John Moloney (Laois-Offaly, Fianna Fail)

I am taking this Adjournment matter on behalf of my colleague, the Minister for Health and Children, Deputy Harney. The Government's strategy, Primary Care: A New Direction, is the roadmap for the development of primary care services over a period of ten to 15 years. The development of such services is an essential component of the health service reform process. As the Deputy observed, it has been estimated that in a developed primary care system, 90% to 95% of people's day-to-day health and social care needs can be met in the primary care setting.

The key objective in primary care policy is to develop services in the community that give people direct access to integrated multidisciplinary teams. The Health Act 2004 provides the Health Service Executive with responsibility for the management and delivery of health and personal social services. The executive has identified 530 primary care teams and 134 health and social care networks to be developed by 2011. There are 111 teams currently holding clinical team meetings, which involve a range of health professionals meeting to discuss and plan integrated care for individual patients. The overall target is to have 210 teams holding clinical team meetings by the end of 2009.

A total of 21 teams is planned for the south Lee area of Cork. Of these, I understand three are planned for the Carrigaline area, one of which is at an advanced stage of development. Reconfiguration of Health Service Executive personnel to staff this primary care team has recently been completed. It is staffed by professionals from the fields of nursing, physiotherapy, occupational therapy, dietetics, addiction counselling and community liaison. Clinical team meetings have taken place.

With regard to the development of a primary care facility to replace the current structure, approval was granted to complete the design phase and progress the project to tender stage. A design team is in place. Planning permission to proceed with the development of the facility was received in late November 2008 and work is continuing on the completion of the tender document stage. In determining its capital programme, the Health Service Executive is required to prioritise the capital infrastructure projects to be progressed within its overall capital funding allocation taking account of the targets for division of capital investment between the acute and primary, community and continuing care programmes. The Health Service Executive is currently revising its capital plan to take account of the capital funding envelope available for the period to 2013, following the supplementary budget in April. Details on the plans for the health facility at Carrigaline will emerge following the executive's deliberative process and approval of its revised capital plan.

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