Marcella Corcoran Kennedy (Laois-Offaly, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

This motion by Fianna Fáil, and the Sinn Féin amendment, is a charade. The Fianna Fáil motion states that Dáil Éireann has no confidence in the Minister, Deputy Reilly, because of his inability to deliver on his budget commitments. That is a bit rich coming from Fianna Fáil, the party which, when in Government, had Deputy Martin as Minister for Health and Children. He played a key role in establishing the HSE and allowed the HSE to develop the habit of obtaining more and more taxpayers' money by way of a supplementary budget each year. As the architects of the HSE it is no wonder Fianna Fáil Members are so committed to its retention. However, it is a disastrous legacy.

The abolition of the health boards diminished accountability because local and national public representatives are shut out from an oversight role. No effort was made to reform the health system to meet the needs of the modern world. The opportunities of the so-called Celtic tiger were squandered.

This is the party that led our country into a fiscal quagmire, aided and abetted by the Progressive Democrats, the Green Party and select Independents. The fact that we no longer have fiscal independence is due to their failed policies. Fianna Fáil bankrupted the State and surrendered Ireland's economic sovereignty to the troika. It signed up to a deal that now requires huge budget cuts in the Department of Health. They are now attacking the Minister, Deputy Reilly, who is genuinely trying to clean up the mess.

Sinn Féin's amendment refers to the Minister, Deputy Reilly, being inept but nothing could be further from the truth. This Government has been tasked with completely overhauling the way we deliver our health services and the Minister, in his short time as Minister for Health, can reflect already on several successes. Speakers have mentioned the fewer people on trolleys in the first six months of this year in comparison to last year since the establishment of the special delivery units even though there has been an increase in patient traffic. The new drugs reference pricing legislation is already in the Seanad. It will be law by October, and the Minister will be in a position to reduce the price of generic drugs, making annual savings of between €50 million and €60 million.

Consultants are often referred to as the linchpins of reform. A breakthrough was reached between hospital consultants and the HSE at the Labour Relations Commission last week. Major progress has been made in the areas of rostering and work practices, and by moving to a seven day rostering system the Minister estimates that we can save up to €200 million a year while better meeting the needs of patients.

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