Paul Gavan (Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I am not going to repeat what has already been said but I will make a couple of additional points. I welcome the very constructive contributions from Senators on all sides. This debate is a demonstration of this House working at its best, where rather than scoring points, my party is trying to come up with constructive proposals. I acknowledge that the Minister has recognised that by not opposing our proposals today.

I want to talk about Limerick, with which I am very familiar. There are 37,000 people on the waiting lists there at present. There are major issues in terms of the chaos in Limerick and the impact that has on both recruitment and retention of staff. A colleague of mine in the trade union movement described a situation of nurses in absolute turmoil and tears because they had lost a patient who was pushed onto a corridor and who, for that reason, did not get the help needed. It is those kinds of situations that lead nurses to make the decision not to stay here and to go to Australia or to Britain. To be fair, we are only going to be able to address the recruitment and retention of staff in the health service if we acknowledge the chaos that currently exists and the need to address that chaos immediately. We must also recognise that terms and conditions for key staff, namely, support staff and nurses, must be improved. In that respect, we must have an honest conversation about the fact that if we choose to cut capital acquisitions tax, inheritance tax or the universal social charge, USC, we will not have the funding for the additional 96 beds that are needed in Limerick right now. These are political choices and all of us have to do better than that. We have to recognise that if we are going to fix the problems in our health service then, as Senator Colm Burke rightly pointed out, additional capital investment is essential. We do not have enough resources to be able to give tax cuts and improve services and we have to make a fundamental choice in that respect.

There is a need for better regulation of nursing homes. I have seen some dreadful conditions in private nursing homes and with private home-help operators. I reiterate what my colleague, Senator Ó Clochartaigh, said. Given the constructive nature of the debate today, I cannot see the point of Fianna Fáil Members trying to wipe out our motion today. I appeal to them to be constructive here and let us see the best of our Chamber by acknowledging the worth of our motion.