Jan O'Sullivan (Limerick East, Labour)

I acknowledge the work of the staff who are dealing with a fair deal. They have been particularly helpful in that regard. I do not wish there to be any doubt on that.

What we read in the newspaper indicated much chaos with some people having too much to do and others having nothing to do. Has the Minister commenced the reorganisation of the Department since that report was received?

I question whether many of the decisions being made by the Health Service Executive are implementation or policy decisions in so far as in times of budgetary constraints, deciding where the budget goes can in effect be a policy decision. What input does the Minister have on bed closures and on the various other decisions that impact on patients that are currently made by the Health Service Executive?

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