Vol. 494 No. 5
98 Mr. G. Reynolds asked the Minister for Health and Children the amount of funding made available by his Department for the audiologist unit in Temple Street Children's Hospital for each of the years from 1995 to date in 1998; and if his Department will increase this funding in the 1999 Estimates. [18916/98]
The Children's Hospital has confirmed that the ongoing cost of running the hospital's audiology service is in the order of £110,000 per annum. Over the period 1996 to 1998, my Department adjusted the hospital's baseline allocation by a total of £110,000, specifically for this purpose. The capital costs of building and equipping the unit were approximately £200,000 and these were met jointly by the Department of Health and Children and the hospital between 1996 and 1998. This capital work has been completed and the unit is operational.
