Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 8 September 2020
1119. Deputy David Cullinane asked the Minister for Health the estimated additional capacity and services will be delivered for every €1 million additional annual funding for the Healthy Ireland Strategy; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [21405/20]
View answerHealthy Ireland, A Framework for Improved Health and Wellbeing 2013-2025, was developed in response to a number of significant public health challenges, increased levels of chronic preventable disease and growing heath inequalities. Healthy Ireland recognises the requirement for a ‘whole of Government’ approach to addressing the social determinants of health, as well as an inclusive, intersectoral approach to improve population health and well-being by shifting emphasis to prevention, and empowering individuals and communities to take more responsibility for their health and well-being.
At its core the framework has four goals:
1. to increase the proportion of people who are healthy at all stages of life
2. to reduce health inequalities
3. to protect the public from threats to health and well-being
4. to create an environment where every individual and sector of society can play their part in achieving a healthy Ireland
The Framework is therefore implemented via a variety of different means and settings and through a number of different workstreams. Any additional investment into the framework could be allocated against any of these goals based upon the potential impact on achieving the goals of the Framework. Given the far-reaching nature of the framework, the multitude of the partnerships and diverse workstreams it is challenging to estimate what additional capacity and services would be delivered for every additional €1mil.
The Healthy Ireland Framework aims to prevent chronic disease, such as cancer, cardiovascular disease, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and diabetes. Not only do these non-communicable diseases account for a significant proportion of the expenditure of my Department, but a healthy population is essential to allow people to live their lives to their full potential, to create the right environment to sustain jobs, to aid the economy and to look after the most vulnerable people in society. A healthy population is a major asset for society.
Whilst much of the work of the Healthy Ireland Framework is done in partnership with a multitude of stakeholders, the direct spend of my Department on the Framework in 2019 was €7,4mil. This expenditure was used to support the Healthy Ireland Fund (€5mil), communications and citizen engagement (€1mil), Healthy Ireland Survey (€1.1mil) and other activities including key research such as the Health Behaviours in School-aged Children study.
As an example, an additional investment of €1mil into the Healthy Ireland fund would enable the provision of an additional €32,000 to 31 Local Community Development Committees across Ireland to run community based actions that promote Health and Wellbeing through six priority themes including: physical activity, mental health, Nutrition, Sexual Health, Tobacco and Alcohol and Spaces and Places for Health and Wellbeing. Round 2 of the Healthy Ireland Fund benefitted 950,000 citizens through the partnership actions of 3,930 organisations from a budget of €5mil. Therefore, each additional €1mil would potentially extend the reach of the fund to engage more partner organisations to play their part in realising a Healthy Ireland and benefit an additional 190,000 citizens.
The budget for Population Health and Wellbeing within the HSE, which implements much of the Healthy Ireland Framework, accounted for €141mil for 2020. For more detail on the delivery of these actions please consult the HSE National Service Plan 2020.
