Dáil Éireann Debate, Thursday - 21 November 2013
220. Deputy Billy Kelleher asked the Minister for Health if he will provide an update on the current status of the primary care centre projects announced on 17 July 2012; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [49942/13]
View answerThe development of primary care is central to the Government's objective to deliver a high quality, integrated and cost effective health system. The development of primary care centres, through a combination of public and private investment, will facilitate the delivery of multi-disciplinary primary health care. The delivery of primary care infrastructure is a dynamic process and must take account of changing circumstances including the feasibility of implementing the delivery of the centres by means of lease, direct- build or PPP.
The Health Service Executive (HSE) is working with the National Development Finance Agency (NDFA) to progress Primary Care Centre Public Private Partnership. The NDFA as a centre of expertise will be responsible for the delivery of the Primary Care PPP programme on behalf of the HSE, including the management of the procurement phase and the provision of financial advice including a Value for Money assessment. It has been reviewing the processes involved in procurement of PPP projects with a view to streamlining the process and delivering projects more quickly.
The HSE and NDFA have completed an indicative Public Sector Benchmark (PSB) for the overall project. Considerable work on the project has been completed by the HSE and its appointed design teams and technical advisors. The HSE is in the process of lodging planning applications, details of which will be available on the relevant planning website.
It is expected that the NDFA will proceed to market with the PPP projects very shortly.
