Thomas Pringle (Donegal South West, Independent)
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33. To ask the Minister for Health his plans to bring in greater access to health services in County Donegal and thereby establish regional balance within the Government's health policy; if he will grant special recognition of the peripherality of County Donegal and the health needs of the county, as a result of consistent under-investment in health infrastructure in the region; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [42930/15]

Leo Varadkar (Dublin West, Fine Gael)
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The provision of health care in Ireland is not planned on a regional basis, it is considered on the basis of need. The objective of the ongoing health reform programme is to maximise the amount of care delivered locally while ensuring that specialist and complex care is safely provided in larger specialist centres. Under the reform programme, Community Health Care Organisations have been established to improve the way in which primary care in the community is delivered. Likewise the re-organisation of public hospitals into hospital groups is designed to deliver improved outcomes for patients. Each group of hospitals will work together to provide acute care for patients in their areas, integrating with community and primary care. The reform programme will be further progressed in 2016 with, for example, plans for General Practitioner direct access to ultrasound and x-ray services as well as the provision of minor surgery by GPs.

I am, however, aware of the particular challenges in the delivery of health services in Donegal. In fact, I visited Donegal in October this year to see at first hand the redevelopment that has been undertaken at Letterkenny General Hospital and to assess the health facilities on Arranmore Island and see how island residents deal with health issues. Health services in the area continue to improve and there have been some notable developments in 2015 over and above the improvements to Letterkenny General Hospital, including the opening of a new Community Mental Health base in Donegal town in March and a new Health Campus and Primary Care Centre in Ballyshannon in September. I understand that the HSE is also advancing a number of initiatives to address particular issues including the development of a new community hospital/nursing unit in Letterkenny, strengthening services for older persons at home and the provision of additional resources for mental health services.