Fintan Warfield (Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

Sinn Féin welcomes the Bill. The €80 charge was a barrier to people presenting at hospitals. There are many individuals and families who simply do not have the means to pay that charge, particularly during the current cost-of-living crisis. Sinn Féin believes there should be no restrictions or deterrents for people accessing healthcare. As Sinn Féin has long campaigned for the abolition of inpatient charges, to see this happen is very welcome. Sinn Féin fundamentally supports public health that is free at the point of delivery and is delivered on the basis of need. This Bill is an important step in that direction.

However, I would like to draw the Minister's attention to the distress due to the delay in bringing about this Bill. Over the years, many people ran up significant debts to access basic healthcare in public hospitals. The HSE has paid more than €500,000 per year to private debt collection companies to go after people who were not in a position to pay. When my colleague, Deputy Ward, previously raised this issue in the Dáil, the Taoiseach, Deputy Varadkar, who was then Tánaiste, responded by stating that people have a social obligation to pay their bills, taxes, and settle their debts, and have a moral obligation to do the right thing. I have heard the Minister for Justice, Deputy Harris, talk about morals also. That particular statement from Deputy Varadkar was in the midst of a pandemic during which people had their employment curtailed. Now that the Government has belatedly recognised its moral obligation to provide healthcare and access to inpatient care in public hospitals, I ask that it puts an end to this inhumane and degrading practice.

I particularly wish to draw the Minister's attention to the crisis in GP care and the impact this is having on hospital accident and emergency departments. The reality is that 75% of people who present to accident and emergency departments are, for one reason or another, not admitted. In some cases, these people presented to the accident and emergency department because they do not have access to a GP. The expansion of GP numbers is essential to ensure people do not use accident and emergency departments for primary healthcare needs and to allow services in hospitals to flow more freely. In conclusion, adjustments like this Bill, which removes the €80 charge, are welcome. We need the Minister to commit to tackling the issues of overcrowding, long waiting lists, and access to primary care.