Eamonn Maloney (Dublin South West, Labour) | Oireachtas source

I have read previous debates on accident and emergency services and if there had not been such a debate this winter, it would have been a break from tradition, as there has been one every year for each of the past 11 years. It is good to have such debate and air issues, as the health system is very important. There are different aspects to the matter.

I will quote a former health Minister from the Opposition side of the House who I agreed with. The debate was approximately seven years ago and the then Fianna Fáil health Minister indicated "there is no single solution to the difficulties" in accident and emergency departments. He was perfectly right. People keep talking about the question of funding and there is also the matter of staffing. Other aspects include a change in the nature of Irish society, as has been mentioned, as there are more older people and they are living longer. That is a good development but it brings its own difficulties. I mention it as a debate such as this is always useful.

Regarding the NHS in Britain, while not everyone would agree, certainly the NHS would be put forward by many as the best system in the world. If we think we have difficulties with the issues we have at the moment, one should have a look at what our neighbour is going through, which puts us pretty far down the queue.

It is important to resource the health system. Very seldom would I praise the Progressive Democrats, alive or dead, but when there was a Progressive Democrats Minister for Health, to her credit, she multiplied funding for the health system by a factor of three, and we all know what that did. It did not solve the problems, so it is not just a simple matter of resources.

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