Martin Browne (Tipperary, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

This Bill is welcome insofar as it abolishes hospital inpatient charges for all patients under 16 years old, but it is emblematic of the snail's pace of the Government's progression to universal healthcare. It appears the provisions of the Bill are less about achieving universal healthcare than about keeping up the appearance of trying to achieve it. While it is an important step for the families who may regularly require hospital services, and there are many of them, much more could be done to help them. That is especially relevant in light of the current cost-of-living crisis and the pressure on families, not only to pay for fuel, food, back-to-school costs and all of the other essentials that must be paid for but also to access medical care. We heard the Tánaiste say yesterday the cost-of-living crisis could last for years. At the same time, he refused the proposal of an emergency budget and is prepared instead to wait until the autumn while the crisis gets worse and the pressure on families continues to mount.

In the area of health, people are being faced with the consequences of decades of underinvestment by the Government. This has left Ireland in a situation where the system is vulnerable to any shock that may present itself. Healthcare workers are no longer attracted to what the HSE has become, so we are short of staff. That was only too apparent when the issue of needs assessments came to the fore. Home care is in short supply. Indeed I have fought for it on behalf of a number of Tipperary families for the past two years.

While the abolition of hospital inpatient charges for all patients under the age of 16 years is welcome, the Minister could do much more to reduce the cost of healthcare for workers and families. He could phase out hospital parking charges, especially for families who want to be near their children or other loved ones and have to cope with huge travel costs in travelling from County Tipperary to a hospital in Dublin each day. I could give the Minister several examples of families in that situation at present.

The Minister could also address the consistent loss of rural GPs in Tipperary by training more GPs and expanding primary care. Recently in Cashel we saw how difficult it is to replace the doctor at the minor injuries unit. The unit had to close for a time, and then it had to reduce from a five-day per week to a two-day per week basis for a time. This is where the Minister and the Government are failing. There has been no progress on modelling, costing or planning the roll-out of universal GP care, which would make a real difference in people’s lives. These problems are of the Minister's making. It is no wonder people have to go to emergency departments when they either cannot get a GP or the local injury unit is closed. If they cannot get a GP, they must pay to attend the emergency department. Then there are the HIQA reports such as the recent one on the emergency department in University Hospital Limerick.

Again, I welcome this Bill, but it goes nowhere near far enough.

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