Jerry Buttimer (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

Let us look at the model of delivery of our public hospitals. We can see what the private hospitals can do.

Senators Colm Burke and Kelleher spoke about the maternity services in Cork University Hospital. I welcome the appointment of John Higgins to his post. He has done a huge job in his role on reconfiguration. He is an eminent person who will deliver for Cork University Hospital and for the women and babies who require treatment and urgent access to diagnostic services.

Cork is the second city and the capital of the south. The region needs a new hospital. I will not have a debate in the House today on how or where we should build the hospital. However, we need an increase in the number of beds available in Cork. We need a new hospital. In tandem with that we need investment in the Mercy University Hospital and the South Infirmary-Victoria University Hospital, not least because those hospitals provide a service that is incrementally important to the different catchment areas and the specialties that are being catered for in those hospitals. On Monday Senator Colm Burke and I were in Cork University Hospital when the Taoiseach opened the first phase of the paediatric unit. Many people made a gargantuan effort in the fundraising for and delivery of that project.

I welcome the agreement on the broad thrust of this motion. I welcome the Pauline conversion of some to how we should do business in the health system. However, it requires a collegial common approach. It is regrettable that no Member of this House is a member of the Committee on the Future of Healthcare. Just to name the people here, Senators Devine, Kelleher, Colm Burke, Reilly and Swanick could provide valuable insight to that committee. They were deprived of that opportunity and should not have been. This motion will bring commonality. However, what will require further commonality is that we agree that there is no one model that will deliver. We need to put the patient at the centre of what we do and tackle the vested interests because if we succumb to vested interests we will not succeed in reforming our health system.