Colm Burke (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

To follow up on the events over the past 24 hours, it is important to realise there are more than 100,000 people working in the HSE and the health service and one cannot implement change overnight. It will take time and will be a long drawn out process. I have heard people complain about the lack of change and I have heard people say it is difficult to manage a small company with two or three people, so one can imagine trying to deal with a system in which there are more than 100,000 people employed. Many changes have occurred in the past 12 to 18 months but there are many more changes to be made. The Government will deliver on its universal health care policy and on the roll out of primary care but it will not be done overnight and will take time.

I refer to the insurance issue raised by Senator Quinn. There has been major change over the past ten years but the one area in which there has not been change is medical negligence which is outside the remit of the Personal Injuries Assessment Board.