Jack Chambers (Dublin West, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

Public hospitals should be for public patients and only public work should go on in public hospitals. They should not be quasi-private institutions. Patients receive private care in the public health system and this is not a progressive way to run a public health system. What we have seen with the policy is that hundreds of thousands of people, who have already paid their taxes and who happen to hold health insurance, are being effectively charged twice. This is what the policy stance has changed. Instead of utilising the full capacity of public and private the Government has decided to charge people twice. The fact the Minister does not know and cannot state in the Dáil the number of beds used on a private basis is a serious concern with regard to management control. We know from the health insurers' figures that hundreds of millions of euro of insurance is going to public hospitals to bail them out because of the inefficiency in the current system. It is important the Minister addresses it. There is a recommendation from the health policy reform committee to remove private work from public hospitals. This is an example of how the previous policy was regressive and has impacted on increased waiting times for public only patients.

See this speech in context