Publications

Brexit, Health and its potential impact on Article 2 of the Ireland/Northern Ireland Protocol

The NIHRC has commissioned research on ‘Brexit, Health and its potential impact on Article 2 of the Ireland/Northern Ireland Protocol.’

The UK’s withdrawal from the EU affects healthcare in Northern Ireland in a way in which other parts of the UK are not affected. This is due to the integrated nature of health provision on the island of Ireland, including the all-island facilities and cross-border services, and the intricacies of the Common Travel Area. Previous research for the Commission and the Irish Human Rights and Equality Commission identified access to healthcare as a key area of continuing concern in relation to Brexit.

This new research, authored by Professor Tamara Hervey, Jean Monnet Professor of EU Law at the City Law School, University of London, highlights several areas of concern regarding access to healthcare which the Commission intends to explore further. For example, issues for frontier workers and their family members to be sufficiently able to access healthcare, and seek clarity on how to access shared facilities across the island of Ireland and the associated cross-border movement for those who are not UK or Irish nationals.

This research is part of a wider body of research being published by NIHRC and Equality Commission for Northern Ireland as we work to identify what Protocol Article 2 means in practice and to use our mandate to protect rights effectively