Harney proposes zoning of urban land for provision of residential care centres

The Minister for Health Mary Harney has proposed that tracts of land should be specifically zoned by local authorities for healthcare-related facilities, particularly the provision of residential care centres.

The Minister said she had already spoken to one local authority, South Dublin County Council, about her zoning proposals. She said that at present, most residential facilities in Dublin were being built on the fringes of the city where land prices were cheaper.

Ms Harney said in the centre of Dublin it was difficult to encourage new entrants into the long-term care market due to the high costs involved. "It raises issues and I would like to see it dealt with by way of specific zoning," the Minister said.

She said that the same issue of high land values in the centre of cities also applied to other healthcare facilities.

Speaking in the Seanad, she said that ultimately, patients and the health system must pay for the higher costs in attracting people into the business. The cost of meeting rising bills for residential care will be a major issue for future governments as the population ages. Some months ago Ms Harney introduced proposals for the reform of the funding of long-term care from January 2008.

"Rising property values raise issues for healthcare facilities in terms of being able to compete in a market where it is lucrative to invest in residential, commercial or even industrial property. Recently, I spoke to a local authority on the need to designate, by way of zoning, particular portions of land for health-related facilities, especially residential care," she said.

"It is increasingly difficult in major urban centres for anybody who wants to provide private residential care to be able to purchase a property and make a reasonable return when the obvious temptation is to invest in residential apartments or housing or commercial activity. It is a major issue," the Minister stated.

Ms Harney also indicated that the issues of high land costs affected GPs and other groups seeking to establish primary care centres. However she ruled out the provision of direct exchequer funding for investors in this area.

"The manner in which the State pays for the contract of service must be made attractive as otherwise, people would not be involved in the business in the first place. I certainly do not envisage grants," she said.

Meanwhile, it is understood that in recent days the Minister has been lobbied strongly by groups seeking to change proposed amendments to pharmacy legislation going through the Oireachtas, which would ban controversial economic relationships between doctors and pharmacists in new shared health centres being developed around the State.

It is being proposed by Ms Harney as part of a clampdown on conflicts of interest which could affect patients. The moves will rule out the charging of excessive rents for inclusion in new health facilities and will outlaw patients being directed towards a particular pharmacy on site to have their prescriptions dispensed.

Under Ms Harney's proposals, pharmacists could only be charged the normal market rent for facilities in a centre shared with family doctors. She said that it would be considered professional misconduct to enter into an agreement where rates above normal market rent was being charged for a premises.

The Irish Medical Organisation, which represents GPs, held a special meeting last week to consider legal advice obtained on the proposed amendments. However it declined to comment afterwards on its