Bertie Ahern (Dublin Central, Fianna Fail)

An administrative oversight led to copies of two policy directions by the Minister for Health and Children in 2005 not being laid before the Houses of the Oireachtas as required by section 10(6) of the Health Act 2004. These related to a requirement for the Health Service Executive to prepare and submit a code of governance, which was issued on 18 February, and an issue related to co-location of private hospitals on public hospital sites issued on 14 July. Under section 10(1) of the Health Act, the Minister may issue written directions to the HSE for any purpose relating to that Act or any other enactment. Section 10(6) provides that a copy of such policy directions is to be laid before the Houses of the Oireachtas within 21 days.

The Department of Health and Children issued a press statement on 19 April indicating its regret concerning the administrative oversight and acknowledged the error in not having informed the Oireachtas in the manner prescribed and stating that it was taking immediate steps to rectify the situation by ensuring that copies of the policies directions issued would be laid before the Houses forthwith. The documents were laid before the Houses last Friday, 20 April.

On the second question Deputy Rabbitte asked, I would consider it just one of our initiatives in the health area. I do not consider it the main one. We have had many important initiatives, not least spending €500 million a year on the capital programme and employing 40,000 additional staff. The initiative is not based on a European, American or UK system. It is an initiative to transfer private activity from within the public hospital system to privately financed and managed hospitals to free up 1,000 additional beds for public patients and to try to improve the lot and the circumstances of public patients.

The new facilities, as I have said previously, will meet specific requirements, including the ability to admit private patients 24 hours a day, seven days a week from public hospitals — accident and emergency departments and GPs — and the capacity to treat all patients currently catered for in the public hospital, with joint clinical governance. There will be one accident and emergency entrance and service on the one campus.

On the information Deputy Rabbitte asked about, the Department of Health and Children has been informed by the HSE that invitation to tender documents were issued to the short list bidders on 19 April in regard to Waterford hospital, Cork University Hospital, Limerick Regional Hospital, Sligo General Hospital, Beaumont Hospital and St. James's Hospital. Invitations to tender for Connolly, Blanchardstown and Adelaide and Meath hospitals, incorporating the National Children's Hospital, Tallaght, will issue at a later date. Tenders are due to be submitted by 17 May. The HSE will then evaluate the tenders and select the successful bidders during the weeks after it. Following that there will be a stand-off period of two weeks, which must be done under procurement law, before an agreement can be signed. There will be a rigorous financial assessment of all the proposals at that stage. That will take account of value for money and the cost of any expenditure foregone. Obviously, it will take some weeks for that whole process to be followed.

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