Enda Kenny (Mayo, Fine Gael)

I do not agree with the Taoiseach and am not inclined to give great credence to his statements about reductions in waiting times in accident and emergency units. He is well aware that a deliberate massaging of the figures is taking place. People are being moved from accident and emergency units to elective beds in which people were supposed to be recovering from operations. However, their operations have been cancelled. The Government and the Taoiseach made more than one promise that 29,000 patients would be removed from waiting lists by 2004. What happened to those broken promises?

Dublin hospitals operate at between 1% and 4% spare capacity, even though the best operational standards recommend 15% spare capacity. That means a hospital such as Beaumont has between six and 18 beds available if a crisis occurs. Last night, I visited a number of patients in that hospital. What this Government has permitted to happen in Beaumont and other hospitals is incredible. With between 1% and 4% spare capacity, Dublin hospitals are literally operating on a knife edge.

What happened to the promise to end the waiting lists by 2004? Does the Taoiseach accept that the figures are being deliberately massaged to make the HSE and the Minister for Health and Children look good in terms of numbers on waiting lists and in accident and emergency units? Why does there appear to be no responsibility or accountability within the HSE? Surely, somebody should have asked every person working in that organisation to outline his or her job responsibilities but nobody seems to be able to determine that.

This is traditionally the night on which people leave out a piece of white cloth so that St. Brigid, if she is around, would keep sickness away. Maybe it is the case that the Government should turn that into a white flag and give up because it has failed abjectly and utterly on health and the people of this country will not forget that when they get their chance to vote within the next 20 weeks.

See this speech in context