Denis Naughten (Roscommon-South Leitrim, Independent) | Oireachtas source

I thank Dr. McLoughlin and his team and Mr. Tony O'Brien for coming before the joint committee. I welcome the strategy statement. It is now 18 months since the strategy statement issued and we are halfway through its timeframe. It is still very aspirational. The key point Dr. McLoughlin made is that none of the targets can be achieved unless we get delivery on value for money within the health service. That is the core objective. It was interesting that Dr. McLoughlin made the point the objectives that are set out in the programme for Government can only be achieved if we get savings over and above the cuts in the current and projected demands on the health service, as well as addressing the current overspends in the health sector.

It is an astronomical task to take in excess of €2 billion out of current spending in the health budget before we can consider the expansion and development of new services. That is a lot to ask in a very short period.

Every year 60,000 people in Ireland attempt suicide. That places a significant burden on our health service. What is the logic of withdrawing the funding for training provided to the suicide prevention programmes at a time when suicide is a plague? There is no joined-up thinking between what is in the strategy and what is happening on the ground.
My second question relates to our efforts to try to keep people out of hospital. We know what is crucial to that strategy is supporting people in the community through home help funding. However, home help organisers have been directed to take 16 hours of allocated home help out of the system every single minute between now and the end of the year to achieve the target of removing more than 635,000 home help hours from the system. That will not deliver value for money. That will not achieve the targets required to deliver the strategy statement, not to mention the targets set in the programme for Government.