Micheál Martin (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

To respond to both Deputies, we are no longer talking about amounts of €20 million where health is concerned. We are talking about billions of euro being required by the Department of Health.

The Estimates for the next 12 months will be quite staggering relative to what was spent prior to the emergence of the virus and issues to do with personal protective equipment and a variety of other measures to support hospitals and staff. Deputy Boyd Barrett is correct; I did not mean to juxtapose the two. Of course, recruitment to health is very important and we need not only to continue to recruit but also to make conditions better and enhance our human resource service and performance in the health service in general so that not only do we recruit people but we retain them. This is something on which I will be particularly strong.

With regard to disability services and the cut, I will again engage with the Minister, Deputy Donnelly, on this. There will be substantial increases in health funding. We have already seen the Supplementary Estimate but more will be needed to deal with many of the issues that Covid is bringing on board.

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