Róisín Shortall (Dublin North West, Social Democrats) | Oireachtas source

I want to make a few comments on Sláintecare and the programme for Government. There was a commitment in the programme for Government to "accelerate the implementation of Sláintecare". That vanished out of a later version of the programme yesterday but I gather it is back in it now. It sounds good to say "accelerate the implementation of Sláintecare" if we take that sentence for what it is worth because that is what is needed. Unfortunately, when one digs a bit deeper in the programme for Government and looks at the section that deals with "Reigniting and Renewing the Economy", very regrettably there is a sentence that states: "We will examine, [which is not a commitment], in advance of Budget 2022, appropriate funding measures to support the implementation of Sláintecare." How disappointing is that? There was just beginning to be some momentum behind Sláintecare. While many of us were still concerned that lipservice was being paid to it by the Government and the party supporting the Government, we expected something serious out of the programme for Government. This is absolutely damning and really disappointing. There is not going to be any additional money for Sláintecare this year or next year. The withering commitment, if one can call it that, is that the new Government will examine appropriate funding measures to support it in advance of 2022. That is just pathetic. After all the work that was done, all the talk, the lipservice that has been paid to it and the fact that every party in this House signed up to Sláintecare as the national public health policy, it now seems to be completely relegated to some point in the future. Can the Minister provide any explanation for this? Is he aware of this? Did he sign off on it? If this has been kicked into 2022 or later, all momentum is going to be lost and public healthcare in this country will be set back years and years. It is really disappointing.

The other matter I wish to raise relates to the policy document that was launched this morning, Sharing the Vision. We waited for some time for that review of A Vision for Change. The document is full of undertakings and aspirations for building capacity in order to provide access and take us to a much more progressive place where the whole issue of mental health would finally get the kind of attention and priority it needs. Of course, it is a subset of the overall health system, Sláintecare and the public health service. Therefore, if Sláintecare is not being funded, how can we have any confidence that Sharing the Vision is going to be funded as well? I would very much welcome the Minister's views on both those matters.

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