Written Answers. - Parliamentary Debates - Houses of the Oireachtas

Questions— 14 February 2012. Written Answers
administrative needs of the HSE; if so, the staff savings likely to accrue; and if he will make a
statement on the matter. [7579/12]
Minister for Health (Deputy James Reilly): The National ICT Directorate within the HSE
is responsible for the delivery of ICT enabled projects and services. The ICT directorate is a
support function that works in partnership with all directorates within the HSE to ensure that
the services and projects pursued are directly aligned with service needs. At corporate level,
the directorate is responsible for the development and implementation of the ICT Strategy.
The capital allocation for ICT spending in the HSE for 2012 is €40m. ICT capital spending
is project based and is operated, by way multi-annual budgets due to the complexity and scale
of most projects. The breakdown of the planned spending between the various business sectors
is set out in the table below:
Project Type No. of Projects Investment
Hospital Clinical 36 €11,213,675
ICT Technical Infrastructure 22 €8,431,869
CoreHospital-iSoft (PAS) 6 €8,138,013
Pre Hospital Emergency Care 6 €4,570,624
Corporate Systems 12 €1,707,080
Community Clinical 11 €1,259,130
New Building/Refurbishment — Fit Out 1 €950,000
Core Hospital-iSoft (Order Comms) 1 €550,000
Minor/Miscellaneous Capital Projects 97 €3,121,963
Totals 192 €39,942,355
From an initial inspection of the list of projects that constitute the planned areas for investment,
many of the items listed are clinical systems, deployed in support of hospitals and primary care
facilities, and should not be affected in terms of any new arrangements.
Other projects recently approved, such as the insurance claims system will support a ‘money
follows the patient’ environment and are already aligned with the Government’s agenda. As
the Deputy is aware, since the moratorium in March 2009, a reduction in numbers of over
7,000 has been sustainable, in part, due to process improvements including ICT supports.
As part of a review of the HSE ICT strategy, my Department will be examining all currently
sanctioned projects to determine how they are affected by the administrative changes envisaged
as part of the Government’s reform agenda. Finally, it should be noted that approval for ICT
expenditure within the HSE is subject to external approval by the Department of Public Expenditure
and Reform, in accordance with Department of Finance Circulars 02/09 and 02/11 and
the Department of Health.
Ferry Services
739. Deputy Michael Healy-Rae asked the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport the
position regarding the Cork to Swansea ferry service; the dealings he has had with the company
operating this route; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [7552/12]
Minister of State at the Department of Transport, Tourism and Sport (Deputy Michael Ring):
I am disappointed to learn that the Cork-Swansea Ferry Service, operated by the Fastnet Line,
has ceased to operate. I met with the West Cork Tourism Co-op on 17 January last when they
outlined their plans for the future of the service. As a first step, however, the Co-op advised
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