The Minister for Health, Mr Martin, has dismissed suggestions that the Government plans to defer the investment of funds to non-acute health services until 2007.
Mr Martin faced criticism this morning after reports suggested that plans to invest €2.5 billion into healthcare would not include the mental health sector and the construction of primary care centres. The bulk would instead reportedly go to the hospital sector at least until 2007.
Although the Minister dismissed this suggestion today, he said that expenditure for mental health was also included in the Disability Bill, published earlier this week, and that it too included non-acute services such as mental health and would therefore be contributing funds.
In addition, Mr Martin admitted much of the funding required for the Primary Sector Strategy would have to be provided by the private sector.
"We will be investing quite considerably, both in mental health and in continuing care throughout the period of the next capital programme," said Mr Martin.
"In the context of the Disability Bill that was published this week, that brings with it it's own price tag in terms of both capital and current, but it also . . . encompasses the area of mental health," added the Minister.
"In order to assert the rights that are contained in that legisltaion and the obligations that are contained in that legislation," the Minister continued, "it will in its own way necessitate additional investment in mental health over and above what has been agreed over the next number of years".
Mr Martin added that in terms of primary care there is potential for attracting private sector funding for the construction of primary care facilities.
"It's not necessarily all going to be funded from the public sector," added Mr Martin. "I think if you look at the overall bill for that primary care initiative, which was a 10-year initiative, one could readily see that you weren't going to get all of that, all things being equal, out of the public exchequer on its own."
Mr Martin also pointed out that many non-acute facilities have not been built yet and that they were a less complicated project than hospital projects and would not require immediate funding until they were past the design stage.