Séamus Healy (Tipperary South, Workers and Unemployed Action Group) | Oireachtas source

When this Government was elected, there was a genuine feeling among the public that we were about to get a significantly improved health service. Of course, that was on the back of the Minister, Deputy Reilly, and the current Taoiseach travelling the country, making commitments in regard to improvements in the service. There is no doubt the previous Government had created serious difficulties for patients, people availing of services, staff and hospitals throughout the country. There was a genuine feeling that this Government was going to improve the situation. Of course, as often happens, the fact was a lot different.

Unfortunately, we have now arrived at a stage where the health services are at breaking point due to the huge austerity this Government has implemented since its election, with approximately €1 billion in cuts a year in 2011, 2012 and 2013, and I believe the Minister promised another €800 million to €1 billion in cuts in 2014. That is just on the expenditure side. Hand in hand with that, there have been huge staff reductions, with thousands of health care staff having left the system or been made redundant without being replaced. What we now have, as I said, is a system at breaking point. It is under-funded and understaffed. It is a system where the staff and all of our health institutions, hospitals and health centres are under pressure every hour of every day. Despite staff working above and beyond the call of duty, the service that is being provided to the public is simply not good enough. We now have a situation where, for example, yesterday, at the height of summer, some 230 patients were on trolleys in our emergency departments and some hospitals had as many as 19 or 20 patients on trolleys. That is now an ongoing situation in our acute hospital services.

On the community side, there have been significant cutbacks to the home help service, which, again, is an ongoing situation. We were told that people could appeal these decisions and that there would be a real appeals process. My experience is that there is paperwork but there is no proper appeals process or assessment of the needs of individual patients.

I raised the issue of the Fair Deal scheme at a previous meeting of the committee with the HSE. There has been an increase in the residents' contribution of 7.5% per year, bringing it to 22.5% from 15%. Of course, earlier in the year we had what I believe to be geographic discrimination against elderly people, whereby people throughout the country, with the exception of Cork and Dublin, had their applications for the Fair Deal held up.

The situation I am describing applies across the system. I would point to the example of the medical card system. As Deputy Ó Caoláin said, the prescription charge was at 50 cent and was to be abolished but we now find the Minister has increased it to €1.50, or €19.50 per month. There is also a very serious problem with the assessment of eligibility for medical cards, particularly for people who have health conditions. People who in the past held medical cards on medical grounds for long periods - years on end - now find those cards being withdrawn. I would instance the 65-69 age group, which I believe is being particularly and deliberately targeted by the HSE for the withdrawal of medical cards. This is happening on a daily basis. These are particularly people who have medical conditions and who are very marginally over the limit because they may have a small occupational pension. Of course, the medical card limits have not been increased since January 2006 and are completely out of date. This category of elderly people aged between 65 and 69 is being particularly targeted and their cards are being withdrawn on a daily basis because they are marginally over the limit, even though on medical grounds they have held cards for a significant number of years.

I draw the Minister's attention to a situation I have come across frequently lately, again in the area of medical cards. Children with disabilities who have held medical cards on medical grounds are having their medical cards withdrawn. While it is difficult to access GP services and medication, it is even more difficult for those children and their parents to access other services which are linked to the holding of a medical card by the child, so they are being deprived of other services. This is an issue I have asked the Minister to specifically look at because I have come across it on a number of occasions recently.

These children are being deprived of other services.

There are significant waiting lists - some are waiting years - for outpatient appointments for ear, nose, and throat, orthopaedic and audiology services. This needs to be addressed urgently. We need a commitment from the Minister to inform us when those on these waiting lists will be seen.

What is the status of the national children’s hospital? What is the timescale for this project’s development?