James Reilly (Dublin North, Fine Gael)

Deputy Jan O'Sullivan has put her finger on the vital issue. There has been much talk about redundancies in the wake of the general outcry about what is perceived as the enormous level of administration within the Health Service Executive while, at the same time, front line services are under such pressure. No matter what the Minister tells us in this regard, we hear every day about people waiting on trolleys, cancelled operations, delayed discharges and so on. The Department's figures back this up.

What has been done since the Minister responded to Deputy O'Sullivan on 25 December and to Deputy McHugh on 16 December in terms of progressing this issue? When will the first redundancies take place?

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