James Reilly (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

Cuirim fáilte roimh an Aire Stáit agus an Bille tábhachtach seo. I welcome the Bill because it is a very good step in the right direction. As others have done, I acknowledge the tremendous work done by carers in this country. They provide care out of regard and love in many instances for those for whom they care. Others do so through a commitment of wanting to help others. It is important that through the Bill we have another small acknowledgement of the great work they do. As has been pointed out by Senator Colm Burke, many give up their most productive years and find themselves trying to re-enter the job market in their late 50s and 60s, which is a daunting task, yet they do so willingly and knowingly.

There are many other carers who will not be included in the Bill, and I hope that will be the next step in expanding free GP care without means testing because they also need help. As others have pointed out, it is not so much a case of the money and the relief, it is also the acknowledgement of what they do.

I hope the resources will be put in place for GPs to provide this care because, as others have pointed out, we know there is an issue with a lot of GPs retiring and others closing their lists out of fear of not being able to provide a safe service because of the numbers they are increasingly being asked to cater for. We need to attract back some of our younger doctors who have left this country.

With regard to the contention of Senator Devine that universal healthcare was to privatise our health service, it certainly was not. It was a realisation and recognition of where we are now and how the two systems are intermingled. It was to allow those who cannot afford insurance to be supported by the Government to have insurance and have it paid for by the Government in many instances.I worked in the system for all of my adult life. I know that hospitals see private patients as a resource and look upon public patients as a cost. I will be criticised for saying what is true but it is the reality. If a hospital is given a fixed budget, once that budget runs out, how is it supposed to look after people? If we had a money-follows-the-patient system, which I was promoting and which had started, every patient who comes through the door would mean more income for the hospital, more support for staff and more resources to deal with the situation. That is what we need. We cannot continue with budgets that can be blindly broken without any regard for how many patients have been seen or treated and without any regard for whether those patients are the longest waiters or not.

I want to come back to what is a very good news story, a very good day for carers and a day I hope will lead to more free GP care for all people on this island. The next group we should be looking at in the budget is the other carers who are means tested. The other groups, the over 70s, under sixes, those with cancer diagnoses and those with disabilities, are not means tested and that is right. This group is entitled to the same consideration.

I thank the Minister of State.