John Crown (Independent) | Oireachtas source

Again, I welcome the Minister. He is a young man and is about the same age as I was when I first became a consultant oncologist in Ireland's medical service. I was full of enthusiasm and optimism and thought a problem was what one was here to fix, not something that made one go away wringing one's hands, which is a common attitude in Ireland. I like to think I have managed to keep some of that enthusiasm although my youth has waned and I still look at problems that I try to fix and overcome. However, I must state that I am a little weary now of one or two of them, and one about which I am most weary is the structure of the health system here, which is wholly irrational. Lincoln once famously stated, "A house divided against itself cannot stand" and I am afraid that our health service is a house that is divided against itself. It is one that I believe could be fixed and the only real impediment to fixing it is the will to do so.

I am in an awkward position here because I agree with approximately 95% of the contents of the motion tabled by Fianna Fáil. In a number of terse bullet points, its Members here have pointed out eloquently and accurately many of the deficiencies within the system that must be fixed. As has been pointed out by others, I state this with no desire to be personally critical of anyone, the reality is that Fianna Fáil had many years in which to fix it but chose not to. For many years, Fianna Fáil-led Governments had a Minister for Health who came from a party that officially had no policy on health reform because its members stated the health system was too complicated and simply could not be fixed.