Michael Kitt (Fianna Fail)

I join my colleagues in welcoming the Minister of State to the House. I am delighted to take part in this important debate. I attended an interesting launch this morning by the Minister on the nursing home subvention scheme which was reviewed by Dr. Eamon O'Shea from the NUI in Galway. He was fair in his comments about the scheme. He said there were many ways it could be reformed, but he did not castigate it. I feel the same way when speaking about health boards and agencies which will now have to be abolished.

Dr. O'Shea mentioned the need for significant public investment in both rehabilitation and step down facilities for older people. That is relevant to what Senator Ulick Burke said. We are looking for a community nursing home in Tuam. We already have an excellent site and I hope the Minister will consider it. I know he is visiting Galway on Monday to meet the board and to discuss the reform package. I will be glad to talk to him and to raise questions with him.

Everyone is talking about health service reform. It is no wonder Senators are interested in the issue and I am glad we have an extra hour to discuss it. There is no point in people talking about a Third World health service or claiming that it will get worse. Health boards have done many good things. Any service which can deal with one million cases a year and which has increased the number of cases by 180,000 in only five years is not a Third World health service. Dr. Brennan put it well when she stated in the report's conclusion that there is scope to increase significantly the efficiency and productivity of the health system in Ireland, in effect, to provide better services to those who require health care and better value to the taxpayer for the substantial investment in health services. She likened it not to a black hole but to a colander which had many leakages.