Seán Fleming (Laois, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

Most of the money will be found in the health budget - in the budget for building the national children's hospital or the national maternity hospital. The State Claims Agency needs to realise that the less money that comes in, the less we will have to build facilities. It may be paying €400 million, but in two years' time it may be €600 million or €700 million, which sum would take us half way in building a new hospital. I am talking about every single year. I know that they are legitimate claims and that there are catastrophic cases, but the system is letting the figures escalate. Somebody else will be sitting in this chair in a couple of years' time when the figure will be €5 billion. How many hospitals could we build with that sum? I know that it is simplistic, but it I do not believe enough is being done to manage the issue. That is why we asked for a breakdown by group. We want to put pressure on the Department of Health and the HSE to do something to stop the continuous medical incidents. Prevention is better than cure. Paying out at the end of the process is the worst of all solutions. The public should be frustrated that the figure is building each year.