James Reilly (Dublin North, Fine Gael)

I understood the VHI spend was €1.5 billion and when I asked the Minister where the rest of the money came from, she informed me that it came from the private sector. I hope she will be able to share her sources with the House to back that up. How many new consultant posts, rather than new consultants, will there be? I am not interested in hearing about how many consultants will retire or how many new ones will take their place, but in how many new consultant posts there will be outside of the cancer strategy. She could also inform us how many new consultant posts there will be including the cancer strategy.

I am in no doubt about where cuts should take place and where they should not. We must protect patients and patient services, stop the huge amount of waste and reform the service. This has not happened and the Minister has not outlined a clear plan or strategy for reform, which must be an integral part of what she is attempting to do through budgetary restraint.

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