Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 11 July 2023
851. Deputy Thomas Pringle asked the Minister for Health to provide a full list of the individual projects/schemes funded under the Brexit Adjustment Reserve Fund spend of €5.5 million by his Department; the amount of funding allocated in each case; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [34372/23]
View answerFirstly, I wish to welcome the significant allocation of €920.4 million associated with the Brexit Adjustment Reserve Fund. This funding is designed to mitigate the impact of Brexit in a range of areas, including the health sector.
Officials of my department have attended Brexit Adjustment Reserve meetings convened by the Department of Public Expenditure NDP Delivery and Reform. The €5.5m allocation relates to Hospital Pharmacy Aseptic Compounding units. The breakdown of the allocation is set out below.
Aseptic Compounding Units (ACUs) are dedicated laboratory facilities which produce tailored treatments for patients which have a short shelf life. Currently, a number of public hospitals outsource a portion of their Systemic Anti-Cancer Therapy (e.g Chemotherapy, Immunotherapy) supply to UK third party providers. The ongoing uncertainty about trade arrangements between Ireland and the UK leaves Irish hospital pharmacy cancer services open to future supply chain vulnerabilities, particularly as the UK providers are operating at full capacity. Brexit Adjustment Reserve funding will expedite improvements to existing Aseptic Compounding Unit (ACU) infrastructure and support new ACU builds which could mitigate some of those risks.
|
Facility |
Estimate capital spend 2023 € |
|
Tallaght University Hospital |
3,500,000 |
|
Cork University Hospital |
870,000 |
|
Cork University Hospital |
670,000 |
|
Cavan General Hospital |
100,000 |
|
Beaumont Hospital |
100,000 |
|
Letterkenny University Hospital |
200,000 |
|
University Hospital Limerick |
100,000 |
|
Total |
5,540,000 |
This project is expected to form part of Ireland’s overall Brexit Adjustment Reserve fund application which will be submitted by D/PENDR in late 2024.
