Pearse Doherty (Donegal, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

Are you finished, Taoiseach? Almost a million people are on waiting lists. We have all been waiting. We have been waiting for this Government to get its act together but it has not happened and is not going to happen. It is becoming harder and harder for ordinary workers to see a GP. Dental treatment for people with medical cards has collapsed. Mental health services in this State are threadbare. Everybody knows that. People who are reaching out and looking for support on the other side are not getting it. This is having devastating consequences for our young people. Last year, in the face of all this, the Government knowingly underfunded health. That was one of the most callous decisions I have ever seen. It was an extraordinary example of reckless management and Sinn Féin and others called the Government out on it immediately. The HSE called it out. The Government's own Department of Health called it out. Indeed, IFAC called it out. It took nine long months for the Government to admit it had it got in wrong in last year's budget. That did real damage to morale, to the reputation of the health service and to care providers' ability to plan.

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That decision led to a year of chaotic financial management and a recruitment embargo. All the while, the HSE was forced to become more and more reliant on expensive agency staff. Today, therefore, was the opportunity for the Government to lay out a vision for health and to lay out a vision for hope, but there is no hope, no vision and no urgency in the budget for health this year. Again, there is more of the spin. The Government has claimed there is a €3 billion increase for health. Let us be serious, however. Last year, the Government underfunded health and now it is playing catch up. Of that €3 billion, €1.5 billion is to cover last year's legacy deficit that was created, while €1.2 billion is standstill money. This means no improvement in services, it is just to stand still. When we strip all that back, therefore, and consider the fact that €240 million has already been announced in the form of pre-committed capital in the national development plan, it leaves €120 million for new measures-----

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