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

News broke at the weekend that private patients were now able to access cancer drugs that are denied within the public system. This is a disturbing and worrying development, not because those with private health cover can access drugs that they need, but because public patients will be denied equal access. The drugs approval process for public patients has hit a brick wall in recent years because the HSE's budget for new medicines is being underfunded. Political decisions have caused this - decisions made by the current and former Ministers for Health, the Taoiseach included.

The differential between public and private undermines the public health service and makes a mockery of Sláintecare, which has a focus on the elimination of the subsidy provided for private healthcare. We all know that the public health system is crumbling under mismanagement on the watch of the Minister for Health, Deputy Harris, and the public-private divide in the health services is growing.

The unfairness in respect of access to cancer drugs echoes the recent revelation that women in the public system are being left to wait for the results of smear tests for up to 33 weeks, while those who can pay get their results within three weeks. I again emphasise again this is not to grudge in any way any woman within the private system but to highlight the gross inequality and unfairness of the disparity between three and 33 weeks for any woman waiting for the result of a smear test. It is unacceptable. None of it is accidental. It is the outworking, logic and consequence of Government policy. Whatever the Taoiseach is doing at his meetings with the Minister, Deputy Harris, whether the meetings are bilateral, trilateral or otherwise, they are not getting to the root of the issues and inequities within our system.

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