Gino Kenny (Dublin Mid West, People Before Profit Alliance) | Oireachtas source

The Minister has accepted that we need changes in our public health service and the Covid-19 public health emergency has shown the cracks in our system, such as bed capacity and staffing shortages. The running down of our public health service over the past number of decades has been hugely detrimental to all citizens in this country. The new programme for Government states that it will examine new ways to utilise community settings and create partnerships with our private hospitals to avoid placing increased pressure on our public health services, a statement I found deeply depressing. That is going backwards rather than forwards. There is no recognition of the thousands of beds that were taken out of our health service or staff shortages. Will it be the old way, the new way or another way?

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