Written Answers Nos. 1970-1985
1970. Deputy Richard Boyd Barrett asked the Minister for Health the estimated full-year cost of providing free primary care, including general practitioners for all; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [41509/22]
View answer1971. Deputy Richard Boyd Barrett asked the Minister for Health the estimated full-year cost of providing free general practitioner care for all; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [41510/22]
View answerI propose to take Questions Nos. 1970 and 1971 together.
GP GMS contractors receive a range of capitation rates, fee per service payments and practice supports. Extending GP care without charges to all citizens who do not currently hold a medical card or GP visit card would encompass a further 3 million people approximately. It is not possible to definitively calculate the cost of universal GP care without charges given the wide range of payments and variables that have to be accounted for.
Such a calculation would require a complex and detailed modelling exercise to account for a range of demographic changes, future projections of service demands and variation in the number of GPs and the allowances that could be paid.
Additionally, the fees payable to GPs could only be determined following agreement with the IMO on the scope and content of the general practitioner service to be provided, as well as on the future of the various other supports provided to general practice. However, the 2019 IGEES paper "Costing Framework for the Expansion of GP Care" provides a cost estimate for universal free GP care and is available from igees.gov.ie/wp-content/uploads/2019/10/Costing-Framework-for-the-Expansion-of-GP-Care.pdf.
Over the last number of years, several pieces of detailed policy analysis have been undertaken to assess various aspects of expanding eligibility for near or full universal access to primary care and other care sectors and the associated additional costs for the Exchequer. These include the Expert Group Report on Resource Allocation and Financing of the Irish Health System (2010), the White Paper on Universal Health Insurance and Associated Costs (2015) the Committee on the Future of Healthcare Sláintecare Report (2018) and Universal GP Care in Ireland: Potential Cost Implications (2018).
1972. Deputy Richard Boyd Barrett asked the Minister for Health the estimated full-year cost of providing free dental care for all; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [41511/22]
View answer1980. Deputy Richard Boyd Barrett asked the Minister for Health the estimated full-year cost in 2023 of reinstating all the benefits that were available under the dental treatment services scheme before the economic crash; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [41520/22]
View answerI propose to take Questions Nos. 1972 and 1980 together.
The Dental Treatment Services Scheme (DTSS) provides dental care, free of charge, to medical card holders aged 16 and over. These services are provided by independent dental practitioners who have a contract with the HSE.
As part of Budget 2010 measures, the range of treatments provided under the Scheme was reduced in order to cap expenditure at the 2008 level of €63 million. The cost of restoring treatments which had been provided before 2010 or the cost of providing free dental care to the whole population would depend on a number of factors, including the underlying oral health of the population and the level of take-up of such services. An additional €10 million in Budget 2022 has been provided for expanded dental care in the DTSS, including the reintroduction of Scale and Polish and an enhanced oral health examination.
The national approach to future oral health service provision will be informed by Smile agus Sláinte, the National Oral Health Policy (2019). The aim of the policy is to develop a model of care that will enable preventative approaches to be prioritised, improve access, and support interventions appropriate to current and future oral health needs. Work is underway to design a governance framework to oversee and facilitate root and branch service reform.
1973. Deputy Richard Boyd Barrett asked the Minister for Health the estimated full-year cost of abolishing all inpatient and emergency department charges; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [41513/22]
View answerNormal patient activity has been affected due to the Covid-19 pandemic and as a result 2020 and 2021 are not representative of normal services. Therefore 2019 would currently be the best representation of income levels outside of the COVID Pandemic.
In 2019, €30.6 million was raised through the statutory inpatient charge in the Acute Hospitals.
The Emergency Department charge is recorded by the HSE as an out-patient charge. In 2019 €20m was collected in Outpatient Charges from Acute Hospitals, which predominantly relates to Accident and Emergency charges.
1974. Deputy Richard Boyd Barrett asked the Minister for Health the estimated full-year cost of abolishing all prescription charges for medical card holders; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [41514/22]
View answerPrescription charges were introduced in the Health (Amendment) (No. 2) Act 2010, to address the rising costs in the General Medical Services (GMS) scheme.
On 1st of November 2020, GMS prescription charges were reduced by €0.50c for all medical card holders.
- For persons over 70, the charges were reduced to €1 per item with a maximum monthly charge of €10 per person or family per month.
- For persons under 70, the charges were reduced to €1.50 per item with a maximum monthly charge of €15 per person or family.
It is estimated that the full year cost of abolishing prescription charges for all eligible persons would be approximately €63.6m.
1975. Deputy Richard Boyd Barrett asked the Minister for Health the estimated full-year cost of abolishing all parking charges at public hospitals; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [41515/22]
View answerAs this is a service matter, I have asked the Health Service Executive to respond to the deputy directly, as soon as possible.
1976. Deputy Richard Boyd Barrett asked the Minister for Health the estimated full-year cost of mental health services; the percentage of the overall health budget; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [41516/22]
View answerAs this is a service matter, I have asked the Health Service Executive to respond directly to the Deputy as soon as possible.
1977. Deputy Richard Boyd Barrett asked the Minister for Health the estimated full-year cost of providing free contraception for all women and girls over the age of 11 years; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [41517/22]
View answerThe Programme for Government, 2020 commits to providing free contraception for women, starting with the 17-25 age cohort. My Department has been working with partners, including the HSE, towards ensuring that the scheme will commence in late August or early September 2022. Funding of approximately €9m has been allocated for this in Budget 2022.
The scheme will be open to all 17-25 year-old women ordinarily resident in Ireland and will provide for:
- The cost of prescription contraception;
- The cost of necessary consultations with medical professionals to discuss suitable contraception for individual patients and to enable prescription of same;
- The cost of fitting and/or removal of various types of long-acting reversible contraception (LARCs) plus any necessary checks, by medical professionals certified to fit/remove same;
- The cost of training and certifying additional medical professionals to fit and remove LARCs;
- The cost of providing the wide range of contraceptive options currently available to GMS (medical) card holders, which will also be available through this scheme, including contraceptive injections, implants, IUS and IUDs (coils), the contraceptive patch and ring, and various forms of oral contraceptive pill, including emergency contraception.
The legal framework for the scheme will be provided by the Health (Miscellaneous Provisions) (No. 2) Act, 2022, which was passed by both Houses of the Oireachtas on 12th July, 2022 and signed into law by the President of Ireland on 18th July, 2022. It is envisaged that the Act will be commenced, and the scheme launched, in late August or early September, 2022, once the final details of service provision have been agreed and implemented.
Formal consultations with medical representative bodies with regard to service provision under the scheme have commenced and are ongoing. The design of citizen engagement information and publicity campaigns to support and promote the roll out of the scheme will be finalised in the coming weeks by officials in the Department’s Press and Communications Team, the HSE’s Communications team and relevant subject matter experts.
In terms of considering the expansion of the scheme to wider age cohorts, it is recommended by the Public Expenditure Code that policy changes with significant Exchequer cost implications should be phased in and/or be subject to piloting and formal evaluation, before full roll out. This is particularly pertinent in the case of schemes, such as this one, which are demand-led.
Full year costings for 17-25 year-olds may be considered in the context of Estimates 2023, but no costings have been finalised to date; funding allocations for future years, including 2023, will be agreed as part of standard pre-Budget processes. The full year cost of provision for 17-25 year-olds is estimated at €26m. Estimated costings for wider age ranges have been included in the Report of the Working Group on Access to Contraception, which is available on the Department’s website.
The Act contains provisions that the eligible age cohort may be changed by the Minister for Health, subject to the agreement of the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform, by Regulation.
In relation to extending the age cohort specifically to girls under the age of 17, it is important to note that the Act provides that such an extension cannot be completed under regulations, meaning such an extension of the scheme would require a legislative amendment to be brought before the Oireachtas. I gave a commitment in both Dáil Éireann and Seanad Éireann that inclusion of younger age cohort would be considered by my Department, subject to Government approval, as soon as the Act has been commenced and the initial phase of the scheme launched.
1978. Deputy Richard Boyd Barrett asked the Minister for Health the estimated full-year cost of staffing public health teams to the World Health Organisation-recommended levels; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [41518/22]
View answerAs this is a service matter, I have asked the Health Service Executive to respond to the Deputy directly, as soon as possible.
1979. Deputy Richard Boyd Barrett asked the Minister for Health the estimated full-year cost of ensuring that the timelines for assessment of needs outlined in the Disability Act 2005 are adhered to for every child in need of such an assessment; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [41519/22]
View answerAs the Deputy's question relates to a service issue, it has been referred to the HSE for direct reply.
1981. Deputy Mark Ward asked the Minister for Health the number of adults and children in each CHO who are on waiting lists for primary care psychology; the length of time that they have been waiting; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [41526/22]
View answerAs this is a service matter, I have asked the Health Service Executive to respond to the Deputy directly, as soon as possible.
1982. Deputy Mark Ward asked the Minister for Health the number of children in each CHO who are on waiting lists for CAMHS; the length of time that they have been waiting; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [41527/22]
View answerAs this is a service matter, I have asked the Health Service Executive to respond directly to the Deputy as soon as possible.
1983. Deputy Mark Ward asked the Minister for Health the number of children who have been admitted to adult psychiatric facilities to date in 2022 per CHO; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [41528/22]
View answerAs this is a service matter, I have asked the Health Service Executive to respond directly to the Deputy as soon as possible.
1984. Deputy Mark Ward asked the Minister for Health if he will report on the new national psychology placement office; the remit of the office; the amount of funding that has been allocated to the office to date; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [41529/22]
View answerIn relation to the particular query raised, as this is a service matter, I have asked the Health Service Executive to respond to the Deputy directly, as soon as possible.
1985. Deputy Mark Ward asked the Minister for Health the status of the national review into CAMHS; and when the review will be published. [41530/22]
View answerAs this is a service matter, I have asked the Health Service Executive to respond directly to the Deputy as soon as possible.
