Stephen Donnelly (Wicklow, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I fully support the intent behind the amendment. I do not propose to accept it in the Bill but for good reason. Let me lay out why. Organ Donation and Transplant Ireland, ODTI, advises on the resource and staffing requirements for organ donation and transplant services. That is the organisation with responsibility for the national system. The good news is that this review for which the Deputy is calling in the amendment is already under way. ODTI is undertaking a comprehensive review with a view to identifying really what the Deputy has spoken to, that is, the adequacy of the infrastructure, staffing, resourcing currently in place and clearly setting out the requirements for the system in the short, medium and long term, including in the context of this Bill where we hope the amount of activity will increase.

Furthermore, the report is going to put on place a strategic plan that will identify the solutions to the gaps that are found and map out very clear targets that have to be met to address any of the gaps identified. It is a systematic approach to the donation and transplant service in order that we can deliver exactly what we are all looking for, which is a cohesive national service. The report will help ensure that resource allocation across and within transplant sites is properly co-ordinated and aligns with national health and transplantation objectives and donation and transplant services. Longer term resourcing requirements will also be mapped out with a comprehensive resource allocation model rolled out.

Based on the outcomes of its report, the ODTI will be engaging with officials in my Department in a continuous process, not just on a one-off basis. Therefore, once we have this report and strategic plan identifying the gaps and additional resourcing needs, we will sign off on that and then there will be an ongoing relationship between the ODTI and the Department.

In terms of the broader requirement for ICU beds, such beds are being rolled out. They were included in the strategic plan for critical care that identified transplant services as being very resource intensive, obviously, with regard to ICU capacity. As a result, ICU capacity is being increased in all three of the transplant centres. Since 2022, €77 million has gone into ICU services. There has been a very significant increase with several million additional euro going into organ donation and transplant services. Obviously, I will share the report with the committee when I have it.

I fully agree with the Deputy. The work is now well under way. It supersedes the need for another report, which would probably be towards the end of next year. We will have this report later on this year and then we just need to account for that within the Estimates to make sure we build out exactly the resourcing the Deputy is referencing.