Séamus Kirk (Louth, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

The background to this motion is the chaos obtaining in the health service. Planning certainty is essential if we are to have a dependable health service. Decisions to slash spending two thirds of the way through the year is a recipe for disaster. Cutting overtime and agency staffing in Our Lady of Lourdes Hospital, Drogheda, and Louth County Hospital without having a proper alternative plan in place will put patient safety at risk at both sites. I was accused of scaremongering by some Government backbenchers when I raised this matter recently.

The disability sector did not escape the axe. There was a U-turn and the mental health budget was raided to plug the budget gap. The health budget was framed on the basis of a saving of €124 million in drugs payments. An additional €140 million was to come from increased private income, but the facilitating legislation is yet to be published. Signing off on a budget with this level of uncertainty is irresponsible.

In the budget, €35 million was earmarked for mental health services. On 6 September, funds were diverted to deal with the health service deficit elsewhere. Of the €70 million set aside for primary care, mental health services and the extension of the free general practitioner, GP, scheme, €53 million will be cut.

Fianna Fáil believes that savings can be made in a number of areas. For example, high agency costs arise due to absenteeism, which amounted to 5% in the first quarter of 2012 compared with a level of 2.5% in the private sector. The cost of taxis increased by almost 10% last year, up from €26 million to €28 million. Overtime amounted to €170 million last year and €69 million in the first five months of this year. Agency staff costs will exceed €200 million this year. Medical legal payments have increased from €39 million in 2008 to a projected €127 million in 2012.

An important Department needs proper, systematic planning. Cutting services two thirds of the way through the year is a recipe for disaster. The Minister would be the first to recognise the range of areas that will be affected by these cuts. Had we proper planning, February or March would have been the time to make adjustments to the budgetary position on a scale that would have had less of a detrimental impact on the range of services being provided to people in urgent need. Lessons must be learned from this year's budgetary chaos if we are to ensure the situation is not replicated next year or the year after.

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