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

I might take that question because there is a broader issue relating to population growth and its impact on public services, and the Deputy raised a very interesting point. He mentioned an increase in the population of 1.5 million over 20 years. I have been making this point repeatedly and I think we need a deeper dive and analysis of the relationship between population growth and the impact on public services more generally, including the health service. Some of the increased costs in health are due to health inflation, which is generally higher than non-health inflation, and there are also increased activity levels, ageing of the population and growth in population. That is why we have big deficits in health. There needs to proper governance and management of health service budgets, but the population increase is a factor that probably has not, in my view, been analysed or assessed with the level of detail required to make sure we can plan better for the future. I agree on the need to fast-track elective hospitals, particularly the one in Cork, for which I have been arguing intensely with the Minister-----

See this speech in context