Lucinda Creighton (Dublin South East, Fine Gael)

——on the basis that their party, if re-elected to government, would not deliver on the policy. However, they have since been bought off with additional junior Ministries and have suddenly become silent on the matter.

The Government has shown itself to be bereft of ideas on how it might reform the public sector and deliver public hospital beds. It has resorted to taking the easy way out by handing over responsibility for the delivery of urgently needed acute hospital beds to the private sector and providing the latter with tax breaks that are unquantifiable. Figures relating to the amount of taxpayers' money that will be spent on the tax breaks that will allow developers to build on public hospital grounds have not been laid before the House.

I wish to comment on the decision taken by the Government on the aspects of the public health service that function. In that context, I refer to the example of St. Luke's Hospital in Rathgar, in my constituency, which has been consistently rated as the best hospital in the country and which is being shut down by this Administration as it proceeds to hand over responsibility for the delivery of acute hospital beds to the private sector. There is a huge contradiction in that regard. What is happening is extremely disappointing. It highlights the lack of imagination and creativity on the Government benches in dealing with the crisis in the health care service.

The Progressive Democrats, Fianna Fáil, the Green Party and the Independents will sell out on the most vulnerable people in society, namely, those who are currently on long hospital waiting lists and who do not have the advantage of private health care insurance. These people will fall to the bottom rung in a system that will prioritise private development and private health care. The need for public beds to be delivered was acknowledged by the Government in 2001 and again during the term in office of the last Government. That it has failed to deliver on its commitment to deliver 3,000 extra hospital beds is an indictment of the current Administration. I hope the voices on this side of the House which were so loud before the general election will be heard again to ensure that the co-location proposal does not proceed during the life of this Government.

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