Gerry Adams (Louth, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

The test for good hospital services is that patients get the best treatment possible and they and their families have confident that this is the case. It is clear at the moment, despite the excellent work being done by health professionals and health workers, that this is not the case for many people. Yesterday's reports on hospitals groups and the framework for smaller hospitals have been described by the Minister for Health, Deputy Reilly, as a "fundamental modernisation of our health system organisation in line with best international practice". That is more or less what Deputy Micheál Martin stated as Minister for Health ten years ago when he claimed that the Hanly report would "change forever the landscape of the Irish Health Service".

Irish people are rightly sceptical about false dawns. If there is real potential in yesterday's proposals there must be full consultation with hospital users and local communities. They need to know whether these reports will actually affect the quality of health services for them and their families. Unfortunately, that information is not in these reports.

We must also factor into this that there is not much confidence in the Minister for Health and that there is outright opposition to the Government health cuts agenda. There is widespread concern. I have seen it in my constituency with regard to ambulance services. We have heard of the terrible tragedy of the toddler, Vakaris Martinaitis, who died after a fall in Middleton. This morning there were 290 patients on trolleys. Many hospitals have already lost 24-hour accident and emergency services and more will do so. That is clear from the report. There is a serious information gap in this report in respect of the detail of what services will be allocated to which hospitals. Will communities be given details? Will there be full, inclusive, meaningful consultation?

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