Billy Kelleher (Cork North Central, Fianna Fail)
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197. To ask the Minister for Health the number of additional beds that will be provided during winter 2017 to help ease hospital overcrowding; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [45545/17]

Simon Harris (Wicklow, Fine Gael)
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Tackling overcrowding in Emergency Departments is a key commitment of this Government and I am delighted that €40 million in additional funding in 2017 has been made available as part of the 2018 Budget to address winter pressures and waiting lists over the rest of this year.

This funding will be aimed at reducing overcrowding in our hospitals in this period through the provision of extra capacity and additional supports including the provision of social care measures such as additional home care packages and transitional care beds, funding to alleviate specific periods of ED overcrowding in hospitals by providing additional diagnostic services and surge capacity as required, support to drive public health campaigns including for the flu vaccine and additional funding for measures to reduce waiting times for the longest waiting patients. It is also envisage that this funding will be used to strengthen capacity in the system through the funding of additional beds.

My Department and the HSE is currently engaging intensively on agreeing the details of this funding, and any additional bed capacity to be provided, and I look forward to sharing with colleagues the outcome of these discussions in due course.