Brendan Howlin (Wexford, Labour) | Oireachtas source

I have heard the Deputy make the case before and she makes a compelling case. Services were developed in an ad hoc way in health service delivery, for example, depending on what the priorities were in a health board region. We now have a national integrated health service, but there are still disparities in staffing levels and available services. Reference was also made to the distribution of gardaí. That is a matter for the Garda Commissioner. The distribution of gardaí cannot just relate to size population as crime statistics must be taken into account. There must be a concentration of gardaí where issues arise, as happened in Limerick.

There are two keys to service provision. One is proper integration in order that we have a joined-up system under which we can move people about and services are delivered in the optimum way to citizens. The next wave of reforms we are planning is citizen-focused to make sure people can access services. There is a need to be transparent in order that there is a proper public understanding and a rationale to deal with the platform of public services available to every citizen no matter where they are located.

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