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

As Members raised questions, I will do my best to answer them as quickly as I can. I am glad Senator Barrett is on the side of plain packaging for tobacco, an industry that kills one in two of those who use their products. I agree the number of acute beds has fallen and that is because more day surgery is being carried out. Moreover, as medical technology advances, one is capable of doing more things more safely within a shorter period as day cases. The Senator is absolutely correct about deskilling general practitioners, GPs. When one builds a new hospital, the GPs who live in its shadow can be deskilled. For example, they might not bother suturing wounds as people can go to the hospital where it is quicker and easier. We must try to guard against this. I have spoken about management, training and support. I imagine the GP on €700,000 has several other GPs working with him or her. That normally is the case but obviously I cannot state that for every case. I believe I have covered virtually everyone's questions, with the exception of the issue of the consultant posts. This is of 1 January 2013 and I note 136 were advertised this year, 34 are at commencement or clearance stage, 52 are at the stage of recruitment and 50 have been filled thus far. This is from the Department and from the gentleman behind me, Mr. Hardy, who very kindly has gone out to get that information.

Although I am Minister for Health, I often feel as though I am the Minister for ill-health because all we appear to talk about is disease and illness. What we really should be about is prevention and about keeping people well. The Government has bought into this and has launched a framework document, Healthy Ireland, into which all the Ministers bought because they all understand that the Department of Health cannot do this on its own. It requires input from education and justice to keep the streets safe and from the environment side to provide good footpaths, well-lit areas, etc. The Government wants to move away from hospital-centric medicine back to the community and indeed back to the patient's house, which technology will permit as time goes by. I will conclude by noting that the National Health Service was formed in 1948. It probably is one of the best things Britain did in the last century. While people there think they did many good things, this is one that has stood the test of time and they did it out of the rubble of the Second World War. In 1845, the blackest year this country ever endured - we lost 2 million people - there still were people in this country with the vision and conviction to open a new university in Galway in that year. That is our gene pool and I believe we can take this huge challenge and turn it into a wonderful opportunity to give our people what they want, which is a health service in which everyone feel safe and of which all the people who work therein always feel proud.