Colm Burke (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I would welcome a debate on the health issue. I agree there are difficulties that need to be resolved but there are many positive things happening. For example, in 2014 there were more than 3.2 million outpatient appointments where day care procedures were carried out or involving outpatient attendances with medical personnel. The free GP care scheme for those under the age of six has been introduced. The next step is the introduction of free GP care for under 12s, to be followed by the third category which is the under 18s.

The message we are getting is that the entire health system is falling apart but that is not the case. There are many people working in it who are providing a very good service to a large number of people but we need to work out the difficulties. One is the need to start doing long-term planning. I attended a meeting last week at which we discussed a hospital built in 1780. No long-term planning has been done in respect of our hospitals. The maternity units of three hospitals in Dublin have to be replaced. While the children's hospital is progressing, hospitals around the country need to be replaced also and there is a need to set out a five, ten, 15, 20 year programme. There is also the question of how we employ people who can provide the services required.

I attended the Irish Kidney Association dinner on Saturday night. No progress has been made in the past 15 years in terms of the number of kidney transplants and, given that the number is way below what it should be, the issue needs to be addressed. There are more than 1,900 people on dialysis which is a huge cost. The only way to reduce that cost is through increasing the number of transplants and every effort should be made to ensure the expertise is available to carry out such transplants. Where there are living donors a great deal more works needs to be done in that area.