Hildegarde Naughton (Galway West, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

As Deputies are aware, ensuring people are healthy and active and that they get the healthcare they need when they need it is a priority for this Government. These are not just empty words. Let the facts speak to the Government’s commitment to ensuring that our health services are well funded. Over the past three years, the Government has delivered record investment in healthcare. The Government’s €22.5 billion health budget for 2024 is the biggest ever and will facilitate the continued delivery and expansion of quality, affordable healthcare services. This funding equates to a spend of €4,000 for every man, woman and child in the State.

The emergency department action plan is fully funded, which means that anybody who arrives in an emergency department having suffered an accident or medical emergency will be seen and will get the treatment he or she needs. The waiting list action plan is also fully funded, which will reduce waiting times for life-altering treatment. Funding to maintain existing services has been provided to meet inflation and rising patient demand. Resources are in place to hire 2,000 staff additional to those already there. Provision has been made for the opening and staffing of six new surgical hubs across the country, including in my constituency in Galway.

We must be honest and say that, despite the great strides made in recent years, we need to do more in the coming years. We must also point to the fact we have an ageing population and pent-up demand for services has arisen as a result of Covid-19, so the demand for healthcare has increased and continues to rise. It is clear, too, that, the HSE must deliver services in a more efficient manner, achieving cost savings where it can and ensuring taxpayer’s money is spend as efficiently as possible. I have every confidence that the Department of Health and the HSE will ensure this happens in 2024 and future years.

I will turn to developments in the areas for which I am responsible as Minister with responsibility for public health, well-being and the national drugs strategy, outline some of the progress made in recent years and set out some exciting new initiatives under way. Among the best uses of public money in our health service is spending to avoid the onset of medical conditions through the promotion of healthy lifestyles. A key element of this preventative approach is our healthy Ireland framework, at the core of which is the healthy Ireland fund. Working with partners including Departments, agencies, NGOs, community organisations and the country’s 31 local authorities, this fund focuses on health and well-being with programmes designed to counteract and prevent negative health outcomes as a result of smoking, alcohol, poor diet and physical inactivity, as well as addressing the wider social and environmental factors which impact on health and well-being. Established in 2017 with an initial annual budget of €5 million, we have gradually increased investment in the fund in the years since. Our budget for the fund in 2023 was just over €14 million and I was delighted to secure an additional €2.3 million for 2024, bringing the total to some €16.5 million. That represents an increase of 16%. That is new money and new investment in this important initiative.

Knowing the importance of good nutrition and the development of good eating habits, I secured an additional €300,000 to facilitate the recruitment of four community food and nutrition workers, which will bring the national complement to 19. These workers are a vital support to local communities in developing responses to food poverty and insecurity.

I am pleased to highlight the further development of outdoor exercise facilities. In 2024 we will build on the success of the GAA walking trails initiative that I announced earlier this year. The Government will also provide funding to develop facilities to support outdoor swimming.

Some €1 million will be provided for these initiatives next year.

Our smoking rates continue to give cause for concern, given the huge impact they have not only on the individual in terms of poor health outcomes but also on the wider health system. Great strides have been made, with the percentage of the population who smoke falling from 23% in 2015 to 18% in 2022. Some 22,000 people are expected to engage with HSE anti-smoking services in 2024, of whom a quarter will require medical intervention and supports. A total of €1.82 million is being provided to assist these people in kicking the habit.

Moving to sexual health, the House will be aware that work continues on the development of a new national sexual health strategy and as part of this we will increase the budget for free home sexually transmitted infection, STI, testing by €700,000, allowing people to test in the privacy of their own homes. Some 91,000 testing kits were provided last year, and this valuable initiative will expand over the course of 2024. We will also increase funding for our national HIV pre-exposure prophylaxis programme, PrEP, to help fund additional staff and increase access to PrEP medication, helping to provide better access to HIV prevention for more people.

As part of our response to tackling gambling addiction, some €500,000 will be provided in 2024 to develop supports for the estimated 130,000 people with problems in this area. Since my appointment to the Department of Health almost ten months ago, I have met many people who use drugs, some of whom are living with addiction, medical experts and people delivering addiction services on the ground. One key message that I have received has been that we need to change how we think about and tackle drug misuse and addiction.

At the heart of this is ensuring that core services are funded and in 2023, I provided an increase in core funding for our drug and alcohol task forces and section 39 organisations. Knowing the importance of education, I also provided €1.5 million in funding for a drug and alcohol education and awareness programme, the first time such funding has been provided. For 2024, we are going to deliver new groundbreaking services never before provided. They include dual diagnosis hubs, which will support the recovery of young people with drug dependency and mental health issues, and dedicated funding for services after people embark on their road to recovery to support their integration into everyday life through housing, employment, education and other supports. It is important to note that in the last two years alone. funding for our drug and alcohol services has increased by almost €10 million. I am keen that we continue to build on this so as to ensure the fantastic care that is provided from within the community is supported.

In conclusion, I would like to pay tribute to all the workers and professionals working across our healthcare system for their hard work and dedication, and to thank them for the care they provide to people who are often at their most vulnerable. These people are often forgotten in a politically-charged debate but it would be remiss of me not to pay tribute to their enormous contribution in helping to keep people healthy for longer.

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