Michael McGrath (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)
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469. To ask the Minister for Health the additional expenditure his Department will need to incur in 2015 and 2016 to deal with demographic pressures; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [40436/14]

Leo Varadkar (Dublin West, Fine Gael)
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The Department of Health, in its Comprehensive Review of Expenditure submission to the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform in the run up to Budget 2015, estimated that demographically driven cost pressures (due to the increasing size and age of the Irish population) would result in an additional resource requirement of about 1.5% annually in order to maintain levels of health service provision. This would equate to an additional resource requirement of the order of €170 million.

In Budget 2015 the Government has provided an additional €305 million in Exchequer funding bringing the Exchequer contribution to €13,079 billion. In addition, a further €330 million in once-off revenue measures will also be available to fund health services. This means there will be an increase of €635 million in health services current spending compared to the initial 2014 health budget allocation.

Specific savings and efficiencies of €130 million have also been identified in the areas of procurement, drug costs, agency costs, clinical audit and special investigation. Significantly, any savings made will go back into the development and delivery of services for patients and will not be used to reduce the overall Budget deficit or pay down the national debt. This will ensure that any further savings identified and achieved can be reinvested in the service in the years ahead.

The Government has also increased the health expenditure ceiling for 2016 to €13,253 billion. These higher funding levels in 2015 and 2016 will allow the health system to support our growing and ageing population. Furthermore, the additional investment provided over this period will enable the health system to invest in a number of enhancements including the commencement of an extension to the BreastCheck programme, expanded Mental Health teams and further investment in suicide prevention. Free GP care for the over 70’s and the under 6's will also be introduced when negotiations conclude with the IMO.

It is important to note that in Fianna Fáil's pre-budget submission they only provided for an extra €94 million Exchequer allocation for health. This is to be set against €305 million by the Government. Furthermore, Fianna Fáil only set aside €10 million in new money for mental health. This is in stark contrast to the €25 million from the Government.