Dara Calleary (Mayo, Fianna Fail)
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To ask the Minister for Health the 2012 targets set for his Department for implementation of the Jobs Action Plan; if he will report on the attainment or otherwise of these targets; the reason targets were not met; the steps he is taking within his Department to create new jobs; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [1284/13]

James Reilly (Dublin North, Fine Gael)
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The 2012 Jobs Action Plan included a number of actions with Department of Health involvement. The relevant actions and outcomes are set out below: -

The aim of Action 1.19 is to “Promote greater competition and reduce costs in the health sector by enacting legislation relating to general practice”. The commencement on March 12^th, 2012 of the Health (Provision of General Practitioner Services) Act 2012 meets the objective of this action.

The Department of Health has been working with the Department of Jobs, Enterprise and Innovationon Action 7.2.1 to "Deliver a Health Innovation Hub to drive collaboration between the health system and commercial enterprises leading to the development and commercialisation of new health care technologies, products, services and start-ups emerging from within the health system and/or firms". The steps in the table of actions were completed in 2012. The Demonstrator Project was launched last October and is established in University College Cork. It will test the Hub model and inform the development of a national Hub.

Action 7.2.2 sets out to " Enact a Health Information Bill to support a conducive environment for health research in Ireland ; this will streamline the ethics approval process for health research not governed by statutory regulation and EU law; the Bill will also provide a legal framework for the introduction of an individual patient identifier". Certain issues remain to be finalised and it is expected that the Bill will be ready for publication later this year.

Action 7.26 aims to "Prepare a detailed implementation plan for the development of a national biobanking structure.". This implementation plan has been completed.

Government policy on public service numbers, reflected in the HSE’s 2013 Service Plan, requires that by the end of 2013 the health service achieves a workforce of 98,955 whole time equivalents, a significant reduction from a workforce of 101,519 whole time equivalents at the end of November, 2012. However, the Plan allows for investment of an additional 1,025 whole time equivalents in a number of key prioritised areas, as well as the completion of recruitment for the additional posts authorised for mental health services in 2012. In addition, a graduate nurse employment programme will be implemented, involving the recruitment of up to 1,000 nurses on two-year contracts.

While our policies and programmes do not of themselves create jobs, they are, nonetheless important in terms of supporting an environment in which enterprise (SME and multinational) can do business. These include the Actions referred to above; the progression of EU legislative proposals on Clinical Trials and Medical Devices; investment in Clinical Research facilities through the Health Research Board and the development of an e-Health strategy.