Enda Kenny (Mayo, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

Deputy Martin is well aware of the position from his experience in that Department and having served as a member of a Government. In this case, an extra €800 million was allocated by the Government to the HSE and the Department of Health, and responsibility resides in the Department of Health for that Vote. The HSE, in having more effective management, would be expected to deal with that. Obviously, improvements have been made with the money. The hospital groups were established, which is an important move towards having trusts which will examine the groups of hospitals and what they can specialise in for the future. There are 46 more primary care centres than existed in 2011. They are valuable with regard to people not being required to go to hospital for minor injuries. Families have free GP access for people over 70 years and children under six years of age. The next step is to extend that to children under 12 years. Since 2011, there are 300 additional consultants and since January last year there are 750 more nurses and 250 non-consultant hospital doctors, NCHDs. Mental health funding has been tripled and a suicide prevention strategy has been published to reduce the incidence of suicide, please God by 10% by 2020. We have also stabilised the private health insurance market which was facing collapse in 2011 and 2012.

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