John Gormley (Dublin South East, Green Party)

People in the Opposition may say they would like that job but it is, without doubt, difficult because there are many competing interests. We now have the medical means and technology to keep people alive far longer than previously, and the longer they live the more treatment they will require in the course of a lifetime. This consumes more money. This is why we currently find ourselves in difficulty, but we are not alone. Many countries throughout the European Union and elsewhere have difficulties in their health services. For example, the oft-lauded French system will, by all accounts, be broke within 15 years. That is the stark reality many countries must face.

Having been generous, I need to make some critical remarks.

See this speech in context