Pádraig Rice (Cork South-Central, Social Democrats)
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212. To ask the Minister for Health to provide an update on the continued implementation of the HSE Health Regions; the actions that will be taken in 2026 to further implementation; the expected date at which she expects full implementation to have taken place; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [57573/25]

Jennifer Carroll MacNeill (Dún Laoghaire, Fine Gael)
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The HSE was reorganised into six Health Regions in 2024. The new regional structures have now been established, and key planning documents such as the Letter of Determination and National Service Plan will reflect these new lines of accountability. Operational responsibility for services now sits with Regional Executive Officers (REOs) and their executive management teams. The HSE continues to advance this reform in a phased manner, under the oversight of the Department. Implementation will continue over the coming years as these reforms are fully embedded, and new ways of working are developed and strengthened.

The key ongoing areas of focus in the implementation of this reform are:

• Rolling out core processes and new ways of working between the HSE Centre and the Health Regions, including appropriate training and supports.
• Advancing the implementation of the Integrated Service Delivery model in the regions. This involves reconfiguring staff from care group specific teams to integrated teams that serve defined geographic areas. This reconfiguration is underway, and changes will continue to be embedded throughout 2026.
• Progressing work on the development of a Population-Based Resource Allocation (PBRA) model, overseen by an Expert Group. PBRA aims to fairly distribute available healthcare funding to the six Health Regions according to population health need and the cost of providing care to meet those needs. PBRA is expected to be implemented from 2027, with preparations ongoing in anticipation of these changes.
• Delivering an independent external evaluation of this policy reform, commissioned in December 2023. This work establishes a continuous learning feedback loop alongside a longer-term assessment of impact of these changes over a five-year period.