Michael Lowry (Tipperary, Independent) | Oireachtas source

For years it has been widely acknowledged that there are fundamental problems and problems of an administrative nature with the HSE. Successive Governments have tried and failed to rectify core issues relating to the delivery of healthcare. Newly ordained senior executives arrived with great ambition and left disheartened. Some of those executives are now sideline commentators who seem to know it all but who have little progress to show for their time in authority. Ministers have been scapegoated in the past. No doubt, the Minister for Health, Deputy Donnelly, will shortly be threatened with the sword. I believe in ministerial and governmental responsibility.

The Tánaiste and his Government colleagues have a duty of care to countless men, women and children who suffer daily because of a totally inadequate service. Clarity must be brought to the financial and budgetary situation of the HSE. Uncertainty is creating widespread fear and trepidation to those who work within the service and the countless people in Tipperary and across the country who rely on the HSE for lifesaving interventions. Also, there are many people afflicted with illness who require ongoing support to sustain a reasonable quality of life. Planned changes by the CEO, Bernard Gloster, to establish six health regions across the country are being viewed as a positive move. This sounds reminiscent of the era of the health boards, when obtaining healthcare was easier and far less traumatic for people. It was a time when people did not languish on hospital trolleys for hours or even days or find themselves on waiting lists for months or even years. A more localised management structure would be better equipped to serve the needs of each region and would be easier and more efficient to navigate. Regional management of health provision is one of the key reforms contained in Sláintecare. Urgent and effective change is crucial.

The Ireland of today is a very different place. There has been a population explosion. Demands for all levels of healthcare have multiplied. Standards in medicine and diagnostics have advanced enormously. People are more knowledgeable and diligent about their health requirements. Each of these factors has increased pressure on an already dysfunctional system. The CEO of the HSE has stridently stated that the health allocation for the coming year is insufficient to meet needs. It is already apparent that a supplementary budget of €1.5 billion will be required to bridge the gap. This has become an established, alarming budgetary pattern. There is major and understandable concern that throwing money into the existing bottomless pit that is the health service, is difficult. It does not address the problem; it simply bridges the gap year after year. Bridging that gap will become insurmountable and our health service will eventually eat into funding required for other crucial sectors of our economy. In the future, it will be difficult for the Government to justify reduced spending on housing, infrastructure, education or business in order to cater for health. Year after year, however, this scenario seems more and more inevitable.

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