Paul Connaughton Snr (Galway East, Fine Gael)
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Question 41: To ask the Tánaiste and Minister for Health and Children the breakdown of where the €16 million given to primary care for 2006 will be spent; if she would list the 75-100 primary care centres; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [8349/06]

Jan O'Sullivan (Limerick East, Labour)
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Question 56: To ask the Tánaiste and Minister for Health and Children the projects on which the €16 million allocated to primary care by the Health Service Executive will be spent; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [8553/06]

Mary Harney (Dublin Mid West, Progressive Democrats)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 41 and 56 together.

The Government is fully committed to the implementation of the principles contained in the primary care strategy, which provides a template for the reform and development of primary care services over a period of ten to 15 years.

The chief executive officer of the Health Service Executive has also emphasised the importance of developing primary care services, both as the appropriate service for the delivery of the majority of people's health and social care needs and to complement the services provided by acute hospitals. This is an important priority of the executive and has my full endorsement. The implementation process at operational level is a function of the HSE which, under the Health Act 2004, is responsible for the management and delivery of health and personal social services.

To support further implementation of the strategy in 2006, additional revenue funding of €16 million has been provided. Of this funding, €10 million is to support the establishment of 75-100 primary care teams nationally. This will enable the provision of 300 additional frontline personnel to work alongside GPs in order to provide integrated and accessible services in the community.

I have been informed by the HSE that work to establish these primary care teams in development is under way. I understand that the executive will be targeting the funding so as to provide each local health office of the HSE with the potential to develop up to three primary care teams. The executive hopes to focus where possible on areas of disadvantage and with health inequalities in planning for the establishment of these teams.

A sum of €4 million has been provided for the establishment of additional GP training places and €2 million to enhance GP out-of-hours co-ops. This means that, taking into account development funding provided since 2002, €28 million is available in 2006 specifically to support the implementation of the primary care strategy. However, other development funding will also be used to support the delivery of services in line with the principles of the strategy.

Wider implementation of the primary care strategy will focus on developing new ways of working and of reorganising the resources already available to the health service in line with the service model described in the strategy. This whole-system approach to implementation means change will be required in many sectors in the health service, and not solely within primary care itself.