Pat Rabbitte (Dublin South West, Labour)

The Taoiseach has rhymed off a number of statistics and practical things which he claims the Government is doing. Is it not the bottom line that whatever the Taoiseach thinks the Government is doing is not working? Is that not why the Tánaiste and Minister for Health and Children has declared a national emergency, nine years after the Government took responsibility for the health services? The last national emergency related to an outbreak of foot and mouth disease. It is not plain why the national emergency in the accident and emergency services has been declared at this time, after nine years in which there were two Ministers for Health and Children from Fianna Fáil and one from the Progressive Democrats Party.

Can it be the case that they have realised that the people are dissatisfied with the health services, just as Mr. Haughey discovered when he went on the election trail in 1989? We have been telling the Government for a number of years that the people are not happy with the health services. The ten-point plan that was announced by the Tánaiste in November 2004 has not worked — the situation has got worse. According to the Irish Nurses Organisation, there were 384 patients on trolleys yesterday. That is the position. Why has the Government now recognised that there is a national emergency in this area? Does it relate to the imminence of the next general election?

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