Caoimhghín Ó Caoláin (Cavan-Monaghan, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

Initially, I had asked the question how it was that the HSE expected to be able to deliver a high quality service, while also seeing the departure of a further 2,600 whole-time equivalent, WTE, posts in the course of this year. As for Mr. O'Brien's reply, I am not in any dispute with it, would welcome it and do not wish to see any of it achieved. However, it is another figure which is contained in the service plan. It is an intention that is part of the overall calculation. I think "arithmetic" is a word the Minister has used previously. Where does Mr. O'Brien expect these to occur since 2,600 WTE posts will be found? In his view, is this achievable at all? Is it desirable? So much of the service plan is a wish list; there is no certainty and it states "this may" or "that might...". Ultimately, the joint committee's concern is that patient safety be a central tenet at all times and that people be able to access critical services on the basis of need, which is not always the case. I refer to Mr. O'Brien's own line in terms of the change in the service plan and which uniquely, of all the other sentences delivered in his opening statement, stands, namely, "During the course of this service plan, it will not be possible to fully meet all of the growing demands being placed on the health service." This is something to which we all must face up and accept.

Somehow, somewhere, the change must come. These cuts are not sustainable.