Billy Kelleher (Cork North Central, Fianna Fail)

Yes, I have. They are highlighting this continually. They are afraid of what will happen on 1 March because they have not seen a detailed plan themselves. These are the people the Minister expects to deliver front-line services on that day. If the Minister has a plan, will he publish it? He should consult the key providers of front-line services in emergency medicine, especially in maternity services. From all the conversations I have had, and e-mails from those on the front line, I know they are gravely concerned. The Minister says in the House that he has a plan, and the Taoiseach says: "Trust us." The bottom line is that it is difficult to trust the Government in light of what it has said previously and what it is delivering now.

Reference has been made to the insurance levy. This time last year, the Minister clearly stated that any increase in the insurance levy would have a devastating impact on insurance premiums and that it would be the final kick in the teeth for families. What he has done since constitutes a major attack on people who are trying as best they can to provide their own health care cover. The fact that he has increased the insurance levy by 40% and changed the way private health cover is charged in public hospitals has had a devastating impact on the cost of private health insurance. Families are being put to the pin of their collar.

I raise these four or five issues in the context of what the Minister said he would do this time last year and what has happened subsequently. This time last year, he was traipsing around the countryside and, wherever he could find a microphone, he was willing to make promises with wild abandon.

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