James Reilly (Dublin North, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

Exactly, it is not unusual. Deputy Kelleher accused me of being reckless with regard to patient safety; I have been anything but. The issue with regard to Roscommon was a safety issue as demonstrated very clearly by HIQA. No matter what I sought to do with regard to resources, this could not be addressed so I had to take the action I did. However, I am very pleased to say this hospital's future is secure and more services are available there than when the decision was made. We now have the addition of rheumatology, plastic surgery and a sleep apnoea clinic to mention but a few of the services which were not available previously. Deputy Naughten has tabled a question and I am sure we will have more time to go into the Roscommon issue.

Since the outset my focus has been on outcomes for patients and not inputs and how many doctors, nurses or billions. My focus has been on how many patients are treated and how quickly, and how many have had to be readmitted because they were not treated correctly in the first instance. This is what I am about and we have shown we have been able to do this, even with a reduction in resources in terms of finance and personnel.

The report is the greatest shake-up of the hospital system since the foundation of the State and I will consider it closely. I do not wish to delay any longer than I must to do it properly.

The big difference between this Minister for Health and a former one, who is now Deputy Kelleher's party leader, is that when I publish a report I will act on it. I will not leave it sitting on a shelf as the Deputy's leader did with I do not know how many reports.

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