Vol. 541 No. 2
576 Mr. Allen asked the Minister for Health and Children the plans he has to address the statistic which places Ireland 13th out of the 15 EU member states in terms of the number of beds available per 100,000 people, along with the general lack of services in certain areas of the country. [22078/01]
As the Deputy is aware, I initiated a national review of bed capacity in both the acute and non-acute sectors, on foot of the commitment by Government in the Programme for Prosperity and Fairness. The review is being conducted by my Department in conjunction with the Department of Finance and in consultation with the social partners. The review is primarily focused on the emerging need to increase bed capacity and to have a strategic framework in place in terms of the number of additional beds required in the short, medium and longer terms. The review has taken account of Ireland's position with regard to hospital bed stock in comparison with EU member states and other developed countries.
I will bring the findings of the review to Government in the near future. The review will also inform the forthcoming health strategy with regard to the future development of acute hospital services in this country.
