Bernard Durkan (Kildare North, Fine Gael)
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Question 355: To ask the Minister for Health and Children the extent to which the full range of services planned at each public hospital throughout the country have been put in place to date; the extent of outstanding provisions in this regard; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [13661/11]

James Reilly (Dublin North, Fine Gael)
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My predecessor approved the HSE National Service Plan 2011 on 21 December 2010 and in approving the Plan, highlighted to the HSE the need to maintain services as well as operating within the limits of its Voted allocation of €13.456bn, a net reduction of €683m on the 2010 provision. The HSE National Service Plan commits the HSE to delivering activity levels for 2011 which are broadly in line with 2010 levels. The HSE have assured my Department of their delivery of services in line with their Service Plan 2011.

Bernard Durkan (Kildare North, Fine Gael)
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Question 356: To ask the Minister for Health and Children his plans in respect of the future of St. Luke's Hospital, Dublin having particular regard to the strongly expressed views of patients and friends who have come to rely heavily on the hospital's services over the years and which have been proven to be highly satisfactory; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [13662/11]

James Reilly (Dublin North, Fine Gael)
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St Luke's Hospital, which provides radiation oncology services, was subsumed into the Health Service Executive under the Health (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 2010 (No. 18 of 2010). Radiation oncology services will continue at St Luke's until at least 2015, when further radiation oncology capacity will be available at Beaumont and St James's Hospitals, two of the designated cancer centres. This decision is based on expert advice and is designed to ensure that radiation oncology is integrated with all other aspects of cancer care, including surgery and medical oncology. It is also in line with best international practice.

The existing radiotherapy centre at St Luke's, plus the new centres at Beaumont and St James's Hospitals, have together become the St Luke's Radiation Oncology Network with some staff and resources now transferred from St Luke's to the new centres. The first patients were seen at Beaumont on 28 March, while St James's began seeing patients on 11 April. The new centres have four linear accelerators (linacs) each. While the number of linacs in St Luke's will be reduced as patient numbers transfer to the new centres, the development of the St Luke's Network means an overall increase of 50% in radiation oncology capacity over what had previously been available in St Luke's. The NCCP advises that other benefits for patients include the fact that patients who require to be in an acute hospital can now have their radiotherapy on site without having to travel to St Luke's, while patients can now start treatment significantly quicker than before and in line with the best standards available internationally.

In relation to the future use of the St Luke's site I can confirm that the Health (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 2010 provides for the future use of the site as a health facility and states that the HSE may not sell or dispose of St Luke's or any land on the site, without my consent.