Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 20 October 2020
675. Deputy David Cullinane asked the Minister for Health if he will provide a breakdown of the areas for the €58 million allocated under e-health in budget 2021; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [31423/20]
Amharc ar fhreagraOf the €58 million allocated under e-Health in Budget 2021, €25 million is ring-fenced for COVID-19 action plan measures carried forward due to the pandemic. This includes continued work on projects such as the COVID Care Tracker, (the system that supports the management of the patient pathway through the Covid-19 journey, including triage, registration, assessment, testing ,result notification, contact tracing and surveillance) the contact tracing app, on line appointment systems (to avoid congregation of patients at test facilities and healthcare settings) and systems that support the collection and reporting of Covid statistics. A further €25 million will be applied to eHealth projects and programmes including service continuity and transformation programmes and eHealth and ICT solutions supporting community and social care services. Finally, an €8 million investment will provide some of the key skills and resources required to deliver the ICT and eHealth technical components that are required to deliver interoperability between systems and services.
This important investment will progress Sláintecare reforms including integrated care and supports the eHealth strategy including important technical enablers that span across multiple systems and health facilities nationwide. It provides funding for key ICT infrastructure and the continued digitisation of health care services with improved patient experience and patient care pathways that are the result of a joined-up integrated health service.
