Caoimhghín Ó Caoláin (Cavan-Monaghan, Sinn Fein)

It is acknowledged that many more places are now available in private care facilities, but the level of public care provision has not kept pace. The Minister signalled in his Budget Statement of last December that he would initiate a review of the various tax incentives. Will he examine each of these closely under each category? Will there be a specific examination of those who have benefited from these reliefs? Will an assessment be made of the return on the public investment? Will the return be compared with the return that would have been achieved if the moneys had been invested in the provision of public facilities, which should be an important aspect of the review? If such a comparison is not made, the review will not be complete and we will not be fully informed.

We all accept that the review, which is welcome, is necessary. I have no difficulty in awaiting the opportunity to engage with the Minister and other people in this House about the detail of the review. I hope it will be finalised sooner rather than later. The Minister and his colleagues have continually lauded and applauded the unprecedented level of investment in the health services, which the Government has had the good fortune to direct since 1997. While I acknowledge the level of investment, I do not detract from the premise I outlined earlier, that our public health services continue to stumble from crisis to crisis. I ask the Minister, rather than depending on the level of investment as a crutch, to take cognisance of the facts of the daily experience of ordinary people and accept that this serious problem needs to be addressed.

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