Mary Lou McDonald (Dublin Central, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

The Minister talked about decreases in public expenditure. They are known in common parlance as cuts and, despite what he might say, they have happened in health, welfare and education. It is the Government's position, which the Minister echoed in his script earlier, that there are additional resources and moneys to be invested. It is fair enough if the Minister regards Deputy Sean Fleming and myself and others on the Opposition benches as his adversaries in this regard. However, for this document to enjoy public confidence, there has to be some sense in which the figures tally with the reality of the service requirements. Staying on the issue of health, I think the Minister, Deputy Varadkar, has said that what he has is not sufficient. That is the sense of what he said.