Michael Harty (Clare, Independent) | Oireachtas source

Many areas of the health service work very well, and that has to be acknowledged. Unfortunately, there is no consistency across the health service in its performance. There is an urgent need for reform, and that is why I asked the question. The report was published one year ago, yet there has been no serious reform. We need to maximise the value we get from the €15 billion that is put into the health service, and I do not believe we are getting the maximum outcome from that money, and that patients have poor outcomes in many areas. I understand that it is not a comprehensive plan, but there is an implementation deficit we try to guard within the report, which contains a substantial chapter on implementation.

One of the recommendations was that there should be a reinstatement of the HSE board. The Taoiseach committed to that last November, yet it is now May and there has been no legislation on that.