Enda Kenny (Mayo, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

The Health Service Executive signs off as the Minister does on the budget for a given year. I make the point again that this is not just about funding or a lack thereof: it is also about management, professionalism and competence in doing a job effectively in the interests of the patient. If one looks at Wexford, Portiuncula or Clonmel, there are similar sized hospitals to Portlaoise. It is not just a matter for financial resources, it is a case of management responsibility working with the resources they have to provide an effective, patient-centred solution.

I went through the beds being identified as open in other places and gave Deputy Adams the trolley count. I do not have the details of the reconfiguration to which Deputy Boyd Barrett referred but if he puts down a Topical Issue or raises the matter by way of a question to the Minister directly, he will get the detail of that.

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