Brian Cowen (Laois-Offaly, Fianna Fail)

I sympathise with the family on the death of the person concerned. I will make a general point about trying to put the citizen at the centre, which is the purpose of trying to have better public services. The Minister for Health and Children has taken a systematic approach to hygiene in the health system. HIQA has been established and we are now measuring hospital infection in a manner which was not done previously under any Administration. We are systematically approaching this issue in a manner which seeks to improve the provision of health care in our hospitals and throughout the health system.

The Minister for Health and Children today dealt with a question from a Fine Gael Deputy inquiring as to the reason we are spending more on cleaning and infection control, yet Deputy Kenny — quite rightly — places priority on the need to deal with these basic amenity requirements to ensure we provide as good and healthy an environment as possible in our hospitals. Consistency is needed in this regard, as is a preparedness to look at what is being done to address these issues.

On the appointment of microbiologists, the Deputy will be aware that a microbiologist is shared between St. Colmcille's Hospital, Loughlinstown, and St. Vincent's Hospital. That we have secured some agreement on the consultants' contract enables us to look at the appointment of another 120 consultants, including in the specialty of microbiology, in an effort to improve the situation. All the evidence shows the work of the Minister for Health and Children in this Administration has been to seek to address the basic issues of hygiene and infection control, measurement and reduction. There is a downward trend, according to the latest data available.

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