Arthur Morgan (Louth, Sinn Fein)
Link to this: Individually | In context

Question 250: To ask the Minister for Health and Children the annual cost of delivering into the hospital system the additional 3,000 hospital beds required. [31159/07]

Mary Harney (Dublin Mid West, Progressive Democrats)
Link to this: Individually | In context

The Health Strategy 2001 included a commitment to provide an additional 3,000 acute hospital beds. Significant progress has been made on this commitment. The average number of in-patient beds and day places available in public acute hospitals was 12,145 in 2001 (11,374 in-patient beds and 771 day places). The provisional number recorded by the Health Service Executive (HSE) for 2006 was 13,771 (12,574 in-patient beds and 1,197 day places).

The Programme for Government includes a commitment to provide an additional 1,500 public acute hospital beds. About 1000 beds will be delivered through the co-location initiative and the balance of 500 through the HSE capital plan.

My Department has asked the Parliamentary Affairs Division of the Health Service Executive to supply the Deputy with an estimate of the annual running costs of the additional beds.