Maurice Cummins (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Minister for coming in to let us have this debate. Health care reform is a difficult task, particularly in the current financial environment. The Irish people have heard promises before and have been disappointed. When elected to government we were given an mandate to radically reform our health service and put the patient at the centre of health reforms. Under the Minister's stewardship, progress is happening in hospital reform, including reducing trolley waiting times and improving outcomes, with consultants now seeing, treating and discharging patients on a 24/7 basis.

The establishment of the hospital groupings is the next major milestone on the path to universal health insurance. Hospital groups with large and small hospitals working together will provide more freedom to medical and nursing staff to deliver for their patients. We have some of the world's best health care professionals in this country. They know better than anybody else that the status quo cannot continue and we must change to meet the needs and expectations of patients and their families. Ours is a small country with increasing demands on our health system including demographic changes, increased public expectations and inequalities in access to care.

It is time to stop throwing money at the health service as was the will of previous Administrations and to work towards building a health care system that is worthy of the people who use it and the staff who work in it.

Reform of the health service will not be done overnight. We all know that. It is a complex and major undertaking that requires careful planning and sequencing. It will take time, patience, diligence and determination. This move signals a fundamental modernisation of our health system organisation in line with the best international practice. Each hospital group will have its own governance and management structure designed to deliver better outcomes for its patients. There has been no hospital framework to date. Our hospitals have been just evolving with the result that we have had a fragmented service that was riddled with duplication. That method of running the health service could not be allowed continue not only for cost reasons but for the safety and the health of patients using the services.

I would welcome clarification on the problems in regard to recruiting consultants. That matter has been mentioned by a number of speakers. How is it intended to address the issue? Is it as serious as mentioned here that we were not even getting people to apply for consultant positions? If that were the situation it would be very serious. This is a difficult task but one on which I am sure the Minister will work in the coming years. I ask the Minister to outline his plans briefly on the whole question of universal health insurance. We did not give a commitment to deliver it in this term but to deliver over two terms. The hospital groupings is a small step towards that. In his reply perhaps he will give a brief outline on the question of universal health insurance and where we go from here.