Brexit and healthcare

Question écrite de Mme Martina ANDERSON - Commission européenne

Question de Mme Martina ANDERSON,

Diffusée le 15 juillet 2018

Subject: Brexit and healthcare

On the Island of Ireland, healthcare is an area of cooperation, meaning that it is an intertwined, interlinked and immersed network, which includes primary percutaneous coronary intervention (PPCI) performed in Altnagelvin, and cardiac catheterisations at the Children’s Heart Centre of Our Lady’s Children’s Hospital, Crumlin.

Cross-border collaboration on patient and professional mobility, residency rights for doctors and indeed daily cross-border realities are a further facet of this area of cooperation, especially with regard to specialist and emergency care.

Does the Commission concur that Brexit is a threat to healthcare cooperation on the Island of Ireland, risking vital accessibility to adequate healthcare in border regions north and south, as well as potentially endangering lives?

Has the Commission assessed how cooperation in healthcare in Ireland will be guaranteed post- Brexit?

With regard to the Recognition of Professional Qualifications Directive (2005/36/EC), can the Commission confirm whether Irish citizens resident in the north of Ireland will still have this directive apply to them, and their rights as medical professionals preserved?

Réponse - Commission européenne

Diffusée le 17 septembre 2018

Answer given by President Juncker on behalf of the European Commission (18 September 2018)

Cross-border collaboration in healthcare as well as access to specialised health services does not depend on the continued application of Union law. Persons and medical professionals will continue to be able to move freely between Northern Ireland and Ireland to access health services or their workplaces thanks to the Common Travel Area arrangements between Ireland and the United Kingdom.

Directive 2005/36/EC on the recognition of professional qualifications establishes rules according to which Member States shall recognise professional qualification obtained by EU citizens in one or more other Member States. Once the United Kingdom withdraws from the European Union, this directive will no longer apply to and in Northern Ireland.