asked the Minister for Health if he will give in current money values the estimated additional annual cost to (a) the State (b) local authorities and (c) both jointly involved in the full implementation of Part III of the Health Act, 1947, section 28, relating to mother and child care, over and above the cost of any such services being provided before the Act was passed.
Ceisteanna—Questions. Oral Answers. - Health Act, 1947.
3.
As Part III of the Health Act, 1947 was repealed over a decade ago by the Health Act, 1953, any estimate of what its implementation would have cost would be of an academic nature only and in any event would be substantially conjectural. I do not, therefore, consider that the work of compiling such an estimate would be justified.
Had the Minister any idea how much it was going to cost?
I am not a prophet. I could not forecast in 1947 what it was going to cost in 1965, 18 years later.
The Minister could have forecast what it was going to cost in 1947?
That is not the question I was asked.
It is the question the Minister was asked.
I beg the Deputy's pardon.
4.
asked the Minister for Health if he will give in current money values the estimated additional annual cost to (a) the State (b) local authorities and (c) both jointly involved in the full implementation of Part IV of the Health Act, 1947, section 44, relating to infectious diseases maintenance and care, over and above the cost of any such services being provided before the Act was passed.
The estimated expenditure by health authorities on infectious diseases maintenance allowances in the year ending 31st March, 1965 is £217,000, one half of which will be recouped from the Vote for the Department of Health. No such allowances were payable prior to the Health Act, 1947.
5.
asked the Minister for Health if he will give in current money values the estimated additional annual cost to (a) the State (b) local authorities and (c) both jointly involved in the full implementation of the financial provisions of the Health Act, 1947 over and above the cost before the Act was passed.
The financial provisions of the Health Act, 1947, related only to the specific services mentioned in the two previous questions and the answers to these questions constitute the answer to this question.
I might add that the financial provisions mentioned were repealed later in the same year by the much wider financial provisions of the Health Services (Financial Provisions) Act, 1947, which, in the event, applied the principle of 50 per cent recoupment from the Exchequer to the cost of all approved health services in lieu of such recoupment in respect of specified health services only.