Paul Connaughton (Galway East, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I am grateful for the opportunity to speak on the debate. I agree with a great deal of what Deputy Jim Daly has already said. My understanding of the proceedings is that they are intended to provide Members with an opportunity over a couple of days to give their opinions and thoughts at the outset of this process. Listening to the last half hour of speeches, it seemed the Deputies wanted to know nothing more about the issue or to see the plan ever get off the ground. A range of problems were raised, but the most basic questions were never asked as to what they were going to get out of this. They have never offered any solutions or alternatives. They are saying they do not like the health service as it stands or what the Minister is offering, but they cannot tell us what they would do differently. They talk about a new tax. I wish I had the luxury of using the same speech no matter what topic was under discussion in the Chamber. Whether it is business, health or education, we hear the same speech.

The Minister's plan is hugely ambitious and he is very motivated about it. It is something he has always wanted to see come to fruition. My concern is the perception of it. People do not have a strong belief in our health service although that is something the Minister is driving to change. We discussed ambulances services last night and there are issues in certain accident and emergency departments across the country. It is a question of trying to marry the Minister's expectation of where the health service can go with what is happening on the ground. There is a great task there and the Minister has set out a road map as to how it will be completed over the next number of years. It is not as if the plan will be implemented next Monday morning. People have an opportunity to partake in the process.

There is an issue among the public. I recently attended an active retirement group in my home town, Mountbellew, and I asked the 40 people in attendance if they believed they would see universal health insurance in the next five years. Only two people put up their hands to say they thought they would. That must be considered against the backdrop of the issue people have within private health insurance and what they see as the problems with the health service. This is a hugely ambitious programme and one I firmly believe can be realised as long as it is taken in an orderly, step-by-step process. To do that there has to be a starting point, which is what today's debate represents. I understand from what I have heard from the Minister and read in the newspapers that the public will be allowed to make submissions on this. That is hugely important. I encourage everybody in every age category to have a say as to what should be contained in a universal health insurance policy.

We can learn from what has happened in countries where this has already been rolled out. There is the Dutch model and other European approaches. We can take into account the concerns and issues which have been raised. A previous speaker said the Dutch model took 20 years to come to fruition. What we are trying to do is to take the good parts from that model and work on those parts which did not work. It should not take us 20 years to do it. We should learn from our colleagues in Europe how best to roll this out.

There are concerns about what will be covered by a universal health insurance policy. While I do not expect the Minister to be able to answer the question today or even within the next six months, it is important that we set out a road map as to how all this can be achieved. It is important also to set out a road map as to how the hospital network and primary care centres will fit in. There is an issue currently involving general practitioners and the contract for under sixes. The point that came across to me in my discussions with general practitioners is that they want to see investment in primary care centres. They can do a lot more work in that context, which would free up a lot of our hospital resources.

It would be remiss of me not to mention Portiuncula Hospital. The Minister will have expected me to say this. It is a hospital which has been underutilised. The Minister is a great believer in moving more services to smaller hospitals. Portiuncula Hospital has a very bright future under the system the Minister envisages, as does Roscommon County Hospital. They can take on a great many of the smaller procedures and free up University Hospital Galway to function as a centre of excellence.

I welcome very much what the Government is attempting to do. It has my full support. I will take part in the process. I urge the public to do the same. More than that, I urge the Opposition to explain, if it has a problem with what is proposed, what it would do differently. The Opposition should cost it differently if it can rather than to simply tell us it does not like the health service now and does not like the plan. It is fair enough if that is what it really believes but there is an onus then to give the Irish people a third option, cost it and show how it will work. Otherwise, Members of the Opposition should join in the process and help us to deliver a better health service.

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