Vol. 478 No. 1
60 Miss Coughlan asked the Minister for Health the proposals, if any, he has for the implementation of his recently announced programme for women's health; when he anticipates each health board will provide their response to his document; and the funding needed for the implementation of the programme. [10394/97]
Limerick East): The plan for women's health which I recently launched commits my Department and the health boards to measures to improve the health of women and to make the health services more women friendly over the three years, 1997-99.As the Deputy will be aware, work is under way on the extension of the breast cancer screening programme this year to include all women of the relevant age in the Eastern Midland and North-Eastern Health Board areas. A national screening programme will be in place before the end of 1999. A national screening programme for cervical cancer will be established in 1999. A committee has recently been established to oversee the establishment, implementation and monitoring of the cervical screening programme, which will be piloted in the Mid-Western Health Board as soon as possible.
I will shortly be announcing the establishment of a women's health council to develop a centre of expertise on women's health issues, to foster research into women's health, to evaluate the success of the plan for women's health and to advise me generally on women's health issues. My Department will shortly be writing to health boards inviting them to outline the steps they intend to take to implement the plan at regional and local level. Those boards that have not already done so will be asked to prepare and adopt a regional plan for women's health, taking account of the priorities of the national plan. I hope to receive an early response from the boards.
I am making a sum of £75,000 available to the National Women's Council of Ireland over the three years of the plan to ensure the effectiveness of the council's involvement at national and regional level as a partner in the implementation of the plan. It is not possible at this stage to give a detailed indication of the cost of implementation the plan. Much of the cost will arise under the headings of cancer, health promotion, management development, family planning and family support services.
