Cross-Border Cooperation Health in Ireland//A RESPONSE

ABSTRACT

Providing healthcare services commands the largest allocation of public funding on both sides of the Irish border and concerns over the efficiency and effectiveness of these systems are perennial. Over the past two decades health has been identified as a key area for cross-border collaboration. However, in the absence of an overarching framework or strategy, there is little clarity about objectives. Using the responses to the COVID-19 pandemic as a case study it demonstrates that even in the face of an existential crisis, political leaders default to debates over culture and identity. The paper sets out how the healthcare systems in the two jurisdictions share similar core principles and values and face similar social, economic and political pressures. They have adopted broadly comparable approaches to tackling systemic issues, such as an ageing and growing population, evolving healthcare needs, workforce planning and financial pressures. It argues that there is potential for greater cross-border cooperation but this requires high-level political agreement and must be based on robust evidence. As this paper shows, there are significant barriers to developing all-island approaches, but these are not insurmountable.