Terry Leyden (Fianna Fail)

During my time as chairman, tremendous work was done by the board on behalf of the public it served. I stand over that work.

The national task force on medical staffing comprised about 51 consultants and professionals but hardly any consumers to put forward the views of the people of the west and other areas. I would not rely on any paid official, whether it is Dr. Hynes or Dr. Ryan, to put forward the views that I, Senator Kitt or Senator Ulick Burke would put forward. Why were their voices not heard? We should bin the report. It is a disaster both medically and politically. I do not stand over this report and I intend to ensure it is binned.

However, I stand over "Quality and Fairness – A Health System for You" which had a vision and received marvellous input from the health boards. There were no proposals in that report to remove the health boards or to close accident and emergency departments. It also took account of the regulations and directives from Europe. The vision I stand by, which was adopted by the Fianna Fáil Party before the election of 2002, is the vision in the health strategy. It is:

A health system that supports and empowers you, your family and your community to achieve your full health potential

A health system that is there when you need it, that is fair and that you can trust

A health system that encourages you to have your say, listens to you, and ensures that your views are taken into account.

That does not include the removal of the health boards. I attended the meetings in Dublin Castle when the Minister was present. Most of the people involved with that consultative document were in the health services and were from the regions. There were none of these vested interest professionals who want large hospitals with large numbers of consultants. Has the health strategy document, "Quality and Fairness – A Health System for You", been binned? It was to be implemented over the next seven to ten years and was well received by the public.