FG Launch €2bn Plan For Health

Fine Gael's new €2 billion Plan for Health has been launched by An Taoiseach, Enda Kenny, and Minister for Health, Leo Varadkar.

The new health plan is said to build on the four pillars of Healthy Ireland, Building Capacity, Universal Healthcare and Health Service Reform.

Launching the plan, An Taoiseach said: "Fine Gael has a plan to continue rebuilding our health service. The plan requires both further investment and further reform. It's only by keeping the recovery going and the economy strong that we'll be able to generate the revenue that we need to invest in public services like health and ensure that patients are always the absolute priority."

Minister Varadkar added: "The plan allocates €2 billion extra to health over the lifetime of the next government. It sets realistic targets for incremental improvements in our public health service, investing in new infrastructure, technology and hiring 4,400 new frontline staff, taking at least one big step every year towards Universal Healthcare, and formally setting up Hospital Trusts and Community Healthcare Trusts. In the last five years we showed that even in tough times, real progress could be made in key areas. We intend to build on that over the next five years. Economic recovery isn't only more jobs and more money in our pockets, it's also about better public services and we have a plan to do that in health."

Highlights of the plan include:

• Extending free GP care to all children

• New programmes to manage common chronic diseases in the community 

• A full medical card for all children on Domiciliary Care Allowance

• A dedicated fund of €50 million a year to reduce waiting lists

• Measuring and improving patient experience times in Emergency Departments

• A tax on sugar sweetened drinks

• Further measures to reduce smoking

• Implementing Healthy Ireland initiatives to improve the nation's health

• Investing at least a further €750 million in primary care

• A detailed five year budget for the health service will be set out in 2017

• 100 extra GP training places

• Providing faster access to mental health services

• Continued increase in acute hospital beds

• A new programme to help more people with disabilities to work

• A new dental benefits package

• Dismantling the HSE and establishing Hospital Trusts and Community Healthcare Trusts on a statutory basis

(MH/LM)