John Brassil (Kerry, Fianna Fail)
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364. To ask the Minister for Health the status of the examination of the use of tax instruments and other incentives to support investment by general practitioners, dentists and other professionals in primary care centres, technology and service developments. [40630/16]

Simon Harris (Wicklow, Fine Gael)
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One of my key objectives as Minister for Health, and a strong theme within the Programme for a Partnership Government is to support a decisive shift within the health system towards primary care. The Programme for a Partnership Government also contains a commitment to examine the use of tax instruments and other incentives to support investment in primary care centres, technology and service developments. My Department has had preliminary discussions on this matter with the Department of Finance, which has policy responsibility for taxation matters, in relation to the potential for taxation measures to support the development of a primary care-oriented health service. It is envisaged that the matter will be further examined in 2017, in the context of budgetary planning for 2018.