James Reilly (Dublin North, Fine Gael)

The HSE submitted its draft National Service Plan 2012 to me on 23 December last and it is currently under consideration in my Department. In line with the Health Act 2004, the plan sets out the type and volume of services to be delivered by the executive for the moneys allocated under its Vote.

The budget provision for 2012 represents a major challenge to the HSE and comes at a time of significant reform of the public health system. The HSE will be required to deliver, at a minimum, the levels of service set out in the plan as well as operating within the limits of its voted allocation of €13.317 billion. The bulk of the reductions the HSE is required to deliver in 2012 will impact on front-line services more directly than in previous years. This is partly because of the anticipated reduction in the numbers of staff at the end of the so-called grace period on 29 February. I intend to review the plan once the impact of the grace period exits is known. This is not an exit scheme; this is a period of grace under which people can leave the service under the current terms and conditions applying to their pensions and lump sum.

The plan will be implemented in the context of ongoing radical reform of the health service and the significant restructuring of the HSE which I recently announced. A rigorous examination of budget allocations is being undertaken across the care programme areas with the explicit aim of reducing the impact on services and identifying where efficiencies will be driven. This process has involved re-prioritising funding to protect areas of greatest need and meet programme for Government commitments.

While it will be impossible to avoid an impact on service delivery in 2012, the plan will commit the HSE to minimising this impact by fast-tracking new, innovative and more efficient ways of using the reducing resources. It will reflect the need to move to models of care across all care groups which treat patients at the lowest level of complexity and provide services at the least possible unit cost. It will also include a commitment to addressing staffing levels, skill mix and staff attendance patterns within the context of the public service agreement.

Once approved, the service plan will be laid before both Houses of the Oireachtas, after which it will be published. During 2012, the HSE will provide me with monthly performance reports on all aspects of the plan.

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