Kate O'Connell (Dublin Bay South, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

The proliferation in the private hospital sector has been apparent in recent years with the opening of emergency department services during the day and so on. We are well aware of the power of lobbying and large corporations in the private sector. That will always occur. Can we win the battle? Are those of us who want to deliver a uniform service to which everyone will have equal access based on need rather than ability to pay fighting a battle we cannot win? Major investors who have invested huge money to siphon off the bread and butter operations and elective surgeries - the handy stuff - have shareholders who want to achieve a return on their investment. We are on the other side seeking to deliver healthcare services. How do we avoid losing out to them? Does Dr. de Buitléir envisage that the larger private hospitals, the names of which we all know, will only be offering cosmetic surgery and bits and bobs in ten years' time? What does he see as the future for them? How will standards in the public service increase while the corporations move away?