James Reilly (Dublin North, Fine Gael)

Back to front - how does one spell NAMA back to front?

Deputy O'Sullivan put the issue succinctly at the outset of the debate on this issue. Four years and four months have passed and not a single bed has been provided. Some 21,000 people gave up their health insurance during this year. The VHI estimates that by the end of next year the number will have increased to 200,000.

Co-location projects with signed agreements and planning permissions are entirely dependent on the Beacon Medical Group. When does the Minister expect the first sod to be turned and the first bed to be available? How many non-refundable deposits have been paid and received by the HSE? I ask the Minister to consider that this not only a flawed but a failed policy. It has not delivered, by the remotest stretch of the imagination, the fast-track provision of beds. We know that there are modular units that can be built and put on site in six months. Approximately three years and ten months ago we could have additional beds if we had not gone down this nonsensical route.

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