Agencies and Health Bodies
Rationalisation of Agencies in the Health Sector for the DOHC website
A major programme of agency rationalisation within the health sector was announced by the Minister for Health and Children on 15th October, 2008. The primary aim of this ambitious programme is to streamline service delivery, professional registration and policy making in a number of areas in the health sector, through the integration and /or amalgamation of functions. Efficiencies will derive over time from economies of scale and the elimination of duplication in areas such as recruitment, procurement, payroll and ICT systems.
Legislation is required to facilitate the rationalisation programme and considerable work is ongoing within the Department in this area at present.
A list of the agencies in the rationalisation programme and the target timeframe for rationalisation.
List of Agencies and Health Bodies
- An Bord Altranais
- Beaumont Hospital Board
- Board of the Adelaide and Meath Hospital, Dublin incorporating the National Children's Hospital
- Comhairle na Nimheanna
- Consultative Council on Hepatitis C
- HSE Crisis Pregnancy Programme
- Dental Council
- Dental Health Foundation
- Drug Treatment Centre Board
- Dublin Dental Hospital Board
- Employers Representative Division
- Food Safety Authority of Ireland
- Food Safety Promotion Board, see Safefood
- Health & Social Care Professionals Council
- Health Information and Quality Authority
- Health Insurance Authority
- Health Protection Surveillance Centre
- Health Research Board
- Institute of Public Health in Ireland
- Irish Blood Transfusion Service
- Irish Medicines Board
- Irish Society for Quality and Safety in Healthcare
- Leopardstown Park Hospital Board
- Medical Council
- Mental Health Commission
- National Cancer Registry Board
- National Cancer Screening Service
- National Council for the Professional Development of Nursing and Midwifery
- National Council on Ageing and Older People
- National Haemophilia Council
- National Social Work Qualifications Board
- Nursing Careers Centre
- Office for Health Management
- Office of Tobacco Control
- Office of the Disability Appeals Officer
- Optician's Board
- Pharmaceutical Society of Ireland
- Postgraduate Medical and Dental Board
- Pre-Hospital Emergency Care Council
- Primary Care Reimbursement Service
- Safefood
- South Infirmary Victoria University Hospital
- Special Residential Services Board
- St James's Hospital Board
- St Luke's and St. Anne's Hospital Board
- Women's Health Council
List of the agencies in the rationalisation programme
Appendix
The current status of the rationalisation process in relation to each body concerned (as at July 2010) is set out in the following table. All the agencies being rationalised are non-commercial State-sponsored bodies.
While there is clearly a need to secure efficiencies from the rationalisation programme, the primary aim is to streamline service delivery, professional registration and policy making in a number of areas in the health sector, through the integration and /or amalgamation of functions. Efficiencies will derive over time from economies of scale and the elimination of duplication in areas such as recruitment, procurement, payroll and ICT systems. Savings also arise from the dissolution of Agency Boards, some of which attracted payment of travel and subsistence and /or Board fees.
| Programme for Rationalisation of Agencies in the Health Sector | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Agency | Rationalisation Measure | Date/Timeframe | Legislation required to facilitate rationalisation |
| National Council on Ageing and Older People | Dissolved and subsumed into the Department of Health and Children | 1 September 2009 | SI 288 of 2009 brought part 2 of the Health (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 2009 into operation |
| Children’s Acts Advisory Board | Subsumed into the Office of the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs on an administrative basis | Jan 2010 | Awaiting Child Care (Amendment) Bill 2009 |
| Women’s Health Council | Dissolved and subsumed into the Department of Health and Children | 1 October 2009 | The Health (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 2009 (Commencement) (No. 2) Order 2009 |
| National Cancer Screening Service and National Cancer Registry Board | Dissolved and subsumed into HSE | 1 April 2010 | The Health (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 2009 (Commencement Order 2010) |
| Crisis Pregnancy Agency | Dissolved and subsumed into HSE | 1 January 2010 | The Health (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 2009 (Commencement) (No. 3) Order 2009 |
| Postgraduate Medical and Dental Board | dissolved and subsumed into HSE | 1 January 2009 | Medical Practitioners Act, 2007 |
| Food Safety Authority of Ireland | To be left as stand alone Agency following Memo to Government 2010 | ||
| Irish Medicines Board | To be left as stand alone Agency following Memo to Government 2010 | ||
| National Council for the Professional Development of Nursing and Midwifery | To be dissolved and subsumed into An Bord Altranais | Autumn 2010 | The Nurses and Midwives Bill 2010 |
| Drug Treatment Centre | Currently being dissolved and subsumed into HSE | Autumn 2010 | The Health Miscellaneous Provisions Act 2009 |
| National Social Work Qualifications Board | To be dissolved and subsumed into Health & Social Care Professionals | End 2010 | The Health and Social Care Professionals Act 2005 |
| National Cancer Registry Board | To be dissolved and subsumed into HSE | 1 January 2011 (Provisionally) | The Health Information Bill |
| Pre-Hospital Emergency Care Council | To be subsumed into the Health and Social Care Professionals Council | Provisionally 2011 | Health Miscellaneous Provisions Bill to be drafted |
| Office of Tobacco Control | To be dissolved and subsumed into HSE | Provisionally 2011 | Health Miscellaneous Bill to be drafted |
| The Opticians Board | To be subsumed into the Health and Social Care Professionals Council | To be confirmed (Provisionally 2011) | Health Miscellaneous Provisions Bill to be drafted |
