Joe O'Reilly (Fine Gael)

I would like to formally second Senator White's proposition. The abuses that were documented and chronicled in the Ryan report should make us collectively ashamed.

I would like to speak about a different matter. The Minister for Health and Children recently suggested that the health service will be the subject of €800 million of cutbacks over the coming year. When one takes demographic factors into account, the real figure will be between €1.2 billion and €1.5 billion. The impact could be even greater if the risk posed by the current flu pandemic gets worse. I ask the Leader if the House can have a debate on this specific issue in the presence of the Minister. I am afraid that we will throw the baby out with the bath water. No Member of this House is opposed to efficiencies. All Senators appreciate that savings need to be made. We are all aware of the need for a huge trimming of the national finances. However, we should not forget that certain core services, which are of essential and real value to people, need to be retained. Not only would it be uncivilised to withdraw such services, but the cost of reassembling them at some future stage would be monumental and would set the country back hugely. I would like to defend some of the traditional easy targets for cutbacks within the health service. The home help and home care assistance systems are cost effective in the sense they keep people out of hospital and provide local jobs. The primary care system that is being developed will be of critical value in keeping people out of long-term care. The implementation of the Vision for Change report, which deals with psychiatric services, is of crucial importance. We need to make a clear statement, in the presence of the Minister, Deputy Harney, that we are in favour of trimming but not at the expense of core services. I ask the Leader to convey that point to the Minister. We do not want to develop a system like that in the United States. The US President, Mr. Obama, is trying to undo a system that caters for just one sector of the population.