Eamon Gilmore (Dún Laoghaire, Labour)

Hospital care and medical care in general come down to the individual at the end of the day. If the Deputy lets me have the details of the case he is raising and any other cases that may exist, I can ask the Minister for Health to address them. On the general issue of the reform of the health service and reform of the hospital services, a roadmap has been agreed to move to universal health insurance and universal health care, which represent the cornerstones of the reformed health system. Progress is being made on that. It is not the true to say that the primary care issue is unrelated to that - it is very related. We need an integrated health system where the best care is made available to people at the earliest possible opportunity. I do not deny that there are problems in the hospital system and in the health care area. Those problems, particularly where they relate to the immediate individual needs of patients, are issues that are being looked at and will be looked at. If the Deputy gives me the details of the case or cases he is raising, I will ask the Minister for Health to respond to him on them.

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