James Reilly (Dublin North, Fine Gael)

When the Deputies opposite ask Mr. Paddy Burke at the Committee of Public Accounts why he is paying doctors for looking after patients in respect of whom there has been no activity on their medical card for two years, it will be interesting to hear the take on this. There is a balance to be struck with probity, but the fault should always lie with the State in these situations. That is why Mr. Burke has now changed things to reflect this.

Deputy Kirk raised the issue of providing a telephone number for Deputiess. There is such a telephone number for them, about which I will say no more.

Deputy Kelleher made a few contentious remarks about waiting times and the SDU which has proved to be a success. It has not been successful enough for my liking, as there are still too many patients on trolleys. However, for the first time in 14 or 15 years, we have seen a drop in the numbers lying on trolleys. Since the middle of December, they have been lower than in the previous year. The 30 day average which for every month for 12 months before August 2011 was 30% above the figure in the year before-----

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