Mary Harney (Dublin Mid West, Progressive Democrats)

I have given but three examples recently of what that reform is delivering. In cancer care, everybody in the country, regardless of where they are treated, will get quality assured care. At total of 60% of breast surgery in this country in 2002 was performed by surgeons who did fewer than ten cases per year. That is highly dangerous and will change. It would not have changed under the old health board regime. In paediatrics, there will be a single hospital for very sick children. The old health board regime would not have had the capacity to do that. In the north east where there are 300,000 people and five hospitals, 50% of the elective work in the region comes to Dublin, so the patients are voting with their feet, and 25% of all hospital cases in the region come to Dublin. We are going to get a single new state-of-the-art hospital with the five hospitals being satellites of that new hospital.

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