Andrew Doyle (Wicklow, Fine Gael)

I welcome the opportunity to speak on this motion. It highlights what is wrong as a result of what the HSE has become. When the HSE was introduced in 2004, we were told that the problems we have listed would disappear under the new structures. While it must be acknowledged that some improvements have been made in other areas of health delivery, this does not change the fact that the HSE is making decisions about which none of us knows until we see the consequences. We do not know how or why the HSE reaches a decision or how decisions are costed.

In giving a simple example I will be parochial, as that seems to be the fashion. There is a small district hospital in Wicklow town. Its bed capacity of 32 has been reduced to 22 or 23, including one hospice and four respite beds. We are told that HIQA visited it and believes it is not fit for purpose, but it is the HSE that is not fit for purpose and has not been for some time.

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