asked the Minister for Health what proposals from the Midland Regional Health Board area are awaiting sanction in his Department; their nature; the cost involved; the date on which they were received by his Department; and what action he proposes to take in regard to each proposal.
Ceisteanna—Questions. Oral Answers. - Midland Health Board.
11.
To ensure that any list which I might compile in order to reply to the Deputy's question was comprehensive it would be necessary to divert an officer or officers in every section of my Department from their normal duties of dealing with proposals to examine specially the files in the section. I do not feel, on present information, that this interruption of the normal work of my Department would be justified. If the Deputy is interested in particular proposals and puts down a question or questions, or writes to me about them, I shall endeavour to furnish him with the information he requires.
Might I ask the Minister to express an opinion on the fact that, prior to the setting up of the health boards, local authorities had with his Department a number of proposals on hospital extensions and so on. Could he arrange with his Department that certain priorities will now be given to the proposals that were in his Department and which had reached an advanced stage, rather than see them all coming back and starting from scratch under the health boards? In the interests of economy does the Minister not seriously think that certain priorities should be given to all proposals that had reached any degree of advancement prior to the setting up of the health boards?
It is very hard to answer the Deputy specifically on that. A number of proposals came to the Department which were in an active stage of planning and for which tenders had been issued before the health boards were appointed. These are naturally receiving consideration. This is a changeover period. When the officers of the health boards are fully appointed they will have to go over the position in the health board area and example proposals for which there has not been sanction yet and make priorities themselves. This is an interim period and it would cause great confusion if I started to do anything but take what is already on the list of various projects to be completed. We have these at this moment. We have the list of schemes which were proposed before the health boards were formed.