Neasa Hourigan (Dublin Central, Green Party)
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I have two questions regarding service redesign that I will address to Ms Magahy and another on capital funding. One of the things that struck me from the briefing note was in respect of the national clinical lead for trauma services. In 2019, work was done in that area and staff were appointed. Particular work was done in Dublin hospitals regarding their submission to become trauma centres. An implementation group was also set up to oversee that. With the proviso that the ambulance service and how it operates is always a hot topic in Dublin, can the committee get a progress update on the work being done in Dublin hospitals?

The second issue is that there is a huge amount of work involved in the implementation of Sláintecare, which is not only about the move to primary care but also the treatment of chronic illnesses in the long term for citizens. The latter is a major concern and has a massive impact on people's quality of life. An issue that has been raised with me by a few groups, and by the Asthma Society of Ireland in particular, is the creation of registers. The Asthma Society of Ireland has reported that some of its members who attend medical services encounter difficulties in being recognised as having the condition they have. This is also relevant in the context of people with diabetes and epilepsy. There do not seem to be programmes for registers in Ireland, although they are quite prevalent in other EU countries, even those that operate under the constraints of GDPR, which I am sure is a concern when it comes to data collection. I would like to understand if the creation of such registers has been considered.

Finally, we have talked about capital funding today. This is a very important issue and I hope that the budget which has just been announced will help in that area. We have talked a great deal about elective procedures and the possibility of accessing capacity in private hospitals. My question concerns the community care side and relates to a much smaller-scale aspect of capital funding, particularly in the context of disadvantaged communities. I refer to the Healthy Ireland programmes and those lifestyle and well-being benefit programmes that are listed in the briefing note. I would like to understand what the decision-making process is regarding capital funding as it relates to those programmes. Are we trying to find bricks-and-mortar facilities to house those important community programmes that relate to illness prevention and, if so, where are we with that work?