Colm Burke (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

It is important to respond to what has been said about the health services. I would welcome a debate on the matter. All the information on the health services needs to be out there. I ask the House to understand what this Government inherited. I have gone through the Portlaoise report. In fairness, some patients were not given adequate care. Certainly, the treatment provided to them was not at all consistent with the proper manner in which they should have been looked after. I think the report deals comprehensively with that. I remind Senator Darragh O'Brien that during his party's term in office, the number of deliveries in Portlaoise hospital increased from slightly over 1,000 to approximately 2,300 without any increase in staffing levels in real terms. That is the reality. We are now dealing with that issue.