Michelle Mulherin (Mayo, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

Sinn Féin provided for even less funding than is provided in the budget. Let us not make a joke at the expense of the people of Ireland. Savage cuts have been made in health in recent years. The embargo on recruitment meant hard-pressed staff had to make do without new recruits.

People are no longer able to pay for private health insurance because of the downturn in the economy. More pressure has been put on a system which is not in a position to take any more. More people are turning up at accident and emergency departments because GPs are not in a position to service them. There is more pressure in regard to medical cards and never before have so many received them. People are being put in a position where they cannot afford to pay for health care and it all stems from what happened when the previous Government was in power.

Not long after I was elected to the Dáil, I had the experience of seeing a large march in my town because the local district hospital in Ballina was to be shut down. A crowd of Fianna Fáil hacks organised the march, something I can say without reservation. The hospital was to be closed because there was a question mark over bed numbers as a result of the recruitment embargo. The truth of the matter was that funding had been found, but it was for agency staff and the unions, rather than the staff in the hospital, objected. Was any of this said to those who were afraid they would lose what was a valued hospital and which provided respite and step-down beds? No, it was not. I am glad to say that not only was the 50 bed unit retained, but there has also been an extension to and refurbishment of the hospital. There are hospice suites, while there has been a €1 million capital investment, in conjunction with Mayo-Roscommon hospice, and the unit was officially opened by the Taoiseach. I did not hear any Fianna Fáil hack welcome this or say they got it wrong. Apparently, that is not how politics works.

As I said, these issues are too serious to mess around with them. If we are serious about any problem facing any person in distress, we should treat it as if a house was on fire. One does not throw oil on a fire; rather, one quenches it, tries to save people and sort out the problem, but the Opposition does not know how to do this.

Since the Government came into power, there has been additional provision for psychiatric services. Ballina will shortly have a psychiatry in older age team for older people with mental health problems. There is a second child and adolescent mental health service in my county. There are many other good news stories, where things have been salvaged from nothing. There have been no budgets. We have had to decide on priorities and when money is put into one area, it has to be taken from another, but that is not to say there is no need for reform in some areas. However, it is very hard to do everything when budgets are constrained.

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