Colm Burke (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

If one goes back five or six years, one will find that clear targets for the creation of jobs were set out by the Government. People were very sceptical that those targets could be achieved. It is interesting that the CSO publication in recent days gave the figures for the third quarter of 2017, which show that there are now 2.2 million people at work. That is an increase of 48,000 year on year. It is a huge achievement for this country and for the people who are to the fore in creating jobs, whether from companies abroad or companies based in Ireland, but also for the various State agencies that have assisted in the creation of those jobs and that have put forward a very positive image of Ireland to the international community. We should be congratulating everyone involved, namely, Enterprise Ireland, IDA Ireland and every other State agency that played a part in this. We should also be congratulating the people who have worked to provide those additional jobs. Long may what is happening continue. We have an extra 48,000 jobs compared to this time last year.

The second issue I wish to raise is that of a report published by the Ombudsman in recent days in respect of the treatment abroad scheme. That scheme is a little different from the cross-border health scheme. I was involved in bringing forward the cross-border health scheme at European level. The treatment abroad scheme covers instances where a treatment is not available in this country and medical practitioners have recommended that a person receive treatment abroad. The Ombudsman found that the way decisions taken by those administering the treatment abroad scheme have been managed has not been in the best interest of the people who are looking for that treatment. There have been a number of cases where I have had to threaten judicial review in respect of decisions. I make no apologies for having to do that. It is important. There are 17 or 18 recommendations in the Ombudsman's report. He has set a deadline of the end of February for them to be implemented. It is very important that they are implemented, that the report is given serious consideration and that the issues raised in it are dealt with. If someone is looking for medical treatment abroad, it is obvious that he or she has quite a serious issue and is not able to get treatment here.

I ask the Leader to convey to the Department of Health and the HSE our view that it is important that the recommendations of the report are implemented and that it does not become another report which just sits on a shelf. This is about people's health, their care and their treatment.