Jan O'Sullivan (Limerick East, Labour)

The Minister has laid the HSE's plan before the House and it is on the Order Paper today. I find it extraordinary that it is not properly and publicly announced by the HSE or the Minister and that it is sneaked in on the list without any information to the public. It seems to me that is much of the problem with the health service currently.

In the plan the Minister intends to cut more than €500 million from the HSE's spending budget. Can she give a guarantee to the public that front-line services will be maintained in that context? Accident and emergency services are due to close down at various times in Dublin, Cork and other parts of the country. Given that yesterday, 339 patients were on hospital trolleys and, as Deputy Reilly indicated, even more patients are on trolleys today, how will accident and emergency services be provided when the problem has reached that level already? People on trolleys are unable to access acute hospital beds while other people occupy beds who could be cared for in the community. If services are to be cut next year with fewer hours of accident and emergency services available, how will it be possible to maintain services at their current level let alone improve the situation?

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