Joan Collins (Dublin South Central, People Before Profit Alliance) | Oireachtas source

That is certainly not suggested by the figures given out the other day in the media. The information was broken down by area, including details of tablets and generic substitutions. The difference was only approximately 3%, which is not much considering we are meant to have seen a big reduction in the area.

There is much to be done, although I know this complex issue will not be solved in the next month or three months. There should be a change of mind and policy from the Government if we are to provide the health service we need. I will need it because I do not have private health insurance, as I never bought into the idea of it. We must have that political conversation but it must cut across the pantomime politics we have seen so many times. Do we want a national health service and how can we plan for it? We must also consider how to help provide finance for it.

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