The report of the cross-party Committee on the Future of Healthcare made a broad range of recommendations and envisages considerable change and reform across health and social care services. I am currently considering these recommendations and the actions required to support implementation as part of wider consideration of the Sláintecare report. I expect to present a response to the report along with a proposed implementation plan to Government later this month. This will set out our ambitions for the next decade and concrete plans for the immediate years ahead.
The Sláintecare report provided costs for a range of actions recommended in the report. Further analysis of potential future costs, in as far as is possible, is also being undertaken in the context of the development of the Sláintecare implementation plan. However, it is important to state that the process underway could not, and should not, seek to be definitive in terms of a cost benefit analysis of a full 10 year reform programme. The reform plans envisaged in the Sláintecare report will be a significant undertaking and need to be translated into a concrete and phased programme of work, supported by strong implementation structures and processes and a clear implementation plan. A core feature of this plan will be a process that enables detailed costings of actions in advance of implementation and robust monitoring and implementation frameworks to ensure reforms are delivering desired outcomes.
This detailed work will be overseen by a Reform Programme Office. As the Deputy is aware, the Government agreed to move forward with the establishment of a dedicated programme office during the summer, and specifically the recruitment of a Lead Executive for that Office. This marks a critical first step in gearing up for a significant programme of reform and demonstrates the Government’s commitment to this process. €1 million has been allocated to this Office in 2018 in line with the report's recommendation.
The recruitment process for the Head of this Office is underway and is being managed by the Public Appointments Service. It is essential that we are positioned to attract candidates of calibre for what will be a considerable reform programme. An extensive national and international executive search is being undertaken as a first step in this recruitment process, with the aim of attracting very senior candidates with a strong track record in implementing large scale programmes of reform. This will be followed by a public advertisement process.
