Terence Flanagan (Dublin North East, Independent)
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480. To ask the Minister for Health if he will provide an update regarding his proposed primary care centres to include the budget, services to be provided and the date on which they will open; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [24250/14]

Alex White (Dublin South, Labour)
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The development of primary care is central to the Government's objective to deliver a high quality, integrated and cost effective health care system. Supporting infrastructure, procured through a combination of public and private investment, will facilitate the delivery of multi-disciplinary primary health care. Considerable progress has been achieved to date. 37 primary care centres have been opened since March 2011 and infrastructure development is underway or planned at a further forty three locations.

In addition to the rank of the locations as a result of the 2012 prioritisation exercise, the mechanism and timescale for delivery of primary care infrastructure is dependent on a number of factors including GP participation. Regardless of the delivery mechanism, all potential primary care centres are also subject to suitable locations being offered/provided/available and to successful planning processes. In addition, the operational lease mechanism is subject to market pressures such as the developers' access to sufficient financing.

As regards the PPP project, the National Development Finance Agency (NDFA) published a Prior Indicative Notice (PIN) / Pre-Qualification Questionnaire in the OJEU on 19 December 2013. Four submissions were received by the closing date which was 10 March 2014. Information can be located at the following web address - . It is expected that 10-14 sites (indicative number 12 based on affordability) will be delivered as part of a single PPP contract with the remaining centres to be delivered by the HSE using other procurement means.

As with all capital projects this programme must be considered within the overall capital envelope available to the health service. There will always be more projects than can be funded by the Exchequer. There is limited funding available for new projects over the period 2014-2018 given the level of commitments and the costs to completion already in place. Nevertheless, where possible, the HSE's capital programme will include provision to progress primary care centres with the highest ranking following the 2012 national prioritisation exercise by direct/own-build in the event that other delivery mechanisms are not feasible.

It is expected that the PPP primary care locations will be delivered by late 2016 / early 2017 and that the locations underway by HSE direct/own-build and the lease initiative will be delivered over the period 2014 to 2016.

As regards budget, the construction costs in relation to the lease initiative PCCs are borne by the developer. For reasons of commercial sensitivity, it would not be appropriate at this stage to provide estimated construction costs for the PPP project or those to be delivered by HSE direct/own-build.

Health care services to be delivered at the PPP locations will include General Practitioner (GP) services and in addition a number of centres will include a wider range of community based services, for example, dental services, community mental health services, child and adolescent mental health services, early intervention teams, and doctor on call services.

Please see the attached spreadsheet which provides the information on primary care infrastructure available at end April 2014.

- Primary care infrastructure opened since March 2011

- Primary care infrastructure underway

- The PPP project.

Terence Flanagan (Dublin North East, Independent)
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481. To ask the Minister for Health the role and services he expects primary care centres to play in the coming years; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [24251/14]

Terence Flanagan (Dublin North East, Independent)
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484. To ask the Minister for Health if he has considered establishing 24 hour urgent care centres which would be community units that will be able to do X-rays and deal with stitches, broken limbs and so on and would take the pressure off accident and emergency units in our cities; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [24257/14]

Alex White (Dublin South, Labour)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 481 and 484 together.

International research shows that shared premises are a key enabler for successful team working in the primary care setting. Shared premises encourage and facilitate interaction across all health care professionals and that is why my Department and the HSE are committed to developing Primary Care Centres nationally. The Programme for Government highlights the expansion of Primary Care Centres as a priority within the health capital budget. The National Service Plan 2014 provides for the procurement of an additional 21 Primary Care Centres this year. This will create an environment for improved access which will facilitate structured approaches to chronic disease management, enhanced multidisciplinary team working, improved diagnostic capabilities in Primary Care and the integration of services between primary and secondary care.

The HSE's Primary Care Division is also working with the Clinical Strategy and Programmes Directorate to expand chronic disease prevention and management in primary care and this includes the development and roll out of improved access to diagnostic tests for GPs particularly ultrasound. This will greatly assist in early diagnosis, hospital avoidance, greater integrated care and a better, safer, patient experience. This initiative is currently at development stage and it is planned to roll out this service initially in two pilot sites in 2014.