Simon Coveney (Cork South Central, Fine Gael)

I am pleased to have the opportunity to express concern at the Government's plans to build private hospitals on public hospital lands. I thank Deputy Hayes, our new spokesperson on health, for bringing this motion forward so quickly. It is appropriate that we are debating two of the key issues concerning the electorate in the first week of the new Dáil. Earlier today we discussed stamp duty reform and we are now dealing with hospital health care provision. Ironically, it is the Opposition and not the Government that reflected the public mood in our calls for a comprehensive stamp duty reform package and an end to the controversial and unpopular plan to locate new private hospital beds on public hospital sites.

The Progressive Democrats Party approach to health care reform was rejected comprehensively by the electorate. Yet there is no reflection of that in the new Government's policy. The Minister for Health and Children, Deputy Harney, has on many occasions justified her plans for co-location by claiming it is the quickest and most effective way to introduce more beds into the hospital system by freeing up beds in public hospitals currently occupied by private patients. This makes some sense mathematically. What about the other factors which need to be considered and what is the cost of such a plan? One would assume with plans this far advanced that detailed costings and a cost-benefit analysis would be available and publicised but not even the Minister for Finance knew during the election how much this plan would cost the taxpayer. We were first told it would be co-neutral and that the taxpayer would not have to pay anything. On "Questions and Answers", the Minister quoted a figure of €70 million per year over seven years, or nearly €500 million. The following day, that figure was again revised in a press conference and we were told it would cost €40 million. This is the Government's main plank for hospital health care provision, yet we do not even know how much it will cost in terms of site leasing cost and tax relief on investment.

Pragmatic problems also arise, particularly in the area of staffing. At present, seven private hospitals are being built or are in the pipeline. Adding a further eight co-located hospitals will bring the number to 15. With limited availability of consultants, experienced nursing specialists and, most important, the absence of a new consultant contract, we run the risk of supporting the building of private hospitals without adequate planning for how they will be staffed or consideration of the knock-on staffing consequences for public hospitals.

However, my strongest objection to the Government's insistence on pursuing the co-location policy is a more principled one. Issues such as costing and staffing implications can be addressed with a pragmatic response but the question which must be asked is whether we should be selling valuable landbanks on public hospital campuses for the construction of private hospital beds when we urgently need additional beds in our public hospital system. Should we not instead prioritise the financing of public hospital beds and the expansion of public health care provision?

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