Robert Troy (Longford-Westmeath, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I do not intend to personalise this debate as others on both sides of the House have done. The issue of health care is too important. It affects families and individuals throughout the country. I have always found the Minister, Deputy Reilly, to be personable.

I do not doubt that the Minister will easily survive the confidence motion despite the serious misgivings of numerous Government backbenchers in recent weeks. It is clear that the Minister gave a rousing speech at the Fine Gael think-in, given the fact that the party's benches are now full in a show of support. After winning the motion, I would urge the Minister to listen to me and to change tack.

I acknowledge the strong mandate that the Government parties received to govern 18 months ago. As the main Opposition party, we similarly received a mandate to hold them to account. The Government's mandate was based on election commitments and promises. As a Fine Gael spokesman on health, the Minister made multiple pledges around the country. Various Deputies spoke of commitments regarding their respective constituencies.

I will focus on two overriding commitments made by the Minister, namely, the money would follow the patient and the HSE would rightly be held accountable to the Minister of the day. One of the Minister's first actions in office was to disband the board of the HSE and appoint officials from his Department. It is funny that the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs, Deputy Fitzgerald, is proposing a similar structure to the HSE's for the new child and family services agency when the Minister for Health is dismantling the HSE.

The Minister, Deputy Reilly, was going to take control. The public had high hopes. He had considerable experience in the health profession and superb negotiating skills. During his time at the helm of the Irish Medical Organisation he negotiated the most lucrative contract in the history of the State for GPs. We are still paying dearly for that today.

That is where the high hopes ended. Last night, the Minister mentioned reductions in time spent on waiting lists. This might be easy to achieve, given the extension of the time parameters. While it might be good politics, it is not good for end users. Day in, day out, people attend Deputies' clinics explaining the long delays they have experienced when seeking necessary treatment.

We will discuss the Minister's budget primarily and the deficit of €259 million in the HSE's Estimate. He tries to blame the staff and the Croke Park agreement, but I will quote the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform, Deputy Howlin, who stated, "There are some, and I've heard it in recent days, who almost use Croke Park as a shield for their own inactivity".

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