James Reilly (Dublin North, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

Yes. It is a temporary one. It is a transition phase on the way to moving to an integrated care agency ultimately and thus the abolition of the HSE.

In regard to the Senator's concern, which is very reasonable, there are two things to be said. This is a directorate of the HSE and it has to be formed from members of the HSE but there is nothing to stop me appointing new national directors from outside the executive and bringing in new blood that way. I can assure him that there is no question of us trying to maintain what is there. It is the very antithesis of what I am about. I want to change the status quo in favour of the patient. I want a new directorate that will oversee the transition to the new universal health insurance that we all wish to see, where everyone in this country can be treated equally and will have fair and timely access to heath care regardless of their income or means. They will be treated on the basis of need. If people want to have cordon bleu cooking and five star hotel accommodation, they can pay a higher insurance premium for that but it will not get them their colonoscopy one minute before the next person who has the standard insurance.

I hear the Senator's concern but he slightly misunderstands what we are about. This is a temporary arrangement that I do not see lasting much beyond 2015 or 2016. I certainly do not see it lasting longer than 2016. I envisage the new integrated agency will come into place in 2015 and this board will then no longer be in place. It is a directorate to oversee the transition phase. It is not limited in essence to people within the HSE because we can bring in people from outside the executive. As Senator Gilroy said, this is providing for expediting the change as quickly as possible. If we were to go through a formal advertising process, it would take anywhere between six months and a year and we do not have that time. I want to see the changes brought in quickly. We have seen huge change occur within the health service already in the past 18 months in the way services are being delivered by consultants on the ground, notwithstanding our difficulties with one of the consultant organisations in the Labour Court. I want to see this expedited. I cannot accept the amendment. I understand precisely why it was tabled but I hope I have explained why I do not wish to accept it.