Violet-Anne Wynne (Clare, Independent) | Oireachtas source

Like many colleagues in this House, I was also very interested in the Irish Fiscal Advisory Council, IFAC, report and, in particular, its analysis in the area of health. We have heard many comments from the Government benches in recent weeks about just how surprised the members were about the inevitable underfunding or overrun in the Department of Health. I understand that commonsense can sometimes be in short supply here but the ageing population in this country is an absolute fact and has been discussed at length in this House by many Members from all sides for the past number of months.

As we get older, we require more care. More older people equals more resources needed and according to IFAC the trend of ageing populations and the services required for the past four years matches perfectly. The increase in demand has been largely predictable and it will stay predictable for the next four years. I do not know how this Government missed that point. Maybe it is something to do with all of the focus on tax cuts and one-off so-called cost-of-living measures which further divide the country economically. IFAC will say that the Government did not miss that.

The public fight between the Minister and the HSE has also been quite embarrassing and this Bill is lacking the necessary accommodations made to ensure the sustainability of our health service, especially with respect to surge capacity and new emergency capacity, EC, measures. To purposefully force a State agency, arguably the most important State agency, into the red and then to bury one's head in the sand is a complete failure of leadership.

On the point of universal measures, Social Justice Ireland has commented that by failing to target and make permanent certain financial measures, budget 2024 has failed to deliver on child poverty which now in Ireland, in the final days of 2023 running into Christmas, affects one in seven children in our State. Some 190,000 children are in poverty and it is an absolute disgrace.

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