Colm Burke (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

The Government is being criticised for not doing enough in health care. More than 23,000 people are supported under the fair deal scheme which costs more than ¤1 billion. This is what the Minister has been doing and what he wants to do is to get better value for money.

Since the Minister came into office he has ¤1.7 billion less in his budget to use yet the services being provided have improved. The criticism being levelled against him is not in order. He has done a very good job in the time he has been in office. We have a lot more to do and let us keep working towards achieving that. In fairness to Opposition Members, some constructive amendments were put forward in the earlier debate today and the Minister has taken on board some of those and given them serious consideration. Having worked in Brussels, I believe we need to work more together. In terms of the fear that has been put into people's minds, we need to change that focus in the way we deal with this debate.