Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 16 October 2018
444. Deputy Róisín Shortall asked the Minister for Health the year one measures set out in table 8 of the Sláintecare report that were funded as part of budget 2019; and the extent to which they were funded in each case. [42167/18]
View answer445. Deputy Róisín Shortall asked the Minister for Health the measures set out in table 3 of the Sláintecare report that were funded as part of budget 2019; and the extent to which they were funded in each case. [42168/18]
View answerI propose to take Questions Nos. 444 and 445 together.
The Sláintecare Report was published in May 2017 and recommended the production of a detailed implementation plan for the reform programme. I published a three year Sláintecare Implementation Strategy in August 2018, based on the eight principle in the Sláintecare Report.
I have been clear since the report was published that I am fully committed to the vision and policy direction which it sets out. I have also been clear however, that I believe that some of the timelines outlined in the report were ambitious given the inter-dependencies involved in a large scale reform programme of this nature. For this reason the Implementation Strategy has re-prioritised or proposed to phase some recommendations over a different time frame than that envisaged in the report.
It is noted that the original Sláintecare Report envisaged that €350 - €400 million would be needed annually in the initial years of the reform programme. I understand that the team of academics that supported the Committee’s work recently presented revised timelines and annual costings to the Oireachtas Committee on Health and now estimate an annual funding requirement of €200m - €250 million. I am pleased that the revised costings support my own view that the initial timelines and costings in the report were ambitious.
It should also be noted that many of the items in Table 3 are funded under the National Development Plan announced earlier this year which commits €10.4bn to health infrastructure including a number of priority Sláintecare actions. This includes capital funding for:
- 2,600 acute hospital beds;
- 4,500 additional long and short-term beds;
- Elective only hospitals in Cork, Dublin and Galway;
- A modern ehealth and ICT infrastructure;
- Additional Primary Care facilities with greater access to diagnostics; and
- Additional facilities for mental health services and for people with disabilities.
I am delighted that the recent Budget provided an increase of €1.05 billion in Health funding. This brings the health budget for 2019 to €17 billion. This is the highest level of Health investment in the history of the State. This will allow the health service to meet additional demands due to the demographic pressure of a growing and aging population.
The Budget features over €200m additional funding which will directly support a range of additional services including initiatives proposed in the Sláintecare Report and committed to in the Sláintecare Implementation Strategy. The Deputy will appreciate that as some of these are subject to negotiation, I am not in a position to provide a detailed breakdown. However it includes:
- Ringfenced funding for the Sláintecare Programme Office;
- €20m for the establishment of a new ring-fenced Sláintecare Integration Fund to drive improvements in the way we deliver care across the system;
- Funding for a new GP contract;
- Expansion of free GP care, by increase in the weekly income threshold for GP Visit card by €25 which could benefit up to 100,000 people;
- Additional funding for 100 new therapy posts to address assessment of need waiting lists for children with disabilities and funding to ensure that the needs of all those leaving school in 2019 will be addressed;
- €55m in new development funding aimed at further enhancing community mental health teams for adults and children;
- Reducing user charges and out of pocket payments by further reductions in prescription charges - 50 cent reduction in prescription charges from €2.00 to €1.50 for all medical card holders over the age of 70 and by a €10 reduction in the monthly Drugs Payment Scheme threshold from €134 to €124;
- Increased investment of €20m in the National Treatment Purchase Fund. This funding will be used to treat 70,000 patients on waiting lists in 2019; and
- Additional funding for care redesign and the National Children's Hospital.
The Executive Director is currently preparing a detailed action plan, as mandated by Government, for 2019 which will be published before the end of the year.
I believe that this budget provided an excellent basis for progressing the Sláintecare implementation Strategy in 2019 and I look forward to being able to report positive progress throughout 2019.
