Kathleen O'Meara (Labour)

I move amendment No. 2:

In page 12, before section 7, to insert the following new section:

"7.—Subject to the provisions of this Act and the resources available to the Executive, the primary function of the Executive is to take such steps as are open to it to ensure that each person in the State is facilitated in availing of an individual entitlement to such health services and personal social services as are appropriate to meet the needs of that person.".

It is a bit ironic to be discussing the Health Bill when I have the worst bout of ill health I have had all year. We will struggle on. Amendment No. 2 concerns the establishment and functions of the health services executive. When I spoke on Second Stage of this Bill last week, I referred to a matter that has been the subject of much discussion, namely, the absence in the legislation of references to any approach other than a bureaucratic, administrative one. What is really missing is a mission statement for the executive. The executive is to be a very powerful body with a very powerful board, large budget and remit to run the health services of the country. The latter is a large task to assign to any body. The legislation should reflect a very strong patient-centred ethic. The Minister referred to this in her Second Stage speech last week, but it is notable, given the size of the Bill, that the patient does not feature to any great extent therein.

The argument can be made that this Bill is about administration, management and bureaucracy. Management and administration are very important and have been the subject of many commentaries and reports that have played a large part in the design and formation of this legislation. However, the Labour Party believes a patient-centred mission statement focusing on the delivery of a high-quality health service for all is certainly lacking. The amendment calls for a rights-based approach to health services. This should be the foundation stone for the executive. The amendment states:

"7.—Subject to the provisions of this Act and the resources available to the Executive, the primary function of the Executive is to take such steps as are open to it to ensure that each person in the State is facilitated in availing of an individual entitlement to such health services and personal social services as are appropriate to meet the needs of that person.".

This new section, if included in the legislation, would form an essential backdrop to the work of the new executive and would ensure that its work would be driven by the vision outlined therein. Nobody in the House would disagree with that vision. All would agree on the need to ensure that everybody has the health service to which he or she is entitled and which meets his or her needs at any given time, whether he or she is young or old, chronically ill or simply requiring outpatient treatment, or whether he or she has been referred for a fairly simple procedure by his GP or is suffering from a serious illness such as cancer. The ethic of the health service should be driven by this vision and people should be entitled to "such health services and personal social services as are appropriate to meet their needs".

This is a very important amendment and I hope the Minister of State will give due consideration to it. I have been reading the Official Report of the Dáil from last week and noted that the Minister did not give the legislation much hop in that House. I hope we are not engaging in a useless exercise in the Seanad. We have allocated three hours to this important debate this afternoon and we are taking Report and Final Stages on Thursday. The Dáil is rising on Thursday. Does that mean that no matter what we say here it cannot go back to the Dáil and be taken on board there? We need to know where we stand. Is this a talking shop or a meaningful exercise?