Dan Neville (Limerick West, Fine Gael)
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Question 241: To ask the Minister for Health and Children if there is a special fund in her Department entitled the innovation fund; and if so, the size and purpose of that fund. [10426/08]

Mary Harney (Dublin Mid West, Progressive Democrats)
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As part of the Budget 2008 measures, the provision of €12 million in 2008 ( €30 million in a full year) was secured for use by the Health Service Executive (HSE) in its Vote 40, for the encouragement and support of individuals and agencies to foster innovative projects to meet particular problems or bottlenecks in the system. The assessment system would be weighted in favour of integrated projects (community and hospital) seeking partial rather than full funding ( i.e. which involve some reallocation of core budget funding), projects which involve innovative ways of working (e.g. greater role for nurse led delivery or other skill mix) and those which have a focus on prevention/early intervention (i.e. to shift towards the important rather than the immediate). The projects should be capable of delivering tangible improvements for patients.