Ciarán Cannon (Galway East, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

Early on in the lifetime of this Government, our colleagues in opposition made a commitment to engage in constructive and positive opposition, which would be welcomed. I cannot understand the reason Deputy Kelleher is seeking to construct conspiracy theories about what is not in the report. Usually, one is criticised on the basis of the contents of a report. The Deputy appears to be drawing conclusions that no one else is drawing on the basis of what he describes as omissions or a lack of clarity in the report.

Each chief executive officer, in conjunction and collaboration with the chairman of the relevant hospital group, will decide how best to configure health services to serve the needs of each region. This is the autonomy about which I spoke. The needs of each region will be different, varied and unique. I am confident, however, that the new boards and their CEOs will be more than up to the challenge of deciding how best to allocate services in their respective regions. The purpose of this reform is to bring together all the expertise in the relevant region, across large and small hospitals, to provide the best possible care. Care should be provided, at least for more minor ailments and illnesses, as close to communities as possible and, where necessary, people should be transported to larger centres of excellence.

This is an excellent model, as the Deputy acknowledged, which has been broadly welcomed by everyone involved in the health service and many people in academia who recognise its value. I am sure the Deputy will agree that it deserves our support. While issues may arise during the roll-out of hospital groups, we have started on an interesting and exciting journey to provide the best possible health care for citizens.

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