James Geoghegan
Ceist:1035. Deputy James Geoghegan asked the Minister for Health to review correspondence (details supplied); and if she will make a statement on the matter. [29765/26]
Amharc ar fhreagraTuesday, 28 April 2026
Ceisteanna (1035)
Freagraí scríofa
It is acknowledged that many patients are still waiting too long for hospital appointments and treatments. I am conscious of the burden that this places on patients and their families.
I published the Waiting Time Action Plan (WTAP) for 2026 on January 30th, as part of this Government’s ongoing commitment to improving access to hospital care and reducing waiting times for patients.
Since the commencement of the multi-annual Action Plan approach in September 2021, significant progress has been made in reducing the length of time patients are waiting.
These improvements have been achieved against the backdrop of increased demand for planned care services. Addressing this increased demand, while also working to sustainably reduce waiting times will require the health service to deliver more core activity through improved productivity and efficiencies, through ongoing reform and new enabling supports, and through targeted additional capacity.
The WTAP sets out six overarching and interconnected targets, which will be achieved through the delivery of 36 actions under the themes of “Reforming Planned Care”, “Enabling Planned Care” and “Capacity Optimisation”.
With the 2026 plan, we will continue to build upon the progress delivered to date under the multi annual action plan approach, moving towards the ultimate vision of a public healthcare service in which everyone has timely access to high-quality scheduled care, where and when they need it.
In relation to the EU Cross Border Directive (CBD), the CBD provides rules for the reimbursements to patients of the cost of receiving treatment abroad, where the patient would be entitled to such treatment in their home Member State, and supplements the rights that patients already have at EU level. The CBD enables persons resident in the State to access and be reimbursed for healthcare in another Member State by the HSE, provided such healthcare is publicly available within Ireland.
Reimbursement under this scheme is made at the lesser of either the cost of the treatment in the Public Health Service in Ireland, or the cost of the treatment incurred by the patient in the other State. Details are available from the HSE's CBD National Contact Point (NCP) including on the HSE CBD website. It is important to note that reimbursement is confined to the costs of the care itself and does not include any additional costs, such as travel or accommodation costs, incurred by the patient. Reimbursement rates are set by the HSE. And are those applicable to the cost of treatment in the Public Health Service in Ireland.
The Northern Ireland Planned Healthcare Scheme (NIPHS) has been in operation since 1 January 2021. This Scheme was introduced to mitigate the loss of access to care from private providers in Northern Ireland under the EU Cross Border Directive, which ceased to apply as a result of Brexit.
The current administrative scheme enables persons ordinarily resident in the State to access and be reimbursed for private healthcare in Northern Ireland by the HSE, provided such healthcare is publicly available within Ireland. Such healthcare will be reimbursed at the cost of providing that treatment in the public health service in the State or the cost of same in Northern Ireland, whichever is the lesser. Further information is available on the HSE Northern Ireland Planned Healthcare website. www2.hse.ie/services/schemes-allowances/niphs/
Patients are advised to contact the HSE CBD or NIPHS office directly for further information on individual applications for reimbursement under the most appropriate scheme, contact details are available on the HSE CBD website and HSE NIPHS website.
Under the Health Act 2004, the HSE is required to manage and deliver, or arrange to be delivered on its behalf, health and personal social services. The Minister for Health is prohibited from directing the HSE to provide a treatment or a personal service to any individual or to confer eligibility on any individual.
In relation to the particular queries raised, as these are service matters, I have asked the HSE to respond to the Deputy directly, as soon as possible.