The Taoiseach, Mr Ahern, has described the new health strategy, due for publication today, as "the most ambitious document of its type" ever published by a government.
It is the outcome of the "most comprehensive programme of research and consultation ever undertaken in preparation of such a strategy", Mr Ahern said, when he marked the £11 million transfer of Portiuncula Hospital in Ballinasloe, Co Galway, to the Western Health Board.
"There have been enough quick fixes over the decades," Mr Ahern also said. "We need a clear vision of how to develop the sort of system which will deliver world class care for all." The developments at Portiuncula showed what could be achieved with a strategic approach and capital investment, and were part of a £2 billion capital investment in health as part of the National Development Plan, he said.
The Portiuncula transfer was signed by the health board and the Franciscan Sisters of the Divine Motherhood late last week - just in time for Mr Ahern's two-day pre-election visit to Galway East. Last Friday, he opened a £7.5 million unit at the hospital during a series of engagements stretching from Portumna to Tuam.
Mr Ahern paid tribute to the work of the religious communities in health care to date, and said that Portiuncula was no exception. "For nearly five decades, the Franciscan Missionaries of the Divine Motherhood have provided high quality care to the people of the region, in living fulfilment of St Francis's commitment to a life of compassion and justice," he said. "This founding vision is a great asset to this hospital and to this community going forward."
The new unit at the 202-bed hospital involves three theatre suites, an endoscopy suite and an eight-bed intensive care/coronary care unit. It will represent a "very significant addition" to the hospital's overall capacity to deliver surgical services of the standard and volume required in the area, the Taoiseach said.
Staff at Portiuncula are now employees of the health board, and the board's chief executive, Dr Sheelah Ryan, says that there will be a transition period of up to a year. The hospital's name will not change, and the nuns will be permitted to stay in the convent at a nominal annual fee of £5 until alternative accommodation becomes available.
The role of the religious was also acknowledged by the Taoiseach in Tuam on Saturday, when he said the Minister for Health and Children, Mr Martin, had signed off £3 million towards developing the former Bon Secours institution as a community hospital, to be run by the Western Health Board. Mr Ahern also opened the Irish Wheelchair Association's new resource centre in Tuam for people with physical and sensory disabilities. Fianna Fβil has set its sights on east Galway as one of the key constituencies where it could make a gain in the next election.
Fianna Fβil and Fine Gael currently hold two seats each in the four-seater constituency.
