17 August 2007
Northern Ireland's Department of Health, Social Services and Public Safety is to clamp down on the fraudulent use of its health service by Irish Republic residents.
The move follows claims by the British Medical Association that 20,000 more people are registered with GPs in the northwest of Northern Ireland than actually live there. Surgeries in the Irish Republic charge patients per consultation.
Patient registrations and addresses will be checked. 'This work allows discrepancies identified between GP lists and other population information to be resolved,' said the department's spokeswoman.
People working in Northern Ireland and living in the Republic, who are entitled to free health care in the North, would be unaffected.
Northern Ireland's schools are also affected. Education Minister Caitríona Ruane said: 'This is something we need to look at through the North-South Ministerial Council.'
She added that she hoped that this would lead to pupils being able to attend their local school, even when this was the other side of the border.
PFaug2007
