Vol. 549 No. 1
78 Mr. Bell asked the Minister for Health and Children if, further to his announcement of 16 January 2001 regarding additional hospital beds, he will confirm a media report (details supplied) that the hospital beds had been announced some months ago and all that the Department had done was to identify the places for those beds; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [5769/02]
The Government announced in the National Health Strategy, Quality and Fairness – A Health System for You, which was launched in November 2001, the provision of an additional 3,000 acute public hospital beds over the next ten years. A commitment was made to have 450 of these beds in place by the end of 2002. Following comprehensive consultations with the health boards and the Eastern Regional Health Authority in 2001, proposals were in fact received and agreed for 551 additional public beds in the acute hospital sector. An additional 158 beds are due to come into operation in 2002 as a result of NDP funded developments and other initiatives which were approved in 2001.
The Government has approved the allocation of €65 million in order to fund the provision of these 709 additional beds. At the launch of my Department's report Acute Hospital Bed Capacity – A National Review on 16 January 2002, I announced the breakdown by location and number of all of these beds.
