An increase of almost £600 million in the Department of Health and Children's budget is aimed to benefit the elderly, the disabled, children, and patients on hospital waiting lists.
The 17 per cent increase in the Department's allocation for next year will allow 3,000 more health professionals and other workers, and capital investment of over £230 million to build, equip and furnish health facilities, the Minister, Mr Cowen said.
The £23.5 million to reduce hospital waiting lists, up 3,619 to 37,200 after the nurses' dispute, will include funding for respite care and sub-acute beds, to ensure patients were not inappropriately placed in acute beds. The estimate includes £11.5 million for major developments at Limerick Regional Hospital, University Hospital, Galway, and Mayo General Hospital.
An additional £35 million will go towards community services to support old people living at home and will enable new community nursing units to open in Dalkey, Achill, Fermoy and Killybegs, and daycare centres in Mallow, Skerries and Finglas.
The allocation will be used to ensure all home helps are paid the minimum wage of £4.40 an hour, and will also fund subventions for 7,000 people who are in private nursing homes. The income limit for entitlement to medical cards for the over-70s is being raised by one-third.
For example, the income limit for a single person living alone will rise from £133 to £177 a week for those aged between 70 and 80, and from £146 to £187 for those over 80.
The estimate includes £25 million to tackle group C meningitis, with a State-wide vaccination scheme next year when a vaccine is expected to licensed here. Group C meningitis accounts for about 40 per cent of cases of the disease in Ireland.
Childcare services will receive an additional £23 million, Minister of State Mr Frank Fahey said. It includes £5 million for the first secure unit for 24 children with behavioural problems who had not been convicted by the courts, with another 40 places in secure units across the State.
It will also fund an Ombudsman for Children, to vindicate the rights of individual children, Mr Fahey said.
Funding for the mental health services has received a £10.2 million increase, to develop community-based mental health services.
The additional £10.8 million for the physically disabled includes extending the domiciliary care allowance scheme to eligible children under two. Funding for intellectual disability services was increased by £10.7 million.
Mr Cowen said further funding would be announced in the Budget for areas including mental handicap, physical disability and the cardiovascular health strategy.
He said the charges for private beds in public hospitals would rise by 7 per cent next year, towards charging private patients the full economic cost. It would generate £6 million a year, to be invested in public hospitals, he added.