Leo Varadkar (Dublin West, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

At the outset, I concur with Deputy Bacik's remarks. I heard Deputy Berry speaking on the radio the other day. He made a very valid point that those of us in politics often complain about the quality of discourse, abuse and social media abuse.

Sometimes, however, we are our own worst enemies. We set the standard in the way we behave and none of us are angels in that regard. Given what Deputy Bacik said, we should all resolve to conduct our business in a more parliamentary manner, in the way we used to in the past. That has deteriorated considerably in the almost 20 years I have been here.

On the insurance matter, I acknowledge some events are running into difficulties in getting insurance. Having said that, there are lots of events happening all over the country that have got insurance. The Minister of State, Deputy Carroll MacNeill, is working on the issue and doing all she can to resolve it.

Regarding the HSE, there is always a risk of an overrun or overspend in the health service. Ultimately, it is a demand-led service. If more patients turn up at an emergency department or more patients are referred to a specialist, that has to be provided for. The Ministers, Deputies Stephen Donnelly and Donohoe, are working closely on this matter and trying to bottom it out and resolve the underlying issues. There certainly are no proposals to cut back services; far from it. The HSE is working very hard to meet its target of hiring an additional 6,000 staff this year and it is pretty much on schedule to do so.

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