Enda Kenny (Mayo, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

On 9 March 2011, I nominated Dr. James Reilly as Minister for Health. I did so, not because he has decades of experience as a GP or because he developed a radical policy to create a patient-centred health system, but because he has a passionate commitment to creating a health service that puts the patient first.

The Government received a mandate from the people to create a universal, single-tier health service, which guarantees access to medical care based on need, not income. I and my colleagues around the Cabinet table are acutely aware of the challenge that faces us in terms of health reform. It will not be done overnight. It is a complex and major undertaking that requires careful planning and sequencing. It will take time, patience, diligence and courage. What the Minister and we as a Government inherited was chaotic, unsustainable and unacceptable.

Against this backdrop, the Minister for Health faces another challenge which is to maintain services and ensure patient safety while having to achieve savings of more than €2 billion and to reduce staff numbers by 6,000 over the past two years. Some might see this challenge in itself as an excuse to stand still and accept the status quo as the last Administration did. However, despite the difficult financial environment, the Government's health reform programme is on track and patients are experiencing real change in our hospitals:

Between January and September this year, there has been a 22% reduction in the number of patients waiting on trolleys, compared with the same period last year. This equates to 13,450 fewer patients waiting on trolleys. The number of adults having to wait more than 12 months for inpatient and day-case surgery has reduced by 85%, and consultants will now see, treat and discharge patients 24 hours a day and seven days a week, saving the State hundreds of millions of euro - an issue the last Administration was afraid to tackle.

Since the Government came into office, patients are being seen and treated in a more timely fashion. This is the daily on-the-ground impact of the reforms being implemented in our hospitals by the Minister, Deputy Reilly. The establishment of the special delivery unit last year has helped to reduce the numbers on trolleys significantly. This has been done largely through better organisation and management.

With regards to the structural reform of the health system, the building blocks are being laid and the steps ahead are clearly indicated. In July, the Minister published the Health Service Executive (Governance) Bill 2012 which provides for the abolition of the HSE board and the establishment of a directorate to be the new governing body for the HSE in place of the board. Government approval has been given to proceed with the establishment of hospital groups ahead of the creation of hospital trusts and intensive work continues on this. The Minister is examining the small hospital framework in the context of the overall reorganisation of the health services with the aim of ensuring a viable future for our smaller hospitals. His report and proposals will be published shortly.

The programme for Government is committed to introducing universal free GP care within our first term of office. Work is progressing on the preparation of legislation this Dáil term to allow for the extension of free GP care to persons with prescribed illnesses. The legislation to abolish restrictions on GPs wishing to become contractors under the GMS is already in place. The programme of work for primary care led by the Minister of State, Deputy Shortall, will fundamentally change for the better the level of service available to patients.

The progress to date underlines the Government's commitment to health service reform and the implementation of universal health insurance. The ring-fencing of finance for mental health being led by the Minister of State, Deputy Kathleen Lynch, signifies an end to this critical area being the forgotten element of health strategy. These changes area occurring as part of a very certain process to put an end to the two-tier health system.

The key objective of the Minister, Deputy Reilly, is to make these changes in order to put the interests of the patient at the heart of the health services. It is not the needs of the system that should dictate how patients are treated, rather it is the needs of patients which should dictate how the system is designed. That design work is under way and will continue.

Let me assure the House that the Minister, Deputy Reilly, did not engage in a deeply cynical campaign before the election. He articulated a health reform programme that he is passionately committed to implementing. It was not the Minister, Deputy Reilly, who promised to end waiting lists within two years. It was not the Minister, Deputy Reilly who promised improved accident and emergency services by reducing waiting times or having senior doctors available at all times. I have every confidence in the ability and determination of the Minister to see through to fruition the reforms with which he has been tasked. He is a man who came into politics for the right reasons - to change the Irish health service for the better. I have every confidence in his ability to deliver on the mandate and responsibility given to him.

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