Dáil Éireann Debate, Thursday - 28 June 2018
224. Deputy Bernard J. Durkan asked the Minister for Health the extent to which he expects the public hospital sector to respond to the challenges set out in the Sláintecare report; if he expects the necessary funding to become available; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [28586/18]
View answerThe Oireachtas Committee on the Future of Healthcare was established in recognition of the scale of the challenges facing the health service and was tasked with devising cross-party agreement on a long-term vision for healthcare and the direction of health policy over a 10 year period. Its report, Sláintecare, makes clear that a system-wide programme of reform, that has the full buy-in and support of all stakeholders in the health service, will be necessary to address these challenges.
The successful delivery of the ambitious reform plans envisaged in the Sláintecare report will be a significant undertaking and needs to be translated into a detailed and phased programme of work to be delivered over a ten year timeframe. In this regard, my Department is currently finalising an implementation plan in response to the Sláintecare report, with a focus on the initial three year period.
This implementation plan will give direction to all stakeholders in the system, including the acute hospital sector, on the actions that will need to be taken in the coming years.
I am also committed to investing in our acute hospital sector. The National Development Plan provides for €10.9bn to be invested in health infrastructure in the coming decade. This allocation includes a commitment to increase acute bed capacity by 2,600 and to build 3 new elective hospitals in Cork, Dublin and Galway. I believe that this investment will be essential in meeting future demand needs of our population and can also act as a catalyst for change.
The process that led to the development of the Sláintecare report has laid the foundation for consensus building and constructive engagement across all stakeholders. I intend to continue in this spirit and I look forward to working with stakeholders as we embark on this programme of reform.
