Alan Kelly (Tipperary, Labour)
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1031. To ask the Minister for Health the number of extra hospital public beds he expects to deliver in each of the years 2020 to 2024. [14862/20]

Stephen Donnelly (Wicklow, Fianna Fail)
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The Programme for Government, Our Shared Future, commits to continuing investment in our health care services in line with the recommendations of the Health Service Capacity Review and the commitments in Project Ireland 2040.

The Capacity Review found that the net requirement, in a reform scenario, is for an additional 2,590 hospital beds by 2031 (inpatient, day case, critical care) with an immediate requirement for 1,290 beds to address overcrowding and to ensure hospitals operated at 85% occupancy in line with other OECD countries. Approximately 770 additional beds have been provided to date. The National Development Plan provides for the addition of the full 2,590 beds by the earlier date of 2027.

The future opening of additional acute bed capacity will be considered in the context of the Estimates discussions for the years concerned 2020 and on the priorities in the HSE's National Service Plans for those years.