Joan Burton (Dublin West, Labour) | Oireachtas source

I was very upset, like many people, when I read that parents who have not completed meningitis vaccinations for their children will not be afforded a free vaccination but instead will be charged €200. For instance, if they have three children, which many parents have, who have not completed the vaccination cycle, this will amount to €600. That would wipe out many families on social welfare or on a minimum wage income. At the same time the Minister for Health announced a Department of Health variation of the strategic communications unit, that is, a public relations exercise fee of €75,000. Has the Taoiseach, his Minister or his Government any sense of how to address priorities in the Department of Health? Meningitis is a serious public health risk and it is a serious abuse of public funds not to ensure that children at risk are properly vaccinated and that those vaccinations are performed as a public health service.

I refer to the cost of the children's hospital which people are baffled by. The Taoiseach was in that seat at a very important time for that project. I was delighted to see the Taoiseach visiting Africa last week but if anybody from Europe went to a small or a large African country and was told by aid officials that a children's health project - for example, building a large children's hospital - was potentially running €1 billion to €2 billion over the estimate in the plan would immediately suspect that such a cost overrun was due to misappropriation or some form of corruption of the process.

The Taoiseach is here to provide the Dáil with answers as Leader of the Government. Can he explain these conundrums in the Department of Health under his command as Taoiseach?

See this speech in context