Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 30 June 2020
466. Deputy Louise O'Reilly asked the Minister for Health further to Parliamentary Question No. 753 of 3 June 2020, the breakdown of the HSE 2020 allocation of €774 million of capital funding by project in tabular form. [13120/20]
Amharc ar fhreagra542. Deputy Louise O'Reilly asked the Minister for Health further to Parliamentary Question No. 753 of 3 June 2020, if he will provide a breakdown of the projects being undertaken under the HSE’S 2020 allocation of capital funding; and if he will outline the projects, inclusive of their timelines of start and completion dates in tabular form. [13502/20]
Amharc ar fhreagraI propose to take Questions Nos. 466 and 542 together.
The Health Service Executive is responsible for the delivery and management of healthcare infrastructure.
All capital development proposals must be approved by the relevant Hospital Group or Community Health Organisation (CHO) before being forwarded to the relevant HSE Directorate for support/approval and prioritisation. The proposal is then submitted to the HSE National Capital and Property Steering Committee. The committee comprises of officials from the acute care and community care directorates, along with HSE Finance and the Estates Office. The role of the National Capital and Property Steering Committee is to prioritise projects and recommend them for inclusion in the HSE’s multi-annual Capital Plan, subject to funding availability.
The HSE has developed a draft Capital Plan for 2020 having regard to the available funding, the number of large national capital projects currently underway, and the cashflow requirements and priorities attaching to each project. All projects are considered as part of this process.
It is important to recognise that all capital development proposals must progress through a number of approval stages, in line with the Public Spending Code, including detailed appraisal, planning, design and procurement before a firm timeline or funding requirement can be established.
The final decision to proceed with the construction of a project cannot be made until the tender process has been completed and the costings reviewed to ensure that the proposal delivers value for money and remains affordable, and that sufficient funding is available to fund the project to completion, including equipping and commissioning costs.
The delivery of capital projects is a dynamic process and is subject to the successful completion of the various approval stages, which can impact on the timeline for delivery.
The HSE actively manages the capital programme in order to ensure it has flexibility to progress as many projects as possible within the available funding, particularly in the event of any project not progressing as anticipated.
At present the draft Capital Plan 2020 is being reviewed and revised to take account of the impact of Covid-19, which resulted in delays on many projects and the funding of an emergency Covid-19 programme of works. Once the HSE has finalised its Capital Plan for 2020, it will then be submitted to me for consideration.
