Jerry Buttimer (Cork South Central, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

While I will not be opposing the Bill, it is important that the committee looks at the overall health budget allocation and how it is arrived at. I believe the Department of Health has taken a disproportionate number of cuts over the past six years when compared with other Departments. It is important we examine how we can renew staff in the health system and the allocation of resources. We are at a point in the health system where staff are not being renewed and a generation of health workers, such as speech therapists, occupational therapists and physiotherapists, are opting to go abroad. I accept there was a need for a recruitment moratorium but health is a demand-led system. Unlike Deputy Ó Caoláin, I do not mind if we overspend on health. To me it is about a service for those who require access to treatment and facilities.

Why did we need a Supplementary Estimate for the Health Vote? It was because people needed access to treatment and facilities. I am concerned at how we can sustain services and, more important, how we can develop and grow resources with the patient at the centre. I believe members of this committee will be up to examining the budget allocation for the health services. The committee can examine how it can work this into its work programme. It is time to recognise that health took a significant cut in its allocations for pay bills and funding.