Caoimhghín Ó Caoláin (Cavan-Monaghan, Sinn Fein)
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To ask the Minister for Health if he will set out the reduced services to patients and the savings, if any, as a result of the reduction in planned theatre activity at Cavan General Hospital; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [40982/12]

James Reilly (Dublin North, Fine Gael)
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The funding pressures now being experienced in the health services mean that the acute sector must reduce its costs in order to deliver the agreed level of activity within the resources available to it. This means that we must concentrate on maximising efficiency and getting the best possible services for patients from the budgets available to us. However, this on its own is not sufficient. Activity levels in our acute hospitals have been running ahead of the levels set in the approved HSE Service Plan and therefore it is inevitable that activity levels must also be reduced. This will be a significant challenge, and in meeting it we must be flexible and responsive to service needs, in order to ensure that essential services are protected and that patient safety and quality remain paramount.

In regard to Cavan General Hospital, I am advised by the HSE that, at the beginning of 2012, the Cavan-Monaghan Hospital Management Team, including the Clinical Director, reviewed all services provided against the approved HSE Service Plan targets and the financial allocation. From April 2012, an efficiency and cost reduction measure was implemented targeting elective surgical activity in line with the 2012 Service Plan. I am advised services have not been negatively affected given that the Cavan-Monaghan Hospital Group has nevertheless managed to provide approximately 10% more elective procedures this year to date when compared to the same period in 2011.