Brian Ó Domhnaill (Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I second the amendment to the Order of Business proposed by Senator Cullinane. It is vital we have a debate on the health system, particularly in light of events happening across the sector. Attention was drawn yesterday and this morning by Senator Cullinane to the medical card fiasco and the withdrawal of medical cards from individuals. The response given yesterday, and I appreciate that it is a response from the Department of Health to the Leader of the House, is that a high percentage of the population have medical cards. That is correct, but a high percentage of the population have medical cards through no fault of their own. They have them because they are unemployed and on social welfare because the domestic economy is stagnant and no jobs are being created.

This Government promised a single tier health system when it came into office. It involved the removal of charges for seeing a GP, the shortening of waiting times in hospitals and a move from reimbursement based on fixed amounts to the money follows the patient model. None of that has happened. Waiting times have increased in all of the hospitals throughout the country.