The Minister for Health has said she is unsure whether the State has received maximum value from the large increases in funding for the health service over recent years.
Jennifer Carroll MacNeill said the service will receive more than €27 billion in 2026. She said the budget has effectively doubled over recent years, “and we have to ensure that we get value for that investment”.
Asked if she believes value has been achieved for the investment made to date, the Minister said funding has risen from €14 billion in 2014. Over the last five years in particular, she said, there has been a significant expansion of beds and staffing, with an additional 28,000 people employed.
“I am not sure we have got the best value that is available ... out of the investment so far.
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“In 2023 we agreed the public-only consultant contract, which enabled, and indeed paid for, consultants who signed that contract to work on Saturdays in a normal rostered way, [and] to work late in the evening in a normal rostered way and not on call.
“Now we have a critical mass of consultants, about 66 per cent on the new contract, it is imperative for taxpayers and patients in this State that we are seeing every hour of that contract being used.”
She said there is a considerable uplift in the number of consultants, but there are now fewer appointments per consultant.
“We should be seeing more appointments in our health service for the number of consultants that we have invested in,” she said.
Important improvements had been made, she added. For example, she said, there are now three outpatient clinics every day in Galway instead of two. Changes to working arrangements in Naas have resulted in 5,000 more appointments being scheduled.
Ms Carroll MacNeill also said that greater consistency is needed across the health system, and existing levels of variation between regions are unacceptable.
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“For example, in the midwest, 98 per cent of urgent breast cancer referrals are seen on time, while in the west and northwest, it is just 39 per cent.”
“In the southwest, 74 per cent of audiology patients are seen within the 52-week target, compared to only 48 per cent in Dublin and [the] midlands. This level of variation is unacceptable and avoidable. We must do better.”
The Minister said her priorities for next year are regional equity for access to services, reduced waiting times through productivity and capacity, and safe, high-quality care.
Ms Carroll MacNeill said a new deal with community pharmacists will create significant benefits for patients.
She said she expects that by early next year or by St. Patrick’s Day, people should be able to visit a pharmacy and, paying a smaller fee than at the GP, access a diagnosis and prescription for basic, common conditions.
