David Cullinane (Waterford, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I will come in again. I have heard what Mr. Watt has said and it does not chime at all with what Sláintecare promised. It does not chime at all with what those who resigned from Sláintecare wanted. It does, however, chime with the reasons they gave for leaving. Mr. Watt cannot say that in making changes there will be no vertical reorganisation and then say we will see substantial reform. He cannot say corporate functions and clinical care pathways, which are central, will remain at the HSE as they currently are. To me, that indicates more of the same, keeping it as it is with superficial changes. That is not what we need.

Mr. Watt spoke earlier about unacceptable wait times, with almost 900,000 people waiting. As he knows, we have elderly people on trolleys, with 1,100 of them on trolleys for over 24 hours in acute hospitals in January. They need a change in healthcare, and it is not just about structures but resources and capacity. When I see that there is no vertical reorganisation and that we will keep things as they are now, it does not tell me we will see the reforms we need.