Enda Kenny (Mayo, Fine Gael)

One of the major failures of the Government in the past ten years has been its inability to plan properly and match resources to plans that have been conceived. Nowhere is this more evident than in the workings of the Health Service Executive, HSE, which has become a monstrosity. Every day we see evidence of gross mismanagement and an inability to use facilities for which the taxpayer has paid.

This week I have evidence that a mother of six children was sent notification from the HSE to attend for oncology services on 23 September 2008. However, she has been deceased for 17 years. Last week there was other evidence of this nature.

For years the HSE, supported by the Government, particularly the Minister for Finance and the Minister for Health and Children, has said it is working on plans to provide a new regional hospital in the north east. According to its official website this project will take five to seven years to complete. Unfortunately, in pursuit of this project, the taxpayer has had to fork out hundreds of thousands of euro for consultants to write a report on where it should be located. Last Friday the cat was let out of the bag when the mild-mannered Minister for Foreign Affairs said there is no money to build such a facility. Until now the Minister for Finance, Deputy Cowen, and other Ministers, including the Minister for Health and Children, said this is a major flagship project and that health infrastructure, which was allocated €5.8 billion in the national development plan, would have first call on major projects, even before Exchequer cuts on taxes.

The Government has reneged on its commitment to cut taxes. I ask the Taoiseach to publish a list of the capital projects in the health area, contained in the national development plan, that are to proceed and a list of the projects that are not to proceed? After ten years the Government must provide clarity on this major flagship project, or phantom, as the case may be.

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