Joan Burton (Dublin West, Labour)
Link to this: Individually | In context

Question 261: To ask the Minister for Health and Children the agencies, bodies or authorities under the aegis of her Department that have been scheduled for merging, amalgamation, abolition or sharing of services as announced in the Budget 2009; the progress that has been made on the implementation of these organisational changes; the details of the implementation plan for these organisational changes; the cost savings that will arise from each of these organisational changes; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [47064/08]

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

The programme of rationalisation in the health sector involves a total of 15 agencies as follows:

3 agencies are to be amalgamated to form a new Public Health and Medicines Safety Authority

Food Safety Authority of Ireland

Office of Tobacco Control

Irish Medicines Board

6 agencies are to be integrated into the Health Service Executive

National Cancer Screening Service

National Cancer Registry

Drug Treatment Centre Board

Crises Pregnancy Agency

Post Graduate Medical and Dental Board

National Council for Professional Development of Nursing and Midwifery

3 agencies to be integrated into the Health and Social Care Professionals Council

National Social Work Qualifications Board

Opticians Board

Pre Hospital Emergency Care Council

The timeframe for rationalisation spans the period 2009 to 2011 inclusive, but this is highly dependent on the necessary legislation being in place.

The Department of Finance has issued each relevant Department with an Implementation Plan which is to be updated on an ongoing basis to enable that Department to report to Government on progress being made by each Department on the roll out of the Rationalisation of Agencies. The work being done in my Department at present relates to data collection and analysis across the fifteen Agencies together with the progressing of a number of pieces of legislation relevant to rationalisation and the discussions with Agencies which are now underway.

While there is clearly a need to secure efficiencies from the rationalisation programme, the primary aim of these measures is to streamline service delivery, professional registration and policy making in a number of areas in the health sector, through the integration and/or amalgamation of function. Efficiencies will derive over time from economies of scale and the elimination of duplication in areas such as recruitment, procurement, payroll and ICT systems.