Bernard Durkan (Kildare North, Fine Gael)
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Question 250: To ask the Minister for Health the policy making structures that exist within the Health Service Executive; the extent to which policy changes require his or his Department's approval; the number of personnel within the policy making sector of the HSE; the extent to which forward planning is the responsibility of this or other sectors within the service; if he will indicate with whom responsibility rests for planning for future in all areas of the HSE; the degree to which such persons are expected to identify shortages in personnel or other inadequacies within the services; the degree to which they have done so; the action taken or required; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [19449/11]

James Reilly (Dublin North, Fine Gael)
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The Department of Health has primary responsibility for health policy development and review. The HSE National Service Plan is the primary vehicle through which my Department monitors and evaluates the performance of the HSE to ensure that health services are delivered in accordance with Government policy. The National Service Plan 2011 outlines how the HSE plans to deliver health and personal social services within its current budget and is based on service activity levels for 2011 which are broadly in line with 2010 levels. My Department is working collaboratively with the HSE to develop next year's Service Plan in the context of the comprehensive expenditure review of the health sector. By reducing costs and reforming the way services are provided, the Government is confident that the HSE will maintain appropriate access to services and continue to improve health outcomes for the population.

I recently established a new Interim HSE Board, comprised of senior representatives from both my Department and the HSE. The Board is focussing on operational excellence and it reviews monthly performance reports on all aspects of progression of the HSE National Plan including financial, human resource and service activity. I have asked the Board as one of its priority tasks to examine how it will streamline reporting relationships to ensure that decisions are implemented quickly and as a result, better services are delivered for patients.

I want to develop strong and coherent governance arrangements for the entire health care system which will continue to operate after the abolition of the existing legal governance structure. This will facilitate the Government's plans to reform the health system and make the health services more directly accountable to me as Minister for Health. In the short term, we plan to establish a Special Delivery Unit to tackle waiting lists. Over the longer term, our goal is to eliminate the two-tier health service and move to a system of Universal Health Insurance.