Martin Mansergh (Fianna Fail)

I would welcome a comprehensive debate on the health service, rather than on a statistical report, outlining the progress, the achievements, the difficulties and problems, as well as the hopes and promises that have not been fulfilled and why that is the case.

There is a more recent statistic on health which should be taken into account as it is the bottom line, namely, the substantial improvement in life expectancy since 1996. That is what much of the health service is about.