Billy Kelleher (Cork North Central, Fianna Fail)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

Before the election, will a detailed policy document be published on universal health insurance to allow for a proper adjudication on what it will entail?

The Minister stated his aim was to provide a realistic budget for the health services for 2015. Is it realistic considering what was stated this morning? As Mr. O’Brien stated this morning, if we are to continue with the existing profiling, the fair deal scheme will be under serious pressure by the end of the year, hospital waiting times could be up to 20 weeks with 2,000 people or more waiting for the cancellation of elective surgeries.

Will there be a requirement for a further injection of money into the health service to alleviate the pressures forecast by the HSE? It is clear that a review of the fair deal scheme is necessary because it is unsustainable at present. If it is demand-led, it needs to be underpinned by funding on a continuous basis. I recall when the scheme was first published that the fear of God was put in people that their homes might be taken. I assure the committee I was not spreading those rumours. It is important that the terms of the review be published in order to allow a debate on how we fund the scheme. This is about the future as well as the here and now.