Brendan Howlin (Wexford, Labour)

Increasing minimum contributions and reviewing rent limits will yield savings of €55 million in rent supplement. Changes to the current system of concurrent payments will save €21.8 million in 2012.

Full details of the specific social welfare measures are set out in the expenditure report along with a number of other changes to social welfare schemes and entitlements. My colleague, the Minister for Social Protection, will expand on these measures later.

Health

Expenditure on the health budget will be 26% of current expenditure and the sector comprises around one third of all public service employment. The scale of the resources being invested means the sector must continue to make a significant contribution to closing the deficit.

At the same time, the Government is very aware of the fact that the ageing population is already placing demands on essential health and personal social services. We will be using the reform programme to address these demands within the limited resources we have available. One of the main aims of the comprehensive review of expenditure for health was to reduce as far as possible the negative impacts on essential front line services of the savings required to meet the budgetary targets and to facilitate real reform of health services so that we can improve the quality and quantity of services in the medium to longer term.

I am allocating €13.644 billion for health in 2012. This will allow the health care system to meet the demands placed on it and, in particular, accommodate the continued growth in demand-led schemes such as medical cards and long-term care. As part of this, I am allocating an additional €50 million to fund implementation of the programme for Government commitments on mental health and access to GP care. Some €35 million of this is being made available for the development of community mental health teams and services as outlined in A Vision for Change. Some €15 million will fund access to primary care without fees to claimants of free drugs under the long-term illness scheme.

This is the first step towards the Government's objective of introducing major reforms to the health system. We must reduce our cost base and increase efficiencies to enable health service provision that delivers its essential services effectively, professionally and compassionately. We must strive to make savings that do not impact on front line services. Today, I am announcing a total of €543 million in net savings in the health area that, in addition to reducing our deficit, will be used to meet unavoidable pressures in health as well as the extension of key services in some areas. We will reduce numbers and contain pay costs to save €145 million; introduce measures to reduce the price of drugs, such as reference pricing and generic drugs, and reduce fees for services to save a further €112 million; increase the monthly threshold from €120 to €132 under the drug payment scheme to save €12 million; ensure efficiencies in procurement by active management and control of both price and volume of usage, which will save €50 million; improve the generation and collection of private income in public hospitals to save €143 million; and secure 2% efficiencies in disability, mental health and children's services, saving €50 million. Details are set out in the expenditure report and the Minister for Health will provide further details later.

Education

Education expenditure, including the National Training Fund, NTF, will comprise around 17%, or €8.604 billion, of all current expenditure next year and will continue to be a priority for the Government. At a time of resource constraints, we must invest in education and training and prioritise those programmes that deliver the best results and meet the requirements of children, parents, the disadvantaged and the labour force.

We will continue to provide a full programme of training and further education through SOLAS, the VECs and other educational bodies. These programmes will be actively focused on helping the unemployed return to the labour force. We will continue to make substantial provision for children with special needs in terms of resource teachers and special needs assistants.

We have had to make the difficult decision to increase student contributions in order to protect the higher education sector from what would otherwise have been greater cuts.

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