Micheál Martin (Cork South-Central, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I propose to take Questions Nos. 12 to 29, inclusive, together.

The Cabinet committee on health has been established and is due to meet soon. The Cabinet committee will oversee: implementation of programme for Government commitments on health; receive detailed reports; identify policy areas; and consider health reforms including Sláintecare, reform of the public health system and preparedness for future health threats. It will also receive reports from relating to programme for Government commitments in the areas of mental health and drugs policy.

Through the ongoing implementation of Sláintecare and sustained investment, reform and leadership, the new programme for Government commits to ensuring access to high-quality patient care, reducing waiting times, and further cutting the cost of accessing care. We will continue to build our workforce through the recruitment of key roles, retention measures and additional college places for key disciplines. Funding is secured for recruitment of 3,554 additional posts in the HSE for 2025.

We will deliver faster access to care. Our waiting list action plan 2025 was published last week with €420 million in funding allocated. We will continue to review capacity in emergency departments. We will increase the number of consultants in emergency medicine and ensure that more senior staff are rostered in emergency departments during weekends and public holidays for better decision-making. The construction of 114 new and replacement acute beds is expected to be completed in 2025. The surgical hub for south Dublin opened last week with additional hubs becoming operational later in 2025 and 2026. We will continue to invest in a healthier future with a national physical activity framework and action plan due to be published in 2025. A new obesity policy and action plan is to be published in 2026. We are launching a new era of innovation and digital transformation in health. The national patient app was launched earlier today with additional features to be added later in the year. The national shared care record will be developed throughout the year and the electronic health record will also be progressed.

Additional projects that are key to the increased digitalisation of the health service include a national system for electronic prescribing, remote health monitoring and virtual care solutions. In mental health services, we will continue to build the mental health workforce and infrastructure and support for community-based services. In older people's services, we will support people to live at home within their own communities and strengthen the nursing home sector. These commitments build on the investment and reforms undertaken over the past number of years, including delivery of approximately 1,225 acute beds, an increased workforce of almost 28,500 whole-time equivalents since 2020, more affordable health care through reductions in the drugs payment scheme to a threshold of €80, the removal of hospital inpatient charges, the extension of the eligibility for free GP cards for children under the age of eight and to all earning no more than the median income, state funded IVF, and free contraception for women aged 17 to 35.

Since the pandemic peaks, there has been a 30% reduction in the number of people waiting longer than the Sláintecare targets, equating to more than 191,000 people. Care is being delivered closer to home through a total of 179 primary care centres and 96 community specialist teams for older persons. A total of 26 community specialist teams for chronic disease are operational and 23 community intervention teams are operational with national coverage secured.

In 2025, we will continue to invest in reform, changing the way our services are delivered. The new regional structures within the HSE have been established with six new health regions and 20 integrated health areas. Health and social care services are planned and delivered around the specific needs of local populations leading to better co-ordination of care and access to services.

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