M J Nolan (Carlow-Kilkenny, Fianna Fail)

I wish to share time with Deputies O'Connor, Ó Fearghaíl, Fleming, McDaid and Moloney.

I congratulate Deputy Howlin on his election to the office of Leas-Cheann Comhairle. From working with him on committees, I know he will do a fine job. I also congratulate the Minister for Health and Children, Deputy Harney, on her re-appointment.

Having spoken on a number of health motions during the 29th Dáil, I welcome the opportunity to speak to this motion. The Minister and her Ministers of State in the previous Dáil are to be commended for the efforts they made in a difficult portfolio. Throughout her term of office in the previous Government, the Minister secured increased funding for the health budget. I hope that Government's policy of trying to ensure taxpayers got value for money will continue to be the cornerstone of the Minister's stewardship of the Department of Health and Children.

In recent years, I have seen the value for money we get in keeping patients in publicly funded hospitals. If we could shift expenditure towards providing care in the home where patients would prefer to be, we would get much better value for money. The Departments of Health and Children and Social and Family Affairs, local authorities and the Health Service Executive have done a great deal of work in this area and provide many supports, including home helps and disabled person's grants. The Alzheimer Society of Ireland has a programme in place offering assistance to families who look after a relative at home. We should provide more supports to the general practitioner service to ensure families are able to care for patients at home.

I support the co-location principle. One of last night's speakers stated that under co-location private patients will turn right and public patients will turn left when they enter a hospital campus. This is already the case as many regional and general hospitals have separate wards for public and private patients. The proposals, therefore, will not make a great difference in that respect.

I am pleased the Green Party now supports the Government's efforts to bring about co-location, which is already a feature in a number of public hospital campuses, including the Mater Hospital and St. Vincent's Hospital in Dublin. Apart from providing up to 1,000 additional beds for public patients over the next five years, the initiative will encourage the participation of the private sector in generating additional capacity for patients, maximise the potential use of public hospital sites, which would be a welcome development, promote efficiency among public and private acute service providers and foster greater competition in the supply of hospital services.

The Health Service Executive will have a hands-on input in the roll-out of the co-location programme, which will be reviewed in several years. I support the co-location policy and wish the Minister every success with it.

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