Enda Kenny (Mayo, Fine Gael)

Last April, the Taoiseach told the House that we had a world class health service in respect of which the Government should be congratulated. Last week, we saw the carefully choreographed publication of three separate reports that gave an insight into the way the health service is run. While none was prepared by truly independent sources, their findings are quite damning of the way the health system responds to situations. This is at a time when the Minister for Health and Children states that it is not safe to go into any hospital.

What did the reports tell us about the health service and of what excellence for which we should be congratulated can we learn from them? Did they show a service that puts patients at the centre of the system? No, they did not. Did they show an organisation capable of dealing with a crisis? No, they did not. Did they show any cohesion between the Minister, Deputy Harney, and the HSE in responding to the crises and recorded incidents? No, they did not. When one strips away the words about systemic weaknesses, the reports show clearly an organisation that is bloated, over-centralised and disconnected from the patients it is supposed to serve. It is an organisation in which no one places his or her confidence. When one strips away those words, one finds a Minister who is detached from the reality of the health service in 2008 and far removed from what is occurring on the wards and in the accident and emergency units.

As the Taoiseach is taking his head out of the sand in respect of a number of other issues, has he read the report and, if so, is he still happy to say that we should be congratulated on the health service? If he is so convinced, will the Taoiseach use this opportunity to express his public confidence in the management capacity of the HSE to deliver results for the patients it is supposed to serve?

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