Bernard Durkan (Kildare North, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I need to ask about the capital plan regarding new facilities and hospitals promised, over several years in many cases. Are we in a position to accelerate in this regard? The population of the country is increasing. The number of people who will require treatment of one kind or another will increase and we will have to increase the standard and availability of services in line with that. If not, we will have the same problem with a backlog in five years’ time, which is not acceptable. Have we adequate capital funding? It would appear that we do.

The role of NTPF funding is recognised, but we need an emergency response to the issues ahead of us at this stage. It is not acceptable to have people on a five-year, two-year or one-year waiting list. We have to get away from that. Anything of help could be an improvement, but the fact of the matter is that we are long past the stage at which this became an emergency. What part of the plan incorporates an emergency system to deal with the growing problems as they arise, knowing that we have lost some key people from the health services in the past three months? Perhaps we might be told why they sought to relocate.