The health service is the most important service of all but it is also the most neglected. I can recite a litany of its inadequacies. In the last four and half years the Government recruited 4,000 administrative staff but only 2,000 nurses, which demonstrates an unusual sense of priorities. The scandal of the waiting lists is a horror. The state of the nation's health is equally horrific. Ireland has the highest rate in Europe of death from heart disease, which accounts for almost half of all deaths here. The rate is almost twice the EU average. One third of deaths of people under the age of 65 are caused by cancer. This is the third highest death rate from cancer in Europe. Many of those who die are awaiting so-called elective treatment. We can improve our health care in these areas while ensuring that the significant advances we already enjoy are maintained and built upon.