The Minister for Health will announce planned health spending for the next seven to 10 years, but not the figure for next year after a series of difficult talks with the Minister for Finance, The Irish Times has learned.
Mr Martin and Mr McCreevy are expected to have further contact in the next fortnight to finalise what elements of the Government's National Health Strategy, to be published on Monday, will be initiated next year and at what cost.
However, they reached broad agreement on the figure for next year after four hours of talks on Thursday night, clearing the way for Monday's launch at a press conference in Dublin. But while Mr Martin will announce the overall figure for the lifetime of the plan on Monday, next year's extra allocation will not be revealed until Mr McCreevy makes his Budget speech on December 7th.
The long-term figure for spending on the health strategy is expected to be made conditional on future economic and budgetary circumstances.
Mr Martin and his officials were yesterday putting the finishing touches to Monday's presentation of the document, seen as a key to the Government's campaign for re-election next year. The strategy will outline not just funding plans but reforms of the delivery of healthcare to patients, both to try to get better value for money and to improve services to patients.
And while not giving the overall figure for spending in 2002, Mr Martin is expected to give some details of projects that will be initiated next year in the early stages of the implementation of the strategy.
Monday's high-profile launch will then be followed in the next fortnight by the publication of documents on primary healthcare, how to increase bed capacity, the results of a value for money audit and a report on care for the elderly.
In reaching agreement on funding, the two Ministers and their officials have ended a political stand-off over health spending that has gone on for many months. The Government yesterday sought to play down the extent of the original differences, with a spokeswoman for the Minister for Finance saying yesterday she knew nothing about negotiations between the Ministers on the issue.
Sources close to the Minister for Health confirmed Thursday's lengthy meeting had taken place but maintained the negotiations over money were routine annual pre-Budget talks.
Mr Martin has pushed over the past few weeks for significant extra spending on health next year to try to address what is likely to be the most difficult issue for the Government in the general election.
However, Mr McCreevy has been pressing his view that major inefficiencies in the structure of delivery of health services have to be tackled before more money is pumped into what he and his senior officials see as a "black hole" for resources.
The health strategy document itself was approved by Cabinet last Tuesday, but final talks on spending and on how quickly certain elements of the plan could be implemented were left to Thursday's discussions between Mr McCreevy and Mr Martin.
The Government spending Estimates, published last week, gave the Department an increase in day-to-day spending to £6.3 billion, with more to come in the December 7th Budget. The Department of Health has been pushing for an increase to £7 billion.
Mr McCreevy signalled there would be substantial extra spending announcements in the Budget itself, in health and other areas.