Micheál Martin (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)

-----that the special delivery unit has somehow had a dramatic impact on waiting times. The SDU subsumed the €80 million that had been allocated to the National Treatment Purchase Fund, which was essentially abolished or subsumed into this arrangement, with disastrous results for waiting lists, given the increase already of approximately 40% in numbers of those waiting between three and 12 months. It is extraordinary the Taoiseach should state the opposite has been the case. The actual figures, as published by the HSE, indicate there are thousands more on the waiting lists in the past 12 months, with a sharp deterioration. Would the Taoiseach agree the Cabinet and the sub-committee do not appear to be getting to grips with the enormity of the issues facing the health service, or bringing any sense of urgency to the Government structure that is to emerge for the health service?

On Question No. 4, which related to the Cabinet committee on social protection and which I tabled, I did not hear in the Taoiseach's response regarding the number of times that committee has met. One of the core roles of that committee is supposed to be the overseeing of the impact on poverty of Government decisions, taking into account independent statistics about the Government's policies. The Taoiseach will be aware that last month the ESRI completed its analysis of the most recent budget and showed how it was, by far, the most socially regressive and inequitable budget of recent years, with its financial impact falling most on those who had the least in our society. That is the complete opposite of what the Taoiseach had been claiming in respect of that budget. What was the response of the Cabinet committee on social protection to the ESRI's commentary on the budget?

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