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

We will conclude shortly. I will mention one or two points that came up. We hear what Mr. Kearns is saying regarding time.

Time is not on our side. It is time to put the template into operation and fit the pieces on the board into place. Football terms were used in relation to it a few moments ago, but I would use road traffic. One often comes across a sign which says "Traffic Merging". The two lanes of traffic are supposed to converge without causing disruption or crashes. That is how it is designed. It is particularly applicable to the health services now that those on the main thoroughfare andin situ recognise the changes taking place. It has to be dealt with.

There are two areas we need to talk about urgently. There is CAMHS, which is seriously undernourished at present. There needs to be a serious evaluation of where it is going and what it is doing. It has been ushered out into a side lane that we have not spotted yet. It is not working the way it should or to the advantage of patients, children, anybody or itself, which is sad.

The other area concerns emergencies. The definition of an emergency is an emergency. If an emergency cannot be handled, from whatever side it comes or however it appears, at an early date, then it ceases to be an emergency and falls into a backlog. To go back to traffic, the further one goes back down the line of a backlog, the more frustrating it gets. Regarding emergency medical cards, there is a classic situation where patients receiving radium treatment who have other life-threatening illnesses want medical cards on an emergency basis. The hospital sends in the application and it is looked at by another medical expert, who deems it ineligible. They cannot get the medical card. The unfortunate patient is looking for reassurance. They do not want to hang on to it forever. Only one person in the family may need it but it is hugely reassuring for them to be able to say they are covered in that area and do not have to worry about it. They have enough worries already. I refer to emergency medical cards and reimbursement. The sad part is if you or I ring the people concerned who are busy working at whatever the are working at, we will not get a reply.

There is a sadder situation emerging. There is a strict regime where parliamentary questions are concerned. It used to be a sacking offence if an honest reply was not received to a parliamentary question. That seems to have gone by the board. In the Department of Health, it used to be that the answer to a parliamentary question should be received in ten working days, which is fine. We would accept that. Now it is as soon as possible, which means never. It is code for never. It is an affront to Members of Parliament to get such an offhand answer. If you pursue it by way of wishing to speak to somebody, you go around in circles.

If that happens to people used to dealing with administration systems across all Departments, how will the poor, unfortunate people waiting for reimbursement, an emergency medical card or CAMHS feel? How will they think about the system? They think about it based on how it affects them, and it is not helpful. It is bad for the morale of the system and of the patient and it adds to the suffering of the patient. There is no need for it. All that is required is that the person in that position enlists support if they cannot deal with the backlog or overhang. Let us do it. We cannot afford this situation whereby we need to apply to get on a waiting list. I have often said we are the nation of waiting lists. Everything has to be on a waiting list. It does not have to be so. Once the issue is dealt with, it is no longer on a waiting list and no longer somebody's problem. It is solved insofar as we can manage.

We have exhausted our supply of members. Does anyone else wish to comment quickly? No. I thank Mr. Kearns for his time, frankness, obvious knowledge of the system and accuracy of reply. We look forward to a dramatic result from the briefing today. I have no doubt Mr. Kearns will go back to wherever he directs his thoughts and explain to all and sundry that they are on to it. Thank you very much.