Brian Stanley (Laois, Independent) | Oireachtas source

I will focus on health in the short time I have. I read the programme for Government document with interest. As the area of health is obviously extremely important, I want to focus on that. The programme for Government references a universal healthcare mission but from reading the pages attached to that, it is anything but universal healthcare. It cannot be delivered based on what is on those pages because there is no commitment to it there. It references developing healthcare networks in communities but that cannot be done because we do not have the health centres or primary care centres. Portlaoise town, a town of 40,000 people, does not have a primary care centre or a proper health centre. Smaller towns such as Mountrath, Borris-in-Ossory, Rathdowney and Graiguecullen need new or upgraded health centres.

Physical infrastructure is needed, as are GPs. We do not have the GPs. The programme for Government references increasing the number of GP places, but we must recruit some directly employed GPs to staff primary care centres. Private GPs will do the work. I accept that and they do a good job, but we need a cohort of private GPs if we are to move towards a proper universal healthcare system, as envisaged in Sláintecare, which the Minister's party and every other party in this Chamber signed up to. We need to do that.

We are in the Third World category as regards dental treatment. The programme for Government mentions extending free dental care to more children but in County Laois, children are not being seen. Children who are supposed to be seen in second and third class in primary school are being seen in third and fourth year in secondary school. Some miss out completely and never get to see a dentist during their time in school. The school dental scheme needs to be massively upgraded. On the dental treatment services scheme, DTSS, while there was renegotiation with those providing dental services, I hate to tell the Minister of State that the fact is there is no dentist in County Laois. I do not want to be too local about it, but I am using that example because it is what I know about. There is no dentist in County Laois who will take on a new client under the DTSS scheme for those people who are on medical cards.

There is no commitment to increase the threshold for full medical card cover. It is still €269 for a couple. That is the lowest rate. You would have to be on the side of the road before you would get a medical card at that rate. That needs to be increased. We need to move to Sláintecare and a proper universal healthcare system. That is what we signed up to. I could talk about other things, such as the ambulance service. There is a commitment to improve it, which I welcome, but that needs to be acted on urgently because it is taking up to two hours or more for ambulances to get to some rural areas. In some places, it is three or four hours.

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