I propose to take Questions Nos. 849 and 851 together.
The purpose of the reform programme is to remove obstacles to the delivery of the national health strategy, Quality and Fairness: A Health System for You, and to achieve: a new structure which will provide a national focus on service delivery and executive management of the system; a reduction in fragmentation and duplication of effort, thereby making the system more manageable and efficient; a far greater consistency between the level and types of services provided in different parts of the country; and the alignment of responsibility and accountability throughout the system.
Both the Brennan and Prospectus reports speak of the likelihood of savings in the implementation of their respective recommendations. However, the Prospectus report also states that it is extremely difficult to accurately predict the true financial impact of programmes of this scale. Our primary purpose is not to make savings but to ensure that the maximum possible of the resources allocated to the health sector reach the service user. What savings can be made, will be identified and appropriately redistributed.
The Minister for Finance has already made a statement in relation to a possible reduction in the overall number of staff in the system. He indicated that with the reduction in the number of agencies and the general streamlining in management structures some jobs will no longer be needed in the new system. This does not imply that there would be redundancies. It is anticipated that changes will largely be absorbed by natural wastage and redeployment. The intention is that freed up resources can be put into the improved delivery of front-line services.
It is important to note that the reform programme is not only about structural change but about improving processes such as planning, financial management and control and the linking of funding and planning in a coherent way. Existing services will continue to be delivered in a coherent and standardised manner, through the new organisational structures that are being adopted by the Government.