Denis Naughten (Roscommon-South Leitrim, Independent)
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I accept the Minister's explanation in regard to this. I would be very concerned about the use of bed utilisation as an assessment of health status. I accept that putting something else in place will not happen overnight and that it will be complex. I accept the principle of what the Minister said and that it may take a couple of months to develop it, and I fully accept that this legislation needs to be in place by the end of the year. If that is the case, it is imperative a sunset clause is put into this. I would have serious reservations about putting a bed utilisation provision in primary legislation which could kick the can down the road. I do not believe it is a good assessment of health status. In fact, I think it incentivises what all of us involved in the health service in one role or another believe is the wrong way to go, that is, driving people into hospital whereas we should be driving incentives to keep people out of hospital and treat them in the primary care setting in so far as is possible. It runs contrary to everything on which we all agree. If the Minister cannot come up with a better calculation in the short term - I accept it is not simple to come up with one - a sunset clause must be built into this.