John Minihan (Progressive Democrats)

l will conclude with the following questions. When, at the cost of the private sector, 105 additional public beds become available in Tallaght, will the local Fine Gael and Labour representatives object? Will they object when the 118 additional beds become available at Limerick regional hospital or when the additional 85 beds for public patients become available at Waterford regional hospital? Will Senators Cummins and Browne oppose them? When the 118 additional beds for public patients become available at Cork University Hospital, I will commend the Tánaiste and not let blind ideology convince me good is bad. Will Senator Ryan be flaunting this motion then? I suspect not.

How will the public look back on this Fine Gael and Labour motion when 99 beds are freed up for public patients at St James's Hospital or 106 beds at Beaumont or 21 in Blanchardstown? What will it think when Sligo general gets 78 additional public beds, Galway 116, Letterkenny 58 and Drogheda 112, all provided by the private sector? Where will the Fine Gael and Labour Deputies, Senators, councillors and representatives be when these additional 1,000 beds are opened in their local hospitals? They will be welcoming the fruits of the initiative they oppose today.

This is a worthwhile and correct policy. Members need not just take my word for it. A recent letter to The Irish Times from a consultant at Waterford general hospital read: "This co-location strategy is not only the antithesis of privatisation but is a sophisticated political mechanism to get the independent sector to fund improvement of the Irish health service and to do it rapidly". I commend the Tánaiste and the Government on this great initiative and encourage all Members to do likewise for the sake of the thousands of public patients it will benefit.