Martin Kenny (Sligo-Leitrim, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I commend Deputy O'Reilly for bringing forward the motion. At the core of this issue is Sláintecare, which must be implemented. I have read the speeches of the Minister and Minister of State. While they are not opposing the motion tonight and are supporting its general context, the public is not seeing Sláintecare being implemented. No one is seeing that. These lists are not merely about numbers or statistics. The point has been made that a lot of people are seen within a short period while very few are on long-term lists. People on long-term lists are human beings, however, and they are suffering, which seems to have been missed in all of this. The issue at the centre of all this is staffing. The reason we do not have enough staff in the HSE and the reason it has failed is that it is an overmanaged service which has been understaffed in all areas. Frontline staffing is the big problem everywhere we go. When one talks to staff, who do a tremendous job and their very best, as everyone in the House acknowledges, they will tell you that it is such a pressurised atmosphere in which to work that people do not stay. They look for somewhere else to go. The only way to fix that problem is with vision. This or some other Government must have the vision to create something different which will work and deliver for people.

This has become an enormous problem over the years. Ministers may come and go, but if we do not recognise that the HSE has become a hostage to the private sector, nothing will change. That is the issue which has not been faced. While the Minister told the House this evening that he wants to ensure no private work is done in public hospitals, it continues to happen. There is no plan to stop it. In my constituency, the neurology list for Sligo Hospital includes people who have been waiting for more than two years to see a neurologist. Think of the pain, discomfort and agony people are in. Even if they are not in pain, their lives are on hold during that time. That is what is happening to people out there. Their whole lives and the lives of their families are frozen because of the waiting lists. Continuing to privatise services will simply not work. What we need in the end is vision. We need a Government with the vision and capacity to put the funding in place to implement the policies we need. At the core of that is the Sláintecare report which to date the Government has failed to do anything about.

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