Joan Collins (Dublin South Central, Independent)
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88. To ask the Minister for Health if €3 billion will be provided for the Sláintecare implementation fund beginning with a €600 million commitment; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [31055/18]

Simon Harris (Wicklow, Fine Gael)
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A key recommendation in the Sláintecare Report is to 'Implement transitional and legacy funding arrangements to a total of €3 billion over six years, to boost reinvestment into one-off system changing measures, training capacity and capital expenditure'. The report proposed that this funding be used to provide ehealth infrastructure, develop primary care infrastructure including primary care centres and community diagnostics, expand training places, provide for system change and to renovate and increase hospital capacity.

The report suggested that €500 million per annum for the next 6 years will be required for this.

The National Development Plan (NDP), published earlier this year as part of Project Ireland 2040 provides €10.9 billion to invest in infrastructure, equipment and additional service capacity for the public health sector over the next 10 years. This represents an increase of 165% in capital funding over the previous decade. This capital provision will address all of the capital components of the proposals in the Sláintecare Report, albeit, over a ten year period as opposed to six years as recommended in the report.

The funding provided for in the NDP will deliver:

- 2,600 additional acute hospital beds, including elective-only hospitals in Cork, Dublin and Galway;

- 4,500 additional long and short-term community beds;

- A modern ehealth and ICT infrastructure;

- Additional Primary Care facilities with greater access to diagnostics; and

- Additional facilities for mental health services and for people with disabilities

The NDP provides for an unprecedented capital investment in the health service and represents one of the largest building programmes in its history. This won't be delivered overnight. It is essential that new capacity and facilities are properly planned and designed. This process will be undertaken under the auspices of the Sláintecare Programme Office in line with the specific actions outlined in the Sláintecare Implementation Strategy.

In addition to this I am delighted that I have secured over €200m in budget 2019 which will directly support a range of additional services including initiatives proposed in the Sláintecare Report and committed to in the Sláintecare Implementation Strategy including:

- Ringfenced funding for the Sláintecare Programme Office;

- €20m for the establishment of a new ring-fenced Sláintecare Integration Fund to drive improvements in the way we deliver care across the system;

- Funding for a new GP contract which is critical to the Sláintecare vision of delivering more care in the community;

- Expansion of free GP care, by increasing the weekly income threshold for GP Visit card by €25 which could benefit up to 100,000 people. This supports the Sláintecare recommendation to move towards universal GP care over 5 years;

- Additional funding for 100 new therapy posts to address assessment of need waiting lists for children with disabilities and funding to ensure that the needs of all those leaving school in 2019 will be addressed;

- €55m in new development funding aimed at further enhancing community mental health teams for adults and children;

- Reducing user charges and out of pocket payments by further reductions in prescription charges - 50 cent reduction in prescription charges from €2.00 to €1.50 for all medical card holders over the age of 70. This is in line with a Sláintecare recommendation to reduce prescription charges;

- A €10 reduction in the monthly Drugs Payment Scheme threshold from €134 to €124 which is also in line with a key Sláintecare recommendation;

- Increased investment of €20m in the National Treatment Purchase Fund. €75m will be available to the NDPF IN 2019 which will be used to treat 70,000 patients on waiting lists in 2019; and

- Additional funding for care redesign and the National Children's Hospital.

Funding has also been provided to expand existing health services, in line with Sláintecare recommendations and full details of this will be contained in the National Service Plan to be published in December.