Catherine Murphy (Kildare North, Independent)

We all appreciate that there are limited funds available but we need to get the best possible services from the existing funds. At the end of the day the health service is about those who work in it and those who avail of the services provided. The vast majority of people who contact me about the health service do so because they are in a crisis situation. For example, people may be told that on medical grounds they will get a place in a nursing home, only to find later that they must wait until a place becomes available. Basically they are waiting for somebody to die. One may often see that the person caring for them is burnt out. I have seen people with chronic illnesses getting hospital appointments that are so far in the future they might not be around to avail of them. I have seen parents in a panic with young people making the transition from secondary school to adult services but such services will not be available for them this year. All the money was spent getting children from primary to secondary school - particularly those with autism - yet they cannot transfer to adult services. This means that all the money was wasted.

The HSE is not fit for purpose but the blame does not lie with those who work in the health service, it lies here and with the previous Administration. The CSO attended a recent health committee meeting and said the financial system was not fit for purpose. If the architecture of the HSE and the financial system are not fit for purpose, what chance do we have of running a service? We need to know when the new governance system will be in place and up and running. We also need to know if the financial system will be reformed. In the absence of the urgent address of both of these issues, it will be impossible to run the service within budget.

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