andMr. Boland asked the Minister for Health the basis on which non-capital financial allocations are made to health boards and the percentage by which the 1979 allocation is increased on the 1978 allocation in the case of each board.
Written Answers. - Health Boards' Finances.
222.
The non-capital allocations covering the direct expenditure of health boards which are notified at the commencement of each financial year are the amounts which it is estimated are required:
—to maintain on-going services at the levels which have been approved for the preceding financial year;
—to meet the full year costs arising from approvals given in the preceding financial year on items such as: additional pay costs arising from the implementation of national pay agreements and special pay awards, developments, increases in staffing complements, commissioning of units of accommodation, increases in the rates of allowances provided for in the budget, increases in rates of social welfare contributions (employers' share);
—to offset increases in non-pay costs;
—to meet each health board's share of the expenses of the General Medical Services (Payments) Board.
Further allocations are notified at a later stage to cover the estimated additional costs arising in the financial year from the commissioning of new units of accommodation completed during the year, increases in staffing complements as may be agreed, any further approved pay awards, new developments as approved, and so on.
Apart from the allocations made available to health boards to meet direct expenditure incurred by them payments are made direct by the Department on behalf of health boards in respect of services provided for eligible patients in voluntary hospitals and in homes for mentally handicapped persons. The estimated amounts involved in respect of each health board are notified to them at the commencement of each year.
The percentages by which the non-capital allocations notified to health boards on 31 January 1979 show an increase over the corresponding on-going original allocations for 1978 are as follows:
|
Health Board |
Percentage increase |
|
Eastern |
24.92 |
|
Midland |
21.99 |
|
Mid-Western |
22.65 |
|
North Eastern |
21.52 |
|
North Western |
24.72 |
|
South Eastern |
23.12 |
|
Southern |
28.91 |
|
Western |
23.96 |
It should be noted that the amount of increased allocations is influenced by such factors as the extent of increased facilities involved in new units of accommodation commissioned during the preceding financial year.
223.
andMr. Bruton asked the Minister for Health the percentage of total expenditure represented by staff costs in the case of each health board and if this percentage has increased in the past three years.
The percentages shown in the following table relate to the percentage of gross direct expenditure (excluding payments made to the General Medical Services Payments Board) which it is estimated is represented by the pay costs incurred by each health board in the years ending 31 December 1976, and 31 December 1978.
|
Health Board |
1976 |
1978 |
|
Eastern |
49.60 |
51.09 |
|
Midland |
59.00 |
59.35 |
|
Mid-Western |
59.89 |
59.97 |
|
North Eastern |
56.55 |
58.10 |
|
North Western |
60.37 |
60.38 |
|
South Eastern |
61.99 |
62.20 |
|
Southern |
59.35 |
60.79 |
|
Western |
59.00 |
59.35 |