Michael D Higgins (Galway West, Labour)
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Question 126: To ask the Minister for Health and Children her views on reports that the accident and emergency task force will say in its final report that bed capacity is a problem in a number of hospitals; her further views on reports that there are ongoing issues that delay the discharge of patients from a number of hospitals; when the Health Service Executive's report on bed capacity will be published; when the task force report on bed capacity will be published; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [41461/06]

Mary Harney (Dublin Mid West, Progressive Democrats)
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My Department is advised by the Health Service Executive that the Task Force on Accident and Emergency Services is currently finalising its report, and that the approach to the implementation of its recommendations is under discussion. A number of short-term measures are to be prioritised for implementation as part of the HSE Winter Initiative.

The number of patients in acute hospitals whose discharge has been delayed has fallen significantly, reflecting the positive impact of the current initiative of discharging patients to private nursing homes, and the increase in the number of home care packages that have been made available. A number of initiatives are underway to address capacity issues in the long-stay care and community settings. The HSE has developed proposals in relation to additional private nursing home beds, as well as additional extended care beds in the public sector, including 350 beds in Community Nursing Units in the Dublin region where the difficulty in accessing extended care beds has been most acute.

A Steering Group has been established under the chairmanship of the National Director of the National Hospitals Office to review our acute hospital bed requirements up to the year 2020. The Group includes representatives of the Health Service Executive, my Department, the Department of Finance and the Economic and Social Research Institute. The Health Service Executive is about to appoint external consultants to carry out the review. The review will provide for an assessment of acute bed capacity requirements for Ireland to 2020 and will be published when it is completed.