Gerry Adams (Louth, Sinn Fein)
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238. To ask the Minister for Health his plans for the role and function of the National Treatment Purchase Fund; if the NTPF is under the direct relationship with the Health Service Executive; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [33667/13]

Gerry Adams (Louth, Sinn Fein)
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239. To ask the Minister for Health if the chief executive officer of the National Treatment Purchase Fund has recently resigned; if he has any plans to replace the CEO; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [33668/13]

Gerry Adams (Louth, Sinn Fein)
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240. To ask the Minister for Health if management of the National Treatment Purchase Fund has been in consultation with staff at the NTPF about their future role within the organisation or the public service; if staff have been offered redeployment opportunities; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [33669/13]

James Reilly (Dublin North, Fine Gael)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 238 to 240, inclusive, together.

The National Treatment Purchase Fund Board was established in 2004 (S.I. No. 179 of 2004). Membership of the Board of the NTPF, as well as accountability and reporting arrangements are set out in its Establishment Order; the SI provides for a Board of nine members which reports to the Minister.

In July 2011, I announced changes to the remit of the National Treatment Purchase Fund (NTPF), namely that its role would be changed to support the mission of the Special Delivery Unit (SDU), which aims to unblock access to acute services by improving the flow of patients through the system. The NTPF is now fully aligned with the SDU and is targeting waiting lists strategically and assisting in the performance management of hospitals to reduce waiting times for patients. The NTPF capability is a core part of the SDU's performance improvement role.

The NTPF has been working to rationalise its internal structures and to establish new functional areas that reflect its evolving role. These include data and analytics reporting, data audit and quality assurance and performance improvement. Where appropriate, redeployment opportunities in other agencies have also been identified and I understand that a number of staff have taken these up.

The Acting CEO of the NTPF resigned with effect from 5 July last and the HSE National Director designate of Acute Hospitals has been appointed as Acting CEO of NTPF. The NTPF's future will be considered further in the context of the structural reforms set out in Future Health - A Strategic Framework for Reform of the Health Service 2012-2015.