Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 21 June 2005
304 Mr. Durkan asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Health and Children the model it is intended to apply in respect of the running of the health services with particular reference to community care, general hospital services, special hospital services; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [21277/05]
Amharc ar fhreagraPursuant to the provisions of the Health Act 2004, the Health Service Executive was established to manage the Irish health service nationally with effect from 1 January 2005. The board is the governing body of the executive with authority to perform the functions of the executive. The executive's corporate headquarters is located at Oak House, Millennium Park, Naas, County Kildare.
The overall organisational structure of the executive is based around ten directorates. Two of these directorates, namely the national hospitals office directorate and the primary community and continuing care directorate, have responsibility for delivering the general hospital services, community care and special hospital services referred to in the Deputy's question.
The national hospitals office directorate is responsible for the provision of all acute hospital and ambulance pre-hospital emergency care services throughout the country. It is also responsible for approving the provision of specialised treatment to patients in countries outside the State. Hospital services will be delivered through ten hospital networks, with each having a network manager with responsibility for resource allocation, performancemanagement and risk assessment and management.
The primary community and continuing care directorate is responsible for the planning, management and delivery of all primary, community and continuing care services, to maximise the health and well-being of the population. The directorate is responsible for primary care in addition to community-based health and personal social services and continuing care hospitals and services. At a local level, primary community and continuing care will be delivered primarily through local health offices located within the existing 32 community care areas, with a local manager in each office.
305 Mr. Durkan asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Health and Children the way in which it is intended to develop health policy in the future; if this is likely to be the prerogative of the Minister or the Health Service Executive; if in either circumstance it is intended that the Oireachtas will have any role to play; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [21278/05]
Amharc ar fhreagra308 Mr. Durkan asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Health and Children the extent to which she intends the Health Service Executive to become accountable to the Oireachtas; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [21281/05]
Amharc ar fhreagraI propose to take Questions Nos. 305 and 308 together.
The Minister for Health and Children is responsible for health policy and will continue to be accountable to the Oireachtas in that regard. The Health Service Executive, as the national body with statutory responsibility under the Health Act 2004 for the management and delivery of health and personal social services, will be involved in informing the making of policy by the Minister.
The Health Act 2004, which provided for the establishment of the Health Service Executive on a statutory basis, contains a number of provisions to ensure that the executive is accountable to the Oireachtas. Under the Act, the Minister for Health and Children is required to lay before the Houses of the Oireachtas the executive's corporate plan and service plan once he or she has approved it. The executive's audited financial statements, together with the Comptroller and Auditor General's report and its annual report, must also be laid before the Houses.
Under the Act, the chief executive officer is appointed the accounting officer for the executive. This provision required the establishment of a separate Vote for the executive for the purposes of the Comptroller and Auditor General Acts 1866 to 1998. This means that the CEO is accountable to the Committee of Public Accounts through the Comptroller and Auditor General for the appropriation accounts of the executive. The executive is also obliged to prepare a set of income and expenditure accounts for which it is accountable to the Dáil through the Committee of Public Accounts. As accounting officer, the CEO will be required to attend before the Committee of Public Accounts.
The Act also requires that the CEO attend before an Oireachtas committee to give an account of the general administration of the executive if requested to do so. Provision is also made in the legislation for the attendance of the chairperson or other employees to attend before the Oireachtas committees if requested to do so by the chairperson of the committee.
There is also a provision in the Act for the making of regulations regarding the executive's dealings with Oireachtas members, including addressing the issue of supplying specific documents or information to Members of the Oireachtas and dealing with correspondence from Oireachtas Members. My Department is currently preparing the regulations required to give effect to that provision and I hope to have them in place shortly.
307 Mr. Durkan asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Health and Children if she has issued instructions or authorised others to withhold information regarding the health services which should be readily available to public representatives; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [21280/05]
Amharc ar fhreagraI assure the Deputy that no instructions have been issued to withold information regarding the health services which should be readily available to public representatives.
