Enda Kenny (Mayo, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

The agency will be in a position to provide a quality improvement focus across a range of health care settings. The main priorities will be to ensure that patients, their families and their carers experience high quality care and ensuring the provision of care that is safe and protects patients from harm. The agency will seek to ensure that the care provided is effective and based on the best available evidence. The establishment of the PSA will be included in the work programme in the service plan for 2014.

The Deputy mentioned the insurance fund. As the Deputy is aware, the Government is making a number of changes in regard to the health system, the aim of which is to deliver a single tier health service supported by universal health insurance where there is fair access to service based on need and not on ability to pay. Under the UHI system everybody will be insured with their choice of insurer and will have equal access to a standard package of primary and acute hospital services, including acute mental health services. A new insurance fund will subsidise or pay insurance premiums for those who qualify for a subsidy. I confirm for the Deputy that intensive work is under way on the completion of the White Paper on universal health insurance, which will provide more detail on the UHI model.

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