Dáil Éireann Debate, Thursday - 2 May 2024
67. Deputy Claire Kerrane asked the Minister for Health the additional medical supports he has sought for communities where Ukrainians and international protection persons have arrived; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [18967/24]
View answerThe provision of healthcare services is an integral part of the whole-of-Government response to the humanitarian crisis in Ukraine.
The Department of Health and HSE are co-ordinating the provision of healthcare services for more than 106,000 Ukrainian refugees (BOTP) together with a further 35,000 International Protection applicants (IPA, who have arrived in Ireland since 2022. A total of €124m has been made available for the provision of healthcare service for refugees and migrants since 2022, including €50 million for 2024.
The healthcare system has had to adapt and increase resources to meet the health needs of Ukrainian and other refugees. A streamlined process is in place whereby refugees can automatically qualify for a medical card. More than 82,000 Medical Cards have been issued to Ukrainian refugees to date.
A health assessment model has also been put in place for Ukrainian refugees in the National Transit Centre in Citywest, which identifies individual health needs, that can be tracked as refugees are assigned to accommodation centres across the country.
Central to this HSE response is the development of migrant health teams across the community healthcare areas of the HSE. Other innovations include training in interpretation in healthcare services, catch-up vaccination programme, and GP sessional clinics where local capacity is constrained.
Refugees can access health care services from the HSE including Covid-19 vaccinations, GPs, community care and hospital or emergency care. As well as services for children’s health, mental health, disabilities, maternity care, and older people.
The Department of Health and the HSE have also developed a systematic programme to deliver age-appropriate catch-up immunisations for all migrant children and young adults up to the age of 23 years in line with the Irish Primary Childhood Immunisation Schedule, and is delivered via
• GPs for children up to the age of 10 years;
• Dedicated Immunisation catch-up clinics; and
• mobile health teams may provide on-site immunisations in either remote settings or in geographic areas with a high volume of target population.
I am committed to ensuring that healthcare services are provided for all categories of refugee.
