Vol. 549 No. 1
168 Cecilia Keaveney asked the Minister for Health and Children the advantages under his Department's remit that have accrued to County Donegal and the north west region arising from the Objective One designation; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [6039/02]
Funding provided by the Government under the National Development Plan, 2000-2006, represents a very significant increase in health capital investment nationally compared to previous years. A sum of €2.5 billion, £2 billion, was made available for the health sector at the commencement of the plan. Funding provided to the North-Western Health Board under the NDP reflects the regionalisation priorities contained in the plan overall whereby a per capita weighting of 20% applies within the Objective One or Border, midland and western region. It is intended that investment will benefit all healthcare programmes of the board and that a greater balance of funding will be achieved by 2006 between the acute and non-acute hospital sectors.
As this was the first time that the health sector was included to any significant degree in a national capital investment programme, transitional arrangements applied in 2000 in relation to NDP funding among boards to ensure that pre-NDP commitments were met and to allow a certain number of new initiatives to commence. Funding to boards, including the NWHB, was therefore indicated in 2000 in respect of the years 2001 to 2006. Boards were asked by my Department to draw up NDP plans in line with the funding resources indicated to them for this period. The funding indicated to the NWHB for 2001-06 was €131.67 million, £103.7 million, excluding separate provision for information and communications technology.
The North-Western Health Board has primary responsibility under the NDP for the prioritisation and delivery of capital projects within its area, subject to agreement with my Department in relation to the normal criteria governing individual capital projects. These include issues such as approvals, cost validation and compliance with relevant national and EU guidelines and regulations. Given the scope of initiatives planned or under way in the north western region under the NDP, and the fact that health services are administered on a health board rather than county basis, it would not be practical for me to detail here the extensive number of capital projects undertaken by that board or to outline the advantages accruing to County Donegal. In addition, a number of these initiatives relate to minor capital works such as re-equipping, refurbishment or health and safety, or may benefit more than one county within the board. In the circumstances, I have asked the chief executive officer of the board to examine the matter and reply direct to the Deputy.
