Mary Lou McDonald (Dublin Central, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I take the Taoiseach's point in terms of the changing of strategy statements because what is needed is sustained focus to deliver change. What is necessary also is a strategy statement that amounts to more than aspiration and that moves beyond rhetoric. The Taoiseach mentioned a better Ireland. That is fantastic. We can all sign up for that. The issue is whether Government and the Office of An Taoiseach has the grit and the imagination to make that happen. As is often said, to make an omelette one has to break some eggs. To make Ireland better will require more than breaking eggs, it will require considerable effort and focus.

In regard to the reference in the strategy to the need to devote time and resources to planning for the future, funding and reform of the health service, it is disappointing that the Minister for Health, Deputy Harris, has indicated that he will, in a piecemeal way, adopt the report produced by the all-party Committee on the future of Healthcare. The crisis in the service is evident. The waiting lists are soaring, exhausted staff are fleeing the services in their droves, it seems and there is a lack of capacity in the Ambulance Service. The figures from the INMO reveal that in the first months of this year hospitals recorded the highest levels of overcrowding since record keeping commenced. I know that the Taoiseach can and will cite the exceptions but that is shocking. What does he, as Taoiseach, a former Minister for Health and a medical professional, propose to do about this?

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