Eamon Gilmore (Dún Laoghaire, Labour)

I am fascinated by the manner in which the Taoiseach describes the Government's relationship with the HSE. He seems to think it is the function of Government to advise the HSE or to have a word in its ear with, perhaps, a member of Cabinet then taking a kick at it when it is sufficiently popular to do so. Will the Taoiseach take any responsibility for the HSE? The function of the HSE is, as the Taoiseach stated, to deliver a health service. At the end of the day, patients in Cavan have had their operations postponed this morning and women in Galway are concerned about when they will be called for biopsies. This is the real, human end of the problem. The Taoiseach can talk about statistics and structures all he likes but, at the end of the day, this is about individuals in hospital waiting rooms trying to access a service which is difficult to access. It is quite clear that the HSE is not working or delivering. The Taoiseach repeatedly talks about the amount of funding it receives but at the end of the day the service that should be provided is not being provided. The main problem which arises does not relate to individuals or managers in the Health Service Executive but with the Government which refuses to take responsibility for it.

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