To ask the Minister of Health whether any consideration has been given to permitting health service optical vouchers to be used as a contribution towards the cost of myopia management lenses.

In Northern Ireland, while standard corrective lenses for myopia are covered under the General Ophthalmic Services (GOS) voucher scheme, specialised myopia control lenses—such as those designed to slow the progression of myopia—are not currently eligible for GOS funding and can only be provided in a private capacity.

While there is emerging evidence that some products may help to slow the progression of myopia, such interventions are not routinely commissioned as part of General Ophthalmic Services in Northern Ireland. This reflects current limitations in the evidence base, including a lack of robust long-term data and clear clinical criteria to support routine use. Further research is therefore necessary before these interventions can be considered for Health Service funding.

Funding treatments without strong evidence demonstrating safety, efficacy and cost-effectiveness would not represent an appropriate use of health service resources. For this reason, myopia control interventions are not currently considered eligible for public funding and are available only on a private basis in Northern Ireland, with costs varying across the region

Officials from the Strategic Planning and Performance Group (SPPG) within my Department are engaging with local clinical academic researchers and health economists to develop a National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR) grant application. This work is intended to build an evidence base around the safety, efficacy and outcome measures associated with myopia control interventions, and the findings will help inform future clinical and policy decisions.