Mick Barry (Cork North Central, Solidarity)
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830. To ask the Minister for Health the amount in the capital budget as set out in table 13 of the Stability Programme Update 2023 that is designated for infrastructure to support Community Healthcare Networks; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [24802/23]

Stephen Donnelly (Wicklow, Fianna Fail)
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Table 13 of The Stability Programme Update 2023 (SPU) sets out the Fiscal projections for 2023 - 2026 at National level. It does not set out allocations of capital funding within sectors. Planned Departmental Capital Allocations are set out in the National Development Plan.

A 5-year allocation to 2025 of €5.657bn has been allocated to the Department of Health as part of the review of the National Development Plan (NDP). This allocation provides an 11% increase in funding year on year to 2025, which will support the strategic direction of health capital investment in the period.

A central objective of the Programme for Government is to deliver increased levels of integrated health care with service delivery reoriented towards general practice, primary care and community-based services to enable a “home first” approach.

Infrastructure to support Community Healthcare Networks is funded through a number of areas in the annual capital programme, including Enhanced Community Care, Community Services, and Infrastructural Risk. Funding for these areas of the capital programme are included in the overall building and infrastructure capital allocation of €1.027 billion for 2023.

Mick Barry (Cork North Central, Solidarity)
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831. To ask the Minister for Health the estimated cost of providing 20 additional dedicated children's beds for psychiatric care to stop the practice of using beds in adult psychiatric services; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [24803/23]

Mary Butler (Waterford, Fianna Fail)
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As this is a service matter, I have asked the Health Service Executive to respond directly to the Deputy as soon as possible.

Mick Barry (Cork North Central, Solidarity)
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832. To ask the Minister for Health the estimated cost of implementing the Connecting for Life suicide prevention programme in a full year. [24804/23]

Mary Butler (Waterford, Fianna Fail)
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Ireland’s national suicide and self-harm reduction strategy, Connecting for Life, was launched in June 2015. In December 2019 the Department of Health supported an extension of Connecting for Life for a further five years to 2024, with official approval by Cabinet granted in November 2020. This followed the completion of an Independent Interim Strategy Review of Connecting for Life 2015-2020, which concluded that the seven strategic goals of Connecting for Life remained relevant beyond 2020.

Connecting for Life is made up of 7 goals, 69 actions, and is cross-governmental in scope, with a whole of population public health focus, reflective of the complex challenge that suicide and self-harm prevention presents.

The HSE National Office for Suicide Prevention (NOSP) is responsible for the implementation of Connecting for Life. NOSP sits within the Mental Health Community Strategy and Planning function of the HSE and works closely with HSE Mental Health Community Operations and others. Its role is to support, inform and monitor, in addition to coordinating, the implementation of Connecting for Life.

The NOSP expenditure for 2022 was €14m, this is implemented under the below headings in relation to Connecting for Life. Further information on previous years expenditure can be found in the NOSP annual reports at www.hse.ie/eng/services/list/4/mental-health-services/nosp/about/annualreports/. The 2023 budget for NOSP is €14.15m.

HSE NOSP expenditure in 2022

Mick Barry (Cork North Central, Solidarity)
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833. To ask the Minister for Health the estimated cost of implementing the Sharing the Vision strategy in a full year. [24805/23]

Mary Butler (Waterford, Fianna Fail)
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Sharing the Vision - A Mental Health Policy for Everyone, Ireland’s national mental health policy, was published in June 2020. Sharing the Vision aims to enhance the provision of mental health services and supports across a broad continuum, from mental health promotion, prevention and early intervention to acute and specialist mental health service delivery, during the period 2020-2030.

Sharing the Vision Implementation Plan 2022 – 2024 was collaboratively developed by the HSE and the Department of Health, overseen by the National Implementation and Monitoring Committee (NIMC). The NIMC is tasked with the implementation monitoring of the policy. The Plan sets out individual programme pathways of implementation for each of the 100 policy recommendations for the next three years.

Sharing the Vision,has a ten-year implementation roadmap, overseen by the National Implementation and Monitoring Committee (NIMC). There is no single set implementation budget for the work required to implement the full programme of recommendations or workstreams as responsibility for implementation is spread across different care areas, including primary care, mental health planning, mental health services, HSE social inclusion, among others. There is a core operational budget in HSE Mental Health Operations of €646,000 for Sharing the Vision programme implementation which covers service improvement lead salary costs and other expenses that arise, for example the Sharing the Vision learning event in March 2023.

Any additional funding required for developments under this strategy will be based on the NIMC’s work plan, which will identify priority developments relevant to each care area for each year. This funding will then be sought as part of the estimates process and in close conjunction with the development of the HSE National Service Plan each year.

Denis Naughten (Roscommon-Galway, Independent)
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834. To ask the Minister for Health his plans to establish a clinical lead for haemochromatosis; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [24809/23]

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

Denis Naughten (Roscommon-Galway, Independent)
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835. To ask the Minister for Health if he will list the acute hospitals and primary care centres which perform venesection for patients with haemochromatosis; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [24810/23]

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

Thomas Pringle (Donegal, Independent)
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836. To ask the Minister for Health if ophthalmic care can be established in Letterkenny University Hospital to cater for patients in North and West Donegal who currently have to travel by car to Sligo University hospital for treatment and routine appointments, which is up to two hours’ drive; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [24818/23]

Stephen Donnelly (Wicklow, Fianna Fail)
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As this is a service matter, I have asked the Health Service Executive to respond to the deputy directly, as soon as possible.