Dáil Éireann Debate, Thursday - 28 January 2021
248. Deputy Brendan Howlin asked the Minister for Health the number of contacts he has had with the Northern Ireland Minister for Health since 1 January 2021; the dates and nature of same; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [4680/21]
View answer250. Deputy Brendan Howlin asked the Minister for Health the number of meetings and contacts officials of his Department have had with their counterparts in the Northern Ireland Department of Health since 1 January 2021; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [4688/21]
View answerI propose to take Questions Nos. 248 and 250 together.
I have met my Northern Ireland counterpart a number of times since I became Minister for Health and we continue to engage on a range of important issues including responses to the COVID-19 pandemic. Healthcare co-operation with Northern Ireland covers a range of areas and there is ongoing communication between officials in my Department and their counterparts in Northern Ireland.
Meetings of the North South Ministerial Council are an important pillar in our regular engagement with Northern Ireland, both the Plenary meetings and Health Sector meetings. Most recently the 25th North South Ministerial Council Plenary Meeting was held on 18 December 2020.
There is also regular engagement with the Department of Health in Northern Ireland on EU funding programmes. PEACE PLUS, a new EU cross-border programme for the period 2021-2027, will fund a range of activities, including in areas of health, to promote peace and reconciliation and contribute to the cross-border economic and social development of Northern Ireland and the border region. It will build upon the earlier PEACE and INTERREG Programmes.
There has been, and continues to be, significant engagement and cooperation between the Ministers for Health, the Chief Medical Officers, and Departmental officials throughout the COVID-19 pandemic. On 15 January 2021, the Chief Medical Officers in Northern Ireland and Ireland collaborated on a joint statement voicing their concerns about the high levels of COVID-19 and urging everyone to stay home. I most recently met with Minister Swann about data sharing from respective passenger locator forms on 20 January 2021.
Both administrations are seeking to adopt similar approaches to the pandemic, where it is appropriate to do so and on the advice of respective Chief Medical Officers. This approach is underpinned by a Memorandum of Understanding agreed by the Chief Medical Officers of the Department of Health and the Department of Health in Northern Ireland in April 2020 to strengthen North South co-operation on the public health response to the COVID-19 pandemic. In November 2020, this overarching agreement was supplemented with a further Memorandum of Understanding in relation to a framework for mutual support for the provision of critical care.
I am committed to continuing this close and productive cooperation with Northern Ireland, particularly to foster commonality in approaches, where possible, in addressing the COVID-19 pandemic.
