asked the Minister for Health the community health services it is intended to devolve to local authorities as outlined in chapter 5, paragraph 4 of the reform of local government policy statement of 30 May 1985.
Ceisteanna — Questions. Oral Answers. - Re-organisation of Health Services.
54.
My proposals on the re-organisation of the health services are being considered by the Government at present. The question of the devolution of functions relating to the health services to local authorities will be considered in the light of the Government's decisions on my proposals.
Would the Minister accept that his colleague, the Minister for the Environment, has already stated that there will be a devolution of services to the local authorities, including community health services. Maybe I should have addressed this question to the Minister for the Environment, but perhaps the Minister would tell us what community health services his colleague had in mind.
The services provided by local authorities are different in many respects from those provided by the health services. As the Deputy knows, the health services have become so devolved and so dispersed and fragmented that they are costing well over £1,100 million a year. If they were not so devolved we could probably run them for £600 million or £700 million.
Am I to take it from the Minister's reply to this question and to an earlier question dealing with the health boards that he has it in mind to abolish the health boards altogether, and return the health services to the local authorities?
My predecessor, Mr. Erskine Childers, a very effective Minister for Health, managed to reduce a multiplicity of health authorities and set up eight health boards. There may be a case to be made that in a small country with 3½ million people, with 58,000 people working in the health services, we do not require the present massive bureaucracy to which the Fianna Fáil Leader added a further 7,000 people between 1977 and 1980.
The Minister is taking the whole lot into the Department.
No.
That concludes Question Time.
Question No. 11 re-entered for oral reply.