James Reilly (Dublin North, Fine Gael)

Some 1,800 cases of elective surgery have been cancelled which has caused horrendous problems for the whole system. When will No. 59, the Eligibility for Health and Personal Social Services Bill, be published? Will it have any meaning if people will be deprived of services at the whim of the HSE which is clearly out of control?

The second issue I wish to raise with the Taoiseach is the Licensing of Health Facilities Bill, No. 63, which will provide for a mandatory system of licensing for public and private healthcare facilities. There are currently private facilities in the country which are not subject to any sort of standard and we have had major problems with some of them. In the meantime, we are closing our public accredited facilities.

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