Liam Twomey (Wexford, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

Deputy Kelleher and his party must take responsibility for the mistakes they made and acknowledge what the current Minister for Health is doing. He is changing the mindset within the health service. We are doing the right things for the future. We must have disease prevention, chronic care management programmes and so forth. We are treating 25,000 patients in the community who would otherwise have been admitted to hospital. It is a change of approach to how health services are delivered that will deliver better services; it is not just about throwing money at the problem.

The health services including ambulance services, primary care, hospital beds, new MRI machines, single bed units in new hospitals and so forth will all consume massive amounts in the next decade. Hopefully the economy will keep on track, having been rescued by this Government following the work done on it by Fianna Fáil. The standard reaction from Fianna Fáil that we must spend more money without a clear plan about how to spend it will add nothing to what needs to be done in the years to come.

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