James Reilly (Dublin North, Fine Gael)

I share your frustration, a Leas-Cheann Comhairle at the lack of time. These are important issues and I am prepared to spend as much time as can be given to them.

For the information of the House, because of meetings which took place regarding the service plan between me and my fellow Ministers and the Minister, Deputy Howlin and his Department, through a re-understanding of how to deal with superannuation - and this is contingent on how many people leave the service - we have been able to reduce that €868 million down to €750 million meaning that the impact should be less. Nonetheless, it is a serious challenge. While beds are an important part of the infrastructure of the provision of care, what is really important is the level of service and the number of patients treated and this is where the focus will be. We will protect beds where this is possible but it is far better to use these beds more efficiently than to seek to open more beds.

I refer to what Deputy Ó Caoláin said earlier. I am the Minister for Health and my fellow Ministers and I are not in a position to redraft the plan. The HSE service plan comes from the HSE which is a legal entity, headed by its chief executive who has control of the Vote. He and he alone presents the plan to me. I have to interact with him through the chairman of the board and by whatever other means possible to get what I regard as a politically acceptable form of the plan to put before this House. It is baloney or nonsense - I am not saying those were the words used by the Deputy but others have used them - to say that I am writing letters to myself, but it is not baloney to say that I have to send the plan back to the Minister because that is what I must do under the law. That is how it operates.

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