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

It was taken in 2013. I have been here since 2013. At this stage it is manifesting itself. Equally, I would say we need a more balanced approach in terms of health. Yes, there are huge challenges. Covid-19 has had a huge impact on our hospitals, negatively. There is no question about that with regard to waiting times. We have to focus very strongly on getting waiting times down because Covid negatively impacted them. There are other parts of health as well. I was at the support centre for stroke in Cork last Saturday morning. The two consultants said there has been a revolution in how we deal with stroke in this country. Mortality has gone from 18% to 8%. Is it too much, given the need for balance in this debate, to at least acknowledge that? Survival rates for cardiovascular disease have improved dramatically because of repeated and successive investment and interventions, and centralisation of cardiac care. The same has happened with cancer and oncology.

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