Dáil Éireann díospóireacht -
Tuesday, 20 Apr 1999

Vol. 503 No. 3

Written Answers. - Hospice Funding.

Gerry Reynolds

Ceist:

326 Mr. G. Reynolds asked the Minister for Health and Children if he will make a statement outlining all State grants for hospice services in Dublin in 1998; if he will provide a detailed breakdown between Our Lady's Hospice and St. Francis Hospice regarding which posts attract funding; the number of posts in each category; and the posts part funded or fully funded. [9610/99]

Gerry Reynolds

Ceist:

365 Mr. G. Reynolds asked the Minister for Health and Children if he will make a statement outlining all grant payments paid to hospices in 1998; and if these were paid through health boards, his Department or from the national lottery surplus. [10005/99]

Minister for Health and Children (Mr. Cowen)

I propose to take Questions Nos. 326 and 365 together.

State funding for St. Francis Hospice is provided by the Eastern Health Board. In 1998 the Eastern Health Board provided £2,055,156 to St. Francis Hospice for the provision of palliative care services. There are currently 61.5 whole time equivalent posts approved by the Eastern Health Board.

State funding for Our Lady's Hospice is currently provided directly by my Department. In 1998 I provided £7,732,000 to Our Lady's Hospice for the provision of palliative care services. As part of the State's overall control on employment levels, each health agency funded directly by my Department has an employment control ceiling relative to the level of funding provided. Our Lady's Hospice current ceiling is 371.2 WTE posts.

It is a matter for the management of both agencies to provide services within the level of funding and the approved level of employment provided by the Eastern Health Board and my Department.

The health boards have indicated that they made the following payments to hospices in 1998.

Hospice	Funding
	£
St. Francis Hospice, Raheny	2,055,156
West Wicklow Day Care Centre	8,000
Laois Hospice Movement	15,000
Offaly Hospice Movement	18,387
Westmeath Hospice Movement	45,000
Longford Hospice Movement	10,000
Milford Hospice	1,596,100
Cahercalla Community Hospital Ltd.	30,000
North-West Hospice	106,304
Donegal Hospice	40,000
Foyle Hospice	25,000
Sligo Cancer Support Group	2,000
South Eastern Health Board Home Care Teams	21,150
*St. Patrick's Hospital	2,417,187
Galway Hospice	885,000
Mayo/Roscommon Hospice	45,000
Total	7,317,284

*This sum refers to funding for St. Patrick's Hospital, incorporating Marymount Hospice.

The House will note a difference in the total figure above compared with the one given in my reply to a Parliamentary Question of 5 March last. It has come to my attention that there were, unfortunately, a number of errors in that reply. The reply indicated that the North West Hospice had received funding of £902,000 in 1998. In actual fact, the sum of £902,000 was the total amount of funding allocated by the North Western Health Board for all hospice and palliative care services in its area in 1997 and 1998 (£450,000 for palliative care services in each year plus £2,000 in National Lottery grants in 1998).

I have been advised that the actual expenditure incurred by the North Western Health Board in respect of the North West Hospice in 1998 was as follows:

	£
Direct Payments to North West Hospice	106,304
Costs incurred by Board in providing services to the North West Hospice Residential Unit since November, 1998.	15,000
	__
	121,304

I understand from the North-Western Health Board that following the opening of the new residential unit operated by the North West Hospice in November 1998 a funding package has been agreed for 1999 which will be worth £420,000 to the hospice. The figure given in respect of St. Francis Hospice was £2,030,000. However, the Eastern Health Board has since advised me of additional pay costs which were incurred in 1998 but were not included in the original reply. The revised figure in respect of St. Francis Hospice is now £2,055,156.

There was a typographical error in the reply concerning St. Patrick's Hospital, Cork. The figure given in the reply was £2,488,412. The Southern Health Board has advised me that the actual expenditure was £2,417,187. The total funding provided by health boards as outlined above includes base allocations and additional funding provided in 1998 by my Department, together with grants payable under the National Cancer Strategy (where applicable) and National Lottery grants paid by the health boards.

Payments made directly by my Department are as follows:

	£
Our Lady's Hospice, Harolds Cross	7.732m
Milford Hospice, Limerick (Capital Grant)	1.405m
Irish Hospice Foundation	100,000
Total	9,237,000

I would also like to inform the Deputy that applications for departmental national lottery grants far exceed resources and it was not possible, therefore, to further assist any hospice during 1998.