Peter Fitzpatrick (Louth, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I come from a business background. If I had run my previous business in this manner, I would have had no customers and the business would ultimately have failed. As public representatives, we are fully accountable to our constituents. It is time for the HSE to be made fully accountable for its actions. We have been told by the HSE time and again that more funds are needed. Even though there has never before been a time when so much taxpayers' money has been invested in the health service, we are told on an almost weekly basis that more funding is needed. It is certainly not the case that more reports are needed. We have had report after report. Action must be taken on the ground. Better work practices are also needed. Most importantly, the HSE must realise that health care is a 24/7 issue and is not confined to the days from Monday to Friday.

I reiterate that we do not need more reports. Everybody knows what are the issues. Action is needed to resolve those issues. We are constantly told that there were 3,500 more nurses in the system ten years ago. We have never had a higher budget for the health services than we have today. I will put this in context. In the budget for this year, we allocated over €14 billion in taxpayers' money to the health service. This is the highest amount ever budgeted. Why, in that context, do we have 3,500 fewer nurses than we had ten years ago? Can the HSE provide a clear and concise explanation for that? I believe we must have a open and transparent health service that is accountable for the decisions it makes and operates at its most efficient. We do not need more reports. We need action to be taken on the ground.

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