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

-----service plan will be laid before the Oireachtas at 10.15 a.m. In previous years, it was often presented at this time of year or later. The budget was announced earlier this year and while we face a challenging year in 2014 in terms of the finance available to us, we had very good news this morning when the ESRI issued its growth projections for the domestic economy. The country is looking forward with a real sense of hope, having emerged from the bailout. The health service can play its role in that regard.

I reject the assertion that we did not sustain a safe health service last year. Not only did we sustain the service but we made it better in terms of the impact it had on people and the long wait that many had to endure in the past. I again remind Deputy Kelleher that as recently as January 2011 there were 569 people on trolleys. The current figure is below 300 and we have achieved a 34% reduction in the number of people who endure long waits on trolleys.

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