Tom Hayes (Tipperary South, Fine Gael)
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Question 215: To ask the Minister for Health and Children the action she will take to deal with the issue of €83 million being diverted from disability services by the Health Service Executive since January 2008; if this money will be allocated to disability services; and if she will make a statement on the budgeting issues involved. [38684/08]

John Moloney (Laois-Offaly, Fianna Fail)
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In the 2008 Budget, €50m was provided to the Health Service Executive (HSE) to fund a range of additional services under the Multi Annual Investment Programme for Disability. Although the commencement of the planned developments in disability services this year had been delayed due to a financial review, I am pleased to inform you that the Executive has informed the Department of Health and Children that it is now in the process of rolling out the planned developments. The HSE had indicated that due to the delayed start to some of these developments it expects to spend €33m of the €50m by the end of 2008. The resulting €17m time related savings were included in this Department's budgetary consolidation measures announced to the House in July 2008.

The Deputy's question relates to the management and delivery of health and personal services, which are the responsibility of the Health Service Executive under the Health Act 2004. Accordingly, my Department has requested the Parliamentary Affairs Division of the Executive to arrange to have this matter investigated and to have a reply issued directly to the Deputy.