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

On that very point, I am not aware of any untoward delays in the treatment of cancer patients in any of our adult hospitals. I am concerned to hear about a situation in Our Lady's hospital in Crumlin and l have asked for an investigation into it. The budget should allow for priority to be given to those who are most acutely ill, in particular children with cancer. The management of those budgets is a responsibility for the CEOs. I have also made it very clear that patient safety is a core responsibility of a CEO because there seems to be a mind abroad that thinks this is only an issue for doctors and nurses but it is not. It is a core issue for management. I expect the CEOs to do their jobs, as all CEOs do, in meeting their budgets and meeting their patients' requirement for which they are responsible.

The budget this year is more than €13 billion. We have an increasing population, about which there is no question. We have a demographic challenge in that every year we have 20,000 more people over the age of 65, which is a growth rate of 3.5% whereas the average rate of growth in the population is only 0.5%. It is great news we are all living longer but it presents challenges to us and it is why we must continue the reforms in our health service. As to whether money could have solved this, as the Deputies opposite know, there were halcyon years here when money was abegging and the money spent on health was more than quadrupled over a ten year period and yet the health service did not seem to improve.

See this speech in context