Taoiseach and Varadkar launch €2bn Fine Gael Plan for Health

An Taoiseach, Enda Kenny and Minister for Health, Leo Varadkar have today (Monday) launched Fine Gael’s Plan for Health for the next government, which is built on the four pillars of Healthy Ireland, Building Capacity, Universal Healthcare and Health Service Reform.

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 said: “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 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

Minister Varadkar said: “The Government has allocated €3 billion to the capital budget for health for the next six years allowing us to proceed with major flagship projects like the new national children’s hospital, primary care centres all over the country, an ambitious programme to replace or upgrade community nursing units to comply with HIQA standards, and much-needed investment in IT.

“Fine Gael inherited a health service in freefall – funding cuts of €2 billion, thousands of staff gone, and 1,245 hospital beds closed. Because of the economic recovery in the last two years, we have been able to start rebuilding the health service. We have increased the budget by €900 million in the last two years, excluding supplementaries. That is a €300 million increase this year, on top of a €600 million increase last year. We reversed the previous Government’s policy of cutting 1,245 beds by adding 300 new beds in the last 12 months.

“We have taken on more staff, including record numbers of consultants, doctors, midwives and therapists. We have taken the first steps towards Universal Healthcare by introducing free GP for the youngest and oldest in our society – those who need to see their doctor the most. We have improved the management of asthma and diabetes in general practice, and invested in new services ranging from the Air Ambulance, to improvements in stroke, cancer care, heart attack, and funded new medicines and technologies for patients with diseases like cystic fibrosis and hepatitis C.”

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