asked the Minister for Health if funds will be made available in the Southern Health Board for the current year to avoid a further reduction in the standard of services and the level of health care as otherwise there will be a potential loss of over 800 jobs.
Ceisteanna — Questions. Oral Answers. - Southern Health Board Funding.
22.
I have no funds at my disposal which would enable me to increase the approved allocation of the Southern Health Board for 1985.
Would the Minister accept that there will be a serious drop in the level of services this year as a result of the reduced allocation to the Southern Health Board and that perhaps also the quality of care will be lessened? This is the position also of the other health boards. The members of the Southern Health Board recognise that they will experience a deficit of £5.6 million in the current year and that consequently they will not be in a position to provide the same quality of service as they consider necessary for the people of the area.
Again, I know this area very well and I do not accept what the Deputy says. The allocation for the Southern Health Board for this year is £137.62 million. This includes provision for the full year's expenditure on the new hospital in Tralee. The corresponding allocation for 1984 was £127.75 million so that there is an increase this year of nearly £10 million. There is no question of a reduction in the level of services in Cork or Kerry. Indeed, I would go so far as to say that if one were to have an accident in that region, one would almost have a nervous breakdown in trying to decide which hospital to go to because there are so many of them. They are all open and flourishing and there are no cutbacks.
The number of staff employed by the Southern Health Board has increased by 300 in the past 12 months because of the opening of the Tralee hospital at a cost of £3 million or £4 million. Unfortunately there has been a great deal of misinformation. The figure of £9.5 million no longer exists—it is now down to about £4 million — and the health board have adequate funds.
The Minister has told us that there has been an increase in staff of 300 in the Southern Health Board area. Will he accept that that number is located entirely in Tralee and the increase is due to the fact that a new hospital was opened there? Will he admit to the House that there has been a reduction in the number of staff employed in Cork city?
If the Deputy supplies me with the names and addresses of the first ten people who have been laid off by the Southern Health Board since I came to office, then I will take his observations seriously.
I do not want to give the Minister the names and addresses of people but I wish to ask him a final supplementary question.
There have been no redundancies.
Will the Minister tell the House if every post that has become vacant in the Southern Health Board area has been filled since he came to office?
No, not necessarily. I have said there have been no redundancies in the area.
Will the Minister tell the House if he has given the health board permission to fill every vacancy that has occurred since he came to office?
I have given the health board sufficient money to enable them to fill any vacancies they required in the area. The health board have £137 million this year, £10 million more than last year. They have plenty of money but they must take decisions to spend it wisely and to spend it where priorities exist.
In real terms the Minister admitted in a parliamentary question that the amount of money the Southern Health Board were getting was not sufficient to keep in line with inflation. It is obvious they must drop the level of services.
They got an increase of 5.5 per cent, which is ¼ per cent less than the rate of inflation. The health board are beginning to appreciate now that they have plenty of money.
The remaining questions will appear on tomorrow's Order Paper.