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

The Deputy's central thesis about the health service does not apply in that context.

As for treatments and outcomes, I ask the Deputy to defer to clinicians. The outcomes in Ireland during the first phase, in terms of hospital treatments, were quite good, which speaks well of the clinical qualities in our hospitals, such as the quality of clinicians and all our staff, including those in nursing and all involved in intensive care. An excellent programme produced by RTÉ looked at some of the metrics at St. James's Hospital, for example. The outcomes should give us some reassurance.

We can always attack our service and there is endless language of attacking, condemning and undermining it, but there are some very bright spots in our health service. The Health Act 1970 affords people access to our acute hospital system. We have many improvements to make but we have put €4 billion into the health service this year to advance State services and the health service across the board, from home care and primary care to community care and acute hospital care. My ambition on the health front is that after the pandemic, we will have embedded improvements into the health service, as a result of the additional resources, that will be long lasting and to the benefit of the citizens of the country in availing of our health service. That point has to be made.

I am absolutely assured that the contracts are not zero-hour contracts. We have made it clear they cannot be and that they must be proper contracts. Good-quality people are being recruited and it is important the job be done well. That means that people who are recruited will be looked after well, and that there will be a good human resources policy and a good HR environment for anybody who is recruited to the contact tracing or swabbing positions.

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