Billy Kelleher (Cork North Central, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I do not accept the Minister's points about the delivery of service. The fact of the matter is that there is a significant demographic change occurring and huge demands will continue to be placed on the health service. This year, the health service will find it has not got the capacity, both financially and within itself, to deliver on these demands. We have seen this already at the start of the year with trolley numbers. January 2018 was the worst month ever for numbers of people waiting on trolleys. Beyond that, in the whole area of elective surgery, as well as for outpatient and inpatient appointments, I do not believe there is sufficient funding in place, even with the NTPF, to deal with and get to a situation where people can be seen in a timely manner. These are my observations with which many of those who put together the HSE service plan also concur. The savings identified will not be achieved.

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