James Reilly (Dublin North, Fine Gael)

Consider the Government's promises. In 2007, the programme for Government stated:

The recent development of a cervical cancer vaccine opens up the possibility of effectively ending cervical cancer within a few generations. We believe it should be available as a universal public health entitlement once recommended by experts.

The experts recommended it and the Minister announced it, but she changed her mind three months later. The programme also stated: "We will work towards doubling the number of consultants to appoint an extra 2,000 and bringing the total number to 4,000." Since the consultants' contract was agreed in July 2008, 183 new consultant posts have been approved, but only 48 consultants have been appointed and fewer have taken up their positions.

The Government promised that the accident and emergency problem would be solved. In March 2006, the Minister, Deputy Mary Harney, said that it should have been treated as a national emergency and set up a task force to bring trolley waits to an end. In reality, as many as 300 patients continue to lie on trolleys each day. The National Health Strategy 2001 stated that, by the end of 2004, no public patient would wait longer than three months for treatment following a referral from an outpatient department. The 2002 Fianna Fáil manifesto promised to end hospital waiting lists permanently within two years through a combination of bed capacity, primary care, secondary care and targeted reform initiatives. What is the reality today? Some 17,000 patients have been waiting for treatment for longer than six months. The National Treatment Purchase Fund, NTPF, spends more than €110 million annually but makes no progress. Over 18 months and for £36 million, the North fixed its waiting lists. We can do the same, but the Government refuses to follow suit.

In the social partnership agreement, Towards 2016, a renewed commitment was made by the Government to deliver 300 primary care teams by 2008, 400 by 2009 and 500 by 2011. Years have passed without progress. We are told that 110 teams are in place, but one finds them to be virtual teams when one looks for them. Approximately ten teams are fully staffed. It is live horse, eat hay, as with so much that the Government does. It promised to make general practitioner, GP, cards available to 200,000 people, but less than half have been delivered. The total number of GP visit cardholders on 31 March 2009 was 87,277. This occurred during a time when the qualifying income threshold was just over half of the minimum wage.

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