Enda Kenny (Mayo, Fine Gael)

-----unless there are serious changes made to the structure and the way in which the health service is run and provided for. I do not accept that elderly people will be compromised nor do I accept many of the assertions the Deputy made.

The HSE plan has been published and approved by the Minister. Details of it need to be examined and teased out. The Minister has identified areas where there will be savings and where targeted savings will be achieved. There are to be further reductions in numbers but we do not yet know the actual figure. The initial assessment was for a very high level of retirements of the order of 4,500 but I understand this is now anticipated to be in the region of 3,200. The Minister has increased the drugs payment scheme monthly threshold by €12 and various measures to reduce drug costs are included in his programme for 2012.

Next year the introduction of legislation to allow public hospitals to raise charges in respect of all private patients, even if they are not in a designated private bed, will add greatly to the capacity of public hospitals to deal with their business. There will be extra efficiencies built into the targets for disability, mental health and child care services. I do not accept the assertions made by the Deputy.

As I noted in reply to Deputy Adams, this will be a very challenging year for the health services. I commend those workers in the health services who have bought into the very necessary changes that are coming so that we can and will provide a health service of which we can be proud, for our young, not so young and elderly alike. The end objective is to have that service available to people of all categories, as close as possible to them, as efficiently as possible and based on their medical requirements, as distinct from what they have in their pocket. That involves primary care centres, home care packages, community relationships and the changes to the structures that are set out in the programme approved by the Minister. This plan will be debated in the House and we can go into it at greater length if the Deputy so wishes.

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