Gerry Adams (Louth, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

The Taoiseach said this particular sub-committee has met 27 times. The issue of health is one that affects every single family and probably one of the most important issues for people is to have the comfort of a health service which is fit for purpose. I accept what the Taoiseach said that it is a major challenge to try to straighten out the existing mess but the number of meetings falls far short of what is required because in the period of this Government, we have had a change of Ministers and the new Minister has set aside many of the timeframes, schedules and some of the commitments of the Government's programme of reform for the health service.

The number of people waiting on trolleys has gone up and down in Our Lady of Lourdes Hospital in my constituency as well as in other places. I also know many people have not had their medical cards restored. My constituency office is inundated with people who do not understand the outworking of the review, and I am sure it is the same elsewhere.

I have often pondered on the Taoiseach's role in trying to chair all these sub-committees and getting the business and mechanisms of Government joined up - not one of his strong points - cohesively and in a co-ordinated way. The number of meetings falls far short of what is required by this important sub-committee, given the challenges facing the health portfolio.

We are restricted because we cannot ask what is discussed at the meetings, which is a bit silly. It is not the Ceann Comhairle's fault. Is the Taoiseach confident that the amount of time this Cabinet sub-committee devotes to the issues placed on its clár, whatever they may be, reflects the importance of the issues and the great priority and concern many people have about our health services, the welfare of ill members of their family, the elderly and the people with disabilities?

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