2023. This funding supports the implementation of HSE primary care service delivery model (Migrant Health Model) to address unmet health needs of Ukrainian and other refugees. The model provides for a range of services including health needs assessments, migrant health teams, GP sessional clinics, psycho-social supports and catch-up immunisation. Primary care services are part of the local coordination of services for refugees under the community response forums.
I am committed to providing access to healthcare services for refugees as part of a whole-of-government response to support community integration and social cohesion for refugees and migrants.
