Stephen Donnelly (Wicklow, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

Let me be very clear about this. The sole focus of this Government, the Department of Health and the HSE in healthcare is universal healthcare. That is it. There are three elements to universal healthcare. One is affordability, and we are moving on that. We are also moving on access and clinical quality. That is what defines universal healthcare. If we were meeting now and half of the Sláintecare projects were not being implemented, if beds were not being added to the system, if GP diagnostics was not being rolled out, if advanced nurse practitioners were not being ramped up and if real activity was not happening, I would absolutely say this committee should be pushing and saying that it needs a commitment that things are going to get better. I am saying there is an absolute commitment. As I said previously, I believe this is the single most important project for our country. I am totally committed to it, and I am in charge politically of its implementation. We have a 97% rate of implementation from the Sláintecare office. Across the board we have added record levels of additional capacity this year. We are moving on affordability and record investment in clinical quality. That shows a Government that is absolutely committed, is investing and is delivering. That is the starting point.

On top of that, am I making additional changes to go further and faster? Yes, I am. I am appointing the most senior team possible to ongoing implementation. That team reports directly to me and I report directly to the Oireachtas, this committee and the Cabinet on that. I hope that we will have a very favourable budget package that will focus on our priorities with regard to capacity, reform, women's health, access and clinical quality. I am absolutely committed and, yes, I have made some very significant additions to the work that is already taking place to ensure we move as quickly as we can towards the goal of universal healthcare.