Colm Burke (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I wish to be associated with the messages of sympathy to Cormac Ó Braonáin's family and the Labour Party. It is a huge loss at such a young age.

I wish to raise the report just published by the National Office of Clinical Audit. While there are a lot of negative comments on the health service in this country, it is interesting that the report shows that the number of people dying from heart attacks, stroke and pneumonia in Irish hospitals has reduced drastically over the past ten years. There has been a 35% reduction in heart attacks, in respect of which the number of people admitted has fallen from 74 to 48. Stroke is down by 38%. Pneumonia is down by 28%, which is a huge achievement by the healthcare sector and all those who work in it. A lot of the commentary we see is very much on the negative side, as if there is a total disaster in healthcare, whereas this report is clear evidence that the 135,000 people who work in the HSE, whether backroom or front-line staff, are doing their best to provide the best-quality healthcare that can be provided. This is clear evidence of major improvements in these areas.

While I am dealing with this issue, it is also important to acknowledge that while all of us will be off over the Christmas period, all the nurses, doctors and care assistants will provide the same level of care throughout our hospital and healthcare sector over those few days. It is important we acknowledge their work and the contribution they make on a day-to-day basis.The ambulance service will also be fully operational in the Christmas period. It is important we send our heartiest congratulations to it on the work it does and wish the people there well over the Christmas period. Mr. Paul Cullen of The Irish Timeswrote today's report and it is important we mention good news as well as all the distorted and negative stories that we see printed about the health service.