Sale of hospital lands to fund local healthcare

The proceeds from the sale of surplus lands owned by hospitals and health boards will be used as additional funding for capital projects including the provision of community healthcare facilities, according to the Department of Health.

The Irish Times reported in September that most of the hundreds of millions of euro in State funding earmarked for the development of non-hospital care in the community schemes provided by GPs around the country would not come on stream until 2007 or 2008.

The Tánaiste and Minister for Health, Ms Harney, confirmed in the Dáil last week that "greater emphasis" in the initial years of the Government's new five-year capital programme would go on the hospital sector.

She insisted that there was no question of State investment in non-hospital care being dropped.

The construction of a network of units where GPs, nurses and other healthcare professions would work under the same roof, was the centrepiece of the Government's care in the community strategy.

GPs had reacted furiously to the revelations that the large-scale investment in this could be put back for several years.

The Department of Health had to defer large scale funding in GP care in the community facilities for up to three years as the Department of Finance insisted that the €2.5 billion capital programme should be drawn down in virtually equal tranches of around €500 million in each of the next five years.

The Department of Health had sought the money to be "frontloaded".

Contractual commitments entered into for the building and equipping of new hospital developments will take up much of this capital funding for the first two years.

The Tánaiste's new proposals to sell off surplus hospital and health board lands could see the release of hundreds of millions of euro for additional investment in new facilities.

Ms Harney has ordered an audit of all lands owned by hospitals and health boards. Land deemed to be surplus will be sold off.

The Tánaiste said that it was her intention to dispose of "some of the substantial land assets available in the health sector".

She said the additional funding generated would be used for capital projects such as those in primary care.

The Department of Health has declined to estimate how much the sale of land could generate for investment in capital facilities until the audit of land is completed.