The Government is planning an intensive information campaign to canvass the support of back-benchers and health service staff for its health reform package.
With the Cabinet to discuss the plan tomorrow, it emerged last night that the Minister for Health, Mr Martin, has scheduled an extensive round of consultations to seek support for the biggest shake-up of the health system since 1970.
The joint plan proposed by Mr Martin and the Minister for Finance, Mr McCreevy, was agreed last week after months of friction between the two men.
If endorsed by the Cabinet, it will be published on Wednesday. It is thought that the Government is planning a significant media campaign to underline its support for the initiative.
The plan will see day-to-day control of the overall health system move to a new National Health Services Executive away from the Government and local politicians.
Acute hospitals will be managed by a new body as the number of State health agencies is reduced to about 30 from 55.
With some Fianna Fáil TDs already expressing private reservation about aspects of the plan, Mr Martin is planning to go to a parliamentary party meeting tomorrow week. PD backbenchers will also be briefed.
Such meetings will be crucial because politicians will lose their membership of the 11 health boards, which are to be abolished under the plan. These will be replaced by four regional health agencies, which will not be controlled by local politicians.
Mr Martin will also meet the 11 health boards. He will conduct separate meetings with health board chief executives and with officials in the Department of Health, whose focus will shift to policy development.
He will also meet the health partnership forum, which brings together the unions representing 96,000 health service staff. Tens of thousands of summaries of the plan are being printed for the workers.
While the reform will require difficult negotiations with senior managers and medical consultants, sources close to Mr Martin's department denied reports that the initiative would not begin in earnest before the next general election in 2007. They characterise the initiative as a three-year plan.
It is believed that an implementation group will be set up immediately within Mr Martin's department to oversee the process. Chaired by an assistant secretary in the department, this group will answer directly to Mr Martin. It will include medical representatives.
The plan is based on two reports into health service funding and structures. The final draft of a separate study of medical manpower is expected soon, pending consideration of an Irish Medical Organisation paper.
The report, by the Hanley group, will address plans to bring responsibility for medical consultants' budgets within the profession.
This contentious proposal will require a shift in statutory responsibility for the management of budgets away from the health boards.
