Vol. 520 No. 2
109 Mr. Penrose asked the Minister for Health and Children the new services or the extension of existing services contained in the national development plan, which are funded by his Department, which have commenced or will commence in County Westmeath in 2000; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [15435/00]
110 Mr. Penrose asked the Minister for Health and Children the capital programmes contained in the national development plan and funded by his Department that have commenced or will commence in the Westmeath constituency in 2000; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [15461/00]
I propose to take Questions Nos. 109 and 110 together.
The capital commitments of the Midland Health Board area, including County Westmeath, includes a wide range of projects and other initiatives across all healthcare areas. These relate also to initiatives that carried forward into 2000 from previous years.
Given the extent of the programme, and the fact that much of the minor capital expenditure is administered by the health boards and my Department on a global rather than an itemised basis, it would not be practical for me to detail all such capital expenditure. Examples of major capital projects that were previously scheduled for the Westmeath area, or are expected to commence this year under National Development Plan funding, include: planning work on Mullingar General Hospital – Phase II; upgrading at St. Loman's Hospital; purchase of property to replace Carberry Lodge, Athlone; development of respite services at Mullingar; development of health services infrastructure, Athlone.
The capital programme for this year also includes an additional £8 million that I recently made available to the board for the important areas of re-equipment and refurbishment works. This sum will be prioritised by the board for the acute hospital and non-acute hospitals areas throughout the region. Other possible capital initiatives for this year under the National Development Plan will be considered on an individual basis by the board and my Department to take account of normal criteria governing capital projects. These relate, for example, to agreement on costings, timing and priority of projects. The question of new or extended service provision will also be examined in detail in the context of NDP priorities.
In general, the question of what projects are funded this year in the County Westmeath area, and the extent to which they are funded, depends on the drawdown by the board for individual projects within its overall capital programme.
