David Cullinane (Waterford, Sinn Fein)
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852. To ask the Minister for Health the staffing compositions of each public health department; the number of approved posts by grade, filled and vacant, respectively; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [21163/21]

Stephen Donnelly (Wicklow, Fianna Fail)
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In relation to the particular query raised, as this is a service matter, I have asked the Health Service Executive to respond to the Deputy directly, as soon as possible.

David Cullinane (Waterford, Sinn Fein)
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853. To ask the Minister for Health the additional staff hired for public health departments in 2020 and to date in 2021; the additional posts approved; the number of posts routinely filled by non-HSE hires in each public health department; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [21164/21]

Stephen Donnelly (Wicklow, Fianna Fail)
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In relation to the particular query raised, as this is a service matter, I have asked the Health Service Executive to respond to the Deputy directly, as soon as possible.

David Cullinane (Waterford, Sinn Fein)
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854. To ask the Minister for Health the additional staff brought into public health departments in 2020 and to date in 2021, in response to the Covid-19 pandemic; the HSE, agency and secondment breakdown of such posts; the number of posts which will be retained; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [21165/21]

Stephen Donnelly (Wicklow, Fianna Fail)
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In relation to the particular query raised, as this is a service matter, I have asked the Health Service Executive to respond to the Deputy directly, as soon as possible.

David Cullinane (Waterford, Sinn Fein)
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856. To ask the Minister for Health if the new consultant public health medicine posts are additional posts in public health; if all existing posts will be retained and filled as consultant posts are filled; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [21167/21]

Stephen Donnelly (Wicklow, Fianna Fail)
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My Department, in conjunction with the HSE, recently reached a major agreement with the Irish Medical Organisation (IMO) on a reformed public health model in Ireland. The parties to the agreement have agreed that this new Consultant led Public Health Model will be implemented by December 2023, with the establishment of 34 new consultant posts in the first year, and a total of 84 new consultant posts by end December 2023. The IMO are recommending the agreement to members who are to ballot on it. 

Given the intention to move to a public health consultant led service, the parties are agreed that recruitment to the Public Health Specialist Grade will cease and the Agreement provides accordingly. The Agreement recognises that where vacancies at Specialist-level arise during the reform implementation phase, the HSE may need to recruit at Specialist grade to meet service need.

Within the model, consultants in Public Health Medicine will lead appropriately resourced multidisciplinary teams, that include surveillance scientists/epidemiologists, senior medical officers, trained contact tracers, administrative and, crucially, robust operations and management support. 

The Government is committed to investment in our public health workforce. Last September, I committed to significant investment in Public Health with the announcement of plans to double the current workforce by recruiting an additional 255 permanent staff, at an annual cost of over €17m. This includes public health doctors, nurses, scientists, and support staff.  This is not only a response to the current pandemic but is an investment in the future development of our Public Health function. Recruitment for these posts is ongoing and is a priority for the HSE. To date, 141 permanent positions have been recruited across all areas (medical, nursing, surveillance, and administration) and additional temporary surge capacity has been deployed across all Departments of Public Health (DPH). There are currently 418 WTEs employed across all DPHs which is an increase of 101 since September 2020.

David Cullinane (Waterford, Sinn Fein)
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857. To ask the Minister for Health the role which consultants in public health medicine might play in delivering Sláintecare; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [21168/21]

Stephen Donnelly (Wicklow, Fianna Fail)
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The enhanced service delivery model for public health radically changes the governance and operating structure within Public Health, introducing a more fit-for-purpose National and Regional management structure across each of the pillars of Public Health – a consultant led ‘hub-and-spoke’ structure as envisaged by the Crowe Horwath Report. As part of a reform of the organisation of the current public health system, Consultants in Public Health Medicine will be deployed in line with the forthcoming Regional Health Areas.

Public Health Medicine is about improving and protecting the health of the population, as a whole. Consultants in Public Health Medicine have specialist knowledge of health protection, health service development and health improvement. Their expertise and input will be invaluable in progressing these initiatives and ensuring that they are designed to best serve our population's health needs. Consultants in Public Health Medicine will be invited to contribute to the development of these projects including serving on project oversight groups.  

The next implementation phase of Sláintecare is currently being finalised. Subject to approval, there will be a focus over the coming three years on Improving Timely Access to Care and Addressing Health Inequalities with a number of proposed projects centring on health system structural reforms, financial management reforms, community health promotion initiatives and capital infrastructure improvements. I expect that the contribution of Consultants in Public Health Medicine will play a vital role in the success of this next phase.