Máire Hoctor (Tipperary North, Fianna Fail)

As a statutory body, the provision of these services, including the delivery of services by agreement with voluntary and community organisations, is a matter for the HSE.

Leopardstown Park Hospital provides care for approximately 200 patients in south County Dublin. The majority of the beds are long-stay beds for older people and there are also respite beds and dedicated beds for patients of Alzheimer's disease and welfare-home type beds on the campus.

The hospital receives in excess of €12 million annually through the HSE to pay the costs of its services. As the Deputy is aware, the allocation of resources is a matter for the executive, in accordance with the overall priorities for particular services as set out in its service plan.

Discussions around the 2008 service level agreement are at an advanced stage with the Dublin south-east local health office of the HSE, which is the main link for the hospital into the HSE. In this context, the executive has advised it has been discussing with the CEO a deficit in the hospital budget which has accumulated over several years. The HSE has further advised it will be necessary for the hospital to break even financially in line with HSE plans. This is no different from any other agency funded through the HSE.

In the course of these discussions, the executive proposed a solution and plan to the CEO and board of Leopardstown to eliminate the deficit over a two-year period. The HSE advised that the focus of this plan was that the impact on services would be kept to the absolute minimum necessary to achieve break-even.

The board decided in a meeting on 6 March not to adopt the plan and to instead address budgetary issues by the closure of 11 respite and ten long-term beds with effect from 1 May 2008. It is important to note it was the hospital which made this decision rather than the Health Service Executive. When this decision was communicated to the executive, it sought an urgent meeting with the hospital board. It is understood this meeting will take place on Friday, 25 April 2008.

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