Louise O'Reilly (Dublin Fingal, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I am grateful for the opportunity to speak in this debate. We are effectively having statements on the lack of investment in our healthcare service. Members are not discussing the investment in healthcare because, as we know, it is not even enough to stand still. We are discussing the lack of investment. Since the budget, we have had Ministers and others from the Department of Health expressing disappointment and frustration at the lack of additional funding for our health services. This is in conjunction with medical professionals, trade unions, service providers, pharmacists and primary, secondary and tertiary healthcare services expressing their extreme concern over the budget for health in 2024.

The health service is in a state of crisis but it will be made worse by this budget. One example is the doubt cast on the funding for the national stroke strategy. Failure to fund this strategy means that patients will spend longer in hospital due to insufficient funding for the supported discharge programme. Stroke units may have to close. The withdrawal of funding will cost lives but it will not save the Government a shilling. The fault for this crisis, and the others that will hit health because of what has been done, lies with the Government as a whole, in particular the Minister, Deputy Stephen Donnelly. The reports that the Minister arrived to negotiations with no clear plan do not surprise me in the slightest. Be under no illusions; the fault for this lies with the Government and the leaders of Fianna Fáil, Fine Gael and the Green Party. They have made a deliberate decision to dramatically underfund our health services. Their actions will have consequences which will be felt widely across all of the health services and in every area.

In my area of Fingal, the consequences will be acute. North County Dublin already suffers in several areas and this will get worse in 2024. There are no dentists being added to the dental treatment service scheme for those with a medical card. I have had people in my advice clinics and offices in Swords and Balbriggan who are in pain and cannot access a dentist. I spoke to a man last week who was on his way to the credit union to get a loan he could not afford so that he will no longer be in pain as a result of not being able to get a dentist or a referral to the dental hospital.

We also have an issue with general practice. People cannot source a GP. I have constituents who have gone to Dundalk, Portlaoise and Dublin city centre just to access a GP. The situation for children is even worse. The Government has provided free GP care for more children but there are no GPs to deliver it. It was a miserly stroke to tell people they are entitled to something and then to ensure they cannot access their entitlement. Where is the Sláintecare commitment of 2017 for salaried GPs in areas where it is hard to attract them? We sat on that committee for a year, working for hours, hearing from experts and putting together a comprehensive plan and document, yet there is no sign of many of the elements in the plan. What is the point in having the debates and accepting a roadmap and then completely ignoring it?

Then we have the state of the children's disability network teams, CDNTs. The budget may have been transferred to another Department but we should be under no illusions - when people cannot access the services under the CDNT they will end up in the general health service and in another queue. In Balbriggan, the CDNT is understaffed by 40%. The overpowering feeling of parents following budget 2024 is one of fear and anger. They feel as if they have been abandoned. They know their children are not getting seen now, they hear about underfunding and they know the possibility of getting the services their children need is moving further away from them.

The Minister of State, Deputy Butler, stated she is "delighted" with her "exciting new" app and said the "app will help direct young people to the services they need" when they need them. With the greatest of respect, I am sure the Minister of State is delighted and that it is very exciting, but if there are no services - and there are none in my area bar crisis intervention - what will the app direct them to? Will it direct them to another waiting list and tell them to wait until there is a crisis? What is the point of an app when there are no services to back it up? It is an exciting idea, and I am sure the Minister of State is delighted with it, but this app will only point people in the direction of services if they exist, and they do not. It is an insult and the Minister of State's delight is somewhat misplaced.

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