Kathleen O'Meara (Labour)

Senators on the Government side have trumpeted the extent of spending on health in recent years in defence of their position. A sum of €520 million was signalled in the recent Estimates, bringing the gross health allocation for this year to €8.9 billion, but it remains the case that the health service is under-funded. As a result, the national health strategy, welcomed widely on its publication, cannot be implemented. It alone would cost approximately €1.2 billion to implement and this sum is simply not being made available. Therefore, the increase in health spending by the Government is insufficient to meet its targets and commitments.

This results in the closure of wards and beds are not available, particularly in the ERHB area and in the acute hospitals in Dublin. We are made aware of the extent of the crisis in the Dublin hospitals on a weekly basis, particularly in respect of beds. Seven hundred new beds are being commissioned but 3,000 are needed, a point accepted by all sides. The need is not because of a massive increase in population, although this has been the case particularly in the east and probably should be taken into account, but because we are still playing catch-up because of the massive cutbacks of the 1980s. This was referred to only recently by media commentators.

Senator Kett suggested that the commitment to extend eligibility for the medical cards was to be honoured over a period of four years. When is it likely to happen? The Taoiseach has told us it will not happen. It was mentioned in the Fianna Fáil manifesto but Senator Brady has said that it is not in An Agreed Programme for Government. Clearly, while Fianna Fáil promised to extend eligibility in the pre-election period, along with many other things, this promise was watered down considerably by the time An Agreed Programme for Government was put together. By the time Deputy Michael McDowell had finished putting up posters in Dublin South-East and sat down to hammer out the programme, the commitment had been affected severely.

The ordinary person in the street is suffering as a result of the Government's failure to honour its commitments. Recently, I and other Senators have encountered pensioners under 70 who do not qualify for a medical card, which is disgraceful. People on average incomes cannot afford to bring their children to the doctor or buy medicines for them. This forces them to go to accident and emergency units, probably clogging them up as a result. People on average incomes who cannot afford the full cost of a GP or a prescription find themselves in more serious circumstances when ill. That is only touching the surface. It is symbolic of the growing inequity in the delivery of our health services. Access to the health service, which should be a right, has been considerably diluted by the Government.