Mary Harney (Dublin Mid West, Progressive Democrats)

I want to tell Deputy Sheehan that I was in the House 20 years ago when I heard Ministers for Health being called awful names, perhaps even worse than were used tonight. I was here for those years. I was here when the health budget was reduced by 3.5%. Next year, even with the challenges, it is increased by 3.5%. The Department of Health and Children, in the context of this year's budget, had to reduce its expenditure by €700 million on what had been planned. There is no low-hanging fruit in health. It is not easy to find sums of money of that order — that is a fact. I can say with confidence, and give many quotations, that the GMS scheme, as constructed, is rising at such a rate that no matter who was in this job, he or she would have to tackle it. It has risen by €1 billion alone since 2003.

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