Ann Ormonde (Fianna Fail)

The Senator is in bad taste. All I am saying is that we should start on a positive note. This is a new reform and much work remains to be done. We call on all the professionals, consultants, health professionals and staff to make the system better. We want priority given to patients so there will be no delays in accident and emergency units and beds will be available for the elderly and the ill whenever required. This is all people want.

We must consider how to structure accident and emergency admissions. Some people spoke about St. James's Hospital which I had reason to visit last year. I was astonished by how its accident and emergency system worked and the different divisions therein. Perhaps it could be used as a model all over the country for how to deal with those who drop in at 3 a.m. as against people with serious illness. We can only make such changes by sitting around a table and implementing a system we know will work.

This is a comprehensive Bill. It will work if all interested groups work together on reform. I wish the Minister, Deputy Harney, and her team well. I hope we will all support the Bill. The only way to go is forward. We have learned from the failure of the past and the failure of successive Governments. Let us be positive. The patient and value for the taxpayer must come first in the health service to ensure a quality of life for everybody who must attend hospital.