Micheál Martin (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

Admittedly, it was at a difficult moment in the tenure of the then Minister, Senator James Reilly, and the Taoiseach was exasperated at that point in time. It appears to me as though the Taoiseach did not take personal charge of health for far too long.

This has already been discussed during Leaders' Questions but the very fact the Government was obliged to produce €500 million today, in the first week of June, illustrates real problems in policy formulation and policy-making in respect of health. In 2014, there was a supplementary provision for €680 million. I called that a fraudulent budget in 2014, when a deliberately false budget was put before Members. Moreover, Senator James Reilly himself subsequently more or less admitted that when he stated that the game was up for him when he did not win the battle at Cabinet on that health Estimate. Last year, the supplementary provision was €600 million.

This year, before the health service plan was published, the chief executive officer of the Health Service Executive, HSE, stated the HSE was under-provided. The chief executive officer had sought €2 billion in the lead-in to the Estimates and he stated the health service plan was under-provided, the HSE could not deliver additionality in services and all the health service could do would be to deliver 2015 levels of service. I pointed out all this to the Government before Christmas. I also pointed out in January that there would be real problems in the health service unless something gave. Something has given today, with the provision of €500 million.

I still am unclear as to whether this is a sticking plaster of €500 million that will deal with the pressures outlined at the beginning of the year or whether there will be additionality of services above 2015 levels of services in acute hospitals and so on. It shocked me that such language stating that all that could be done in 2016 was to provide 2015 levels of service was used. That has never happened before in any previous health provision or health Estimate. It always was and by definition must be above the previous year's delivery of service for demographic reasons alone, never mind any additional services across the board.

On the housing committee, the Minister, Deputy Coveney, has confirmed that some targets will not now be met within the first 100 days. There was a commitment to examine existing housing stock. When will this be concluded? How many houses will be renovated or refurbished by the end of the year to allow families to be moved out of hotels? How often has that housing committee met and how regular will be its meetings? The Dáil committee under the chairmanship of Deputy Curran has done some good work. It is nearing completion and the Taoiseach might indicate whether it is the Government's intention to fulfil and support, by implementation or by executive action, the recommendations of that all-party committee on housing. I refer in particular to its intention of supporting the Ireland Strategic Investment Fund to do that.

I welcome the abandonment of the Economic Management Council, EMC, which is long overdue.

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