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Health Services Expenditure

Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 28 July 2020

Tuesday, 28 July 2020

Ceisteanna (847)

Louise O'Reilly

Ceist:

847. Deputy Louise O'Reilly asked the Minister for Health the time frame and estimated cost per year of full implementation of the e-health system. [18022/20]

Amharc ar fhreagra

Freagraí scríofa

Additional capital provision to support the implementation of eHealth and ICT for the period 2018-2021 was secured by my Department as part of the Mid-Term Capital Review and is supported through the National Development Plan. The capital provision for eHealth and ICT is set out below and will allow for a multi-annual rolling programme of work on multiple projects:

2018

2019

2020

2021

€60m

€85m

€95m

€120m

For the years 2018 and 2019, almost the full allocation of funding was spent within the fiscal year, with €59,592,511 being spent in 2018 and €84,596,897 spent in 2019, respectively. The allocated capital provision funds a large range of projects that support both my Departments eHealth strategy and the eHealth deliverables under the Sláintecare Implementation Strategy, as part of a rolling annual programme of work. Future capital investments will fund important systems such as the Electronic Health Record, ePharmacy, Shared Care Record, the Individual Health Identifier and other national eHealth systems and telehealth initiatives.

A significant portion of the capital provided for ICT each year is required to replace and upgrade the existing ICT infrastructure and systems already deployed. The balance of capital is allocated to the development and implementation of projects, the majority of which are clinical and patient focused  but some relate to corporate and operational systems.

The full implementation of the eHealth strategy and eHealth deliverables under the Sláintecare Implementation Strategy will be over a number of years on a rolling basis with programme reviews, cost planning and annual expenditure commitments being made accordingly. 

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