Billy Kelleher (Cork North Central, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

The Minister would forgive me for raising this question in view of the fact that we had to vote through a Supplementary Estimate last week. The Minister outlined that it was a very small percentage and that overruns are the norm for the health service because it is demand led. Nevertheless, we should set out in 2013 in a way unlike the way we set out in 2012, and there should be a path to the end of the year. We accept that the Minister is paring closer to the bone the whole time but there should at least be identifiable and realistic savings that can be achieved. If these are not achieved in the first half of the year, there is an immediate problem and rather than delaying or prevaricating, does the Minister agree that it would be timely to act? For example, there could be action on the public service agreement and cost efficiencies or pay. If there is discussion about a reduction in core areas, agreement will be required or else there will be confrontation. Has the Minister had discussions with the trade unions or others in that respect?

The Minister recently announced that graduate nurses would be taken on at 80% of the cost of the qualified nurses with whom they would work. Are we beginning to ask the generation behind us - which had no responsibility for anything - to carry the can for everybody? This is a distasteful approach that we are beginning to see evolve. Does the Minister accept that we should be clear that everybody must carry the burden? Asking graduate nurses to carry the burden is unacceptable, regardless of whether the issue is identified as a saving.

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