Charlie O'Connor (Dublin South West, Fianna Fail)
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Question 168: To ask the Minister for Health and Children the funding being provided for community and primary care in 2007; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [43031/06]

Mary Harney (Dublin Mid West, Progressive Democrats)
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The Primary Care Strategy is the road map for the future development of primary care services in Ireland over a period of some ten years, 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. At the heart of the Strategy is the aim of developing services in the community to give people direct access to integrated multi-disciplinary teams of general practitioners, nurses, health care assistants, home helps, occupational therapists and others.

The HSE received an additional €10m in funding in 2006 to enable the establishment of up to 100 Primary Care Teams; a further €13m is being provided in 2007 to enable the full year costs of these developments and of additional GP co-operative services funded in 2006 to be met. The HSE has indicated that it expects substantial progress in regard to the establishment of the Primary Care Teams to have been achieved by the end of the year.

I recently announced details of a further package of investment in Primary Care services in the context of Budget 2007. An additional €20m has been committed for the development of a further 100 new multi-disciplinary Primary Care Teams; €12m of which will be provided in 2007, with the additional €8m being provided in 2008 to enable the full year costs of these developments to be met. This funding is, of course, in addition to the very substantial resources already in the funding base for a wide range of primary care services.

The new funding will enable the total number of Primary Care Teams to reach 200 thereby demonstrating the Government's commitment to the achievement of the objectives in Towards 2016 of establishing 300 Primary Care Teams by 2008; 400 by 2009; and 500 by 2011.