Joan Collins (Dublin South Central, Independent) | Oireachtas source

There have been two periods of cuts in health spending by the State from which the service has yet to recover. In the 1980s, the Fianna Fáil Haughey Government cut public hospital beds by 3,000, and this is still a key factor in the accident and emergency room trolley crisis. From 2009 to 2014, there were five years of cuts in the health budget and staffing numbers. This is against a background of a growing and ageing population with greater needs. According to the Department of Health, the budget in 2017 would have needed an extra 25% to compensate fully for the austerity cuts and demographic change, amounting to an extra €3 billion this year alone without any increase in eligibility criteria. Will the Minister make a statement on what will be done in this regard?

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