Health:Almost half the extra €1 billion allocated to the health service next year - some €422 million - will go on staff pay rises.
But €254 million will be spent on a range of new service developments, including a new maternity unit at Cork University Hospital, and a new burns unit and decompression chamber at Galway's University College Hospital.
Other developments will include a new wing, with 70 extra beds, at the Midland Regional Hospital in Tullamore, an extra 21 beds at Wexford General Hospital, and an MRI scanner for Our Lady's Hospital for Sick Children in Crumlin.
An extra theatre and ward fit-out at Cavan General Hospital, A&E developments at Our Lady of Lourdes Hospital in Drogheda, and a new dementia unit in Carndonagh are also promised.
There will also be money for a new outpatient department at St Vincent's Hospital, Dublin. In total, €60 million will be spent on commissioning new units.
In addition, almost €5 million will be devoted to improving services for cystic fibrosis patients.
Extra neurologists are to be appointed, with the number due to rise from 16 to 29.
An extra €8 million will be provided to improve dialysis services, including the provision of a living rental transplant programme. Ambulance services are also to be improved.
Minister for Health Mary Harney said one of her priorities in this year's Estimates was improving primary care services. An extra €16 million will be used to improve out-of-hours GP services across the State. An additional 300 professionals will also be appointed to work in primary care services. By the end of next year 70 per cent of the population should be covered by out-of-hours GP co-ops, she said.
Furthermore, there will be significant extra spending on the education and training of additional nurses and doctors. A total of €9 million will be spent on increasing by 70 the number of places in medical schools next year. Ms Harney said it was not certain that a planned graduate-entry programme to medicine would begin next year.
There will also be an extra 22 GP training places provided, and two new nursing degree programmes in midwifery and children's nursing will be initiated.
This will mean school leavers can pursue midwifery or paediatric nursing without having to train as general nurses first.
There will be 140 places on the direct-entry midwifery degree and 100 on the direct-entry children's nursing degree. The places will be offered at UCD, Trinity College, Dublin City University, UCC, National University of Ireland Galway, University of Limerick, and Dundalk Institute of Technology. The midwifery degree will take four years, and the children's nursing degree 4½ years. The courses will be included on CAO forms in 2006.
Other areas where extra money will be spent will include disability and mental health services. An extra €100 million will go towards improving services in these areas, with €1.2 million for implementation of the national suicide strategy.
The extra spending on disability will see an increase in the number of residential, respite and day places and home supports, as well as additional community-based mental health facilities.
Additional support staff such as speech and language therapists, occupational therapists and social workers will be appointed.
In addition, some €10 million has been set aside in the Estimates to complete the stock-piling of anti-virals in case of an avian flu outbreak. A further €2 million has also been earmarked for improving Traveller health.
Some €23 million has been provided for back payments to GPs.
Meanwhile, the budget for the National Treatment Purchase Fund, which works to cut hospital waiting lists, will increase by €13 million to more than €70 million.
Despite widespread concern about MRSA, there is no mention in the Estimates of funding for extra infection control staff. Ms Harney said it was a matter for the HSE to prioritise this area.
While Ms Harney's main focus last year was on improving conditions in A&E, there is no specific mention of A&E improvements. Ms Harney said her €70 million programme announced last year was still being implemented.
Overall funding for the health service next year will be €12.6 billion, an increase of 9.25 per cent on this year's spend.