Micheál Martin (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)

Is pribhléid an-mhór domsa a bheith i láthair anseo leis an óráid seo a chur os comhair an tSeanaid. The sole objective of health policy is to deliver access for all to high quality services. Services have expanded significantly. Today there are more people receiving care and support services than ever before. Activity has increased in every area of services. There have been substantial improvements in cancer and cardiovascular services and significant reductions in waiting times in many specialties. I have addressed this House before on the investments made in the health system and the gains made over the last five to six years. Notwithstanding these gains, I have often referred to the need to couple investment with reform. I am delighted to outline the Government's plans in relation to a reform programme for the health service. The programme outlined is an essential element in achieving the kinds of improvements in health care that we want and that the public deserves.

The programme of reform which has been agreed represents the most radical change for the health sector since the establishment of the health board structure in 1970. It is important to recognise that this reform agenda is a central theme in the health strategy – it is not separate from our strategic vision for the health system. At the time we published the strategy we said structural reform would have to follow. There were complaints that the system was disjointed and that very often patients and clients were having to respond to the way services were organised rather than having services organised to respond to their needs. It was acknowledged that with a new set of goals and objectives, we needed to be certain that the structures in place were fit to meet those objectives. We developed the strategy as a national blueprint and then had to analyse the structures to see how they were suited to realising the objectives and goals of the strategy over the next ten years.