James Reilly (Dublin North, Fine Gael)

I am saying that increases in charges will hurt families; there is no question about that. Why was no effort made over the 50 years of monopoly, most of them under Fianna Fáil Governments, particularly over the past 12 years, to address the costs of medical care here? Why is it possible for an individual to make €1 million out of a single company? Too much has clearly been paid for the services and no real cost analysis has been done of the real costs of providing hips, knees or endoscopy. That is what must be addressed. I have asked the companies to look at this not just in terms of an overall cut in costs, but to be more targeted. If a procedure is carried out by a consultant in a hospital that could be done by a consultant or primary care physician in primary care where no side room fee applies, the consultant's fee should be heavily discounted.

That is only one example; there are many areas here where we can reduce costs. The consultative forum is about reducing costs.

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