asked the Minister for Health the regional health boards which have reached agreement with local authorities on the apportionment of health costs between such local authorities.
Ceisteanna—Questions. Oral Answers. - Health Costs Apportionment.
5.
My Department have been informed that the local authorities who appoint members to the Eastern Health Board, the North-Eastern Health Board and the North-Western Health Board have reached agreement on the apportionment of the expenditure of these boards. I am at present having the terms of these agreements examined in my Department before I convey my consent in accordance with section 32 (3) of the Health Act, 1970. Extensions of time have been granted to the local authorities who appoint members to the Midland and Southern Health Boards to enable agreements to be reached.
The local authorities who appoint members to the other three boards have failed to reach agreement and consequently it will be necessary for me to appoint a person to make an appropriate determination under section 32 (3) of the Act in these cases.
In reaching his decision on whether he will approve of agreements made, will the Minister bear in mind the cost to ratepayers in each particular local authority area and the necessity for an equalisation of the burden of rates on all ratepayers?
As the Deputy knows, there are a number of ways of doing this. If the Deputy reads the suggested formula for the apportionment of net health expenditure in the North-Eastern Health Board area, he will see that it is a comparatively complex situation. It is very difficult to know whether that is the fairest way but I am advised that it is a reasonably fair method of distributing the rates. Would the Deputy not agree with me that he could not think of a better way of distributing the rates?
I would not agree that the method reached is the fairest one but I would suggest to the Minister that he should look at the matter in a clinical way and ensure that each ratepayer, whether he be in Meath, Monaghan or Cavan or in any other part of the country, will pay an equal amount in respect of health charges.