Dara Murphy (Cork North Central, Fine Gael)

This was more or less the case from the time the HSE was established by Deputy Martin and in all subsequent Governments of which he was a member. Ironically, monitoring - dismissed by Fianna Fáil-led Governments - remains at the heart of the difference between this Minister and his immediate predecessors Cowen, Martin and Harney. He is targeting objectives and monitoring how these targets are performing. This plan commits the HSE to minimising the impact on services from budget and staff reductions by using reduced resources more efficiently. It crucially commits to moving to new models of care across all areas of service which treat patients. This will be done at the lowest level of complexity and will provide quality services at the least possible cost. This is not only financially preferable, but also far better for the patient.

I particularly welcome the significant strengthening of primary care services, some of which will indeed be located on the site of St. Mary's medical campus on the north side of Cork city.

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