Mick Wallace (Wexford, Independent) | Oireachtas source

Most people agree that there are problems with our health service. Indeed, it would be a surprise if there were none. The Taoiseach came to power with a revolutionary plan for changing the health service. Fine Gael's big idea was for universal health insurance, free general practitioner, GP, care for all, the slashing of hospital waiting lists, the abolition of the HSE and the establishment of hospital trusts. In reality, the health service caters to the interests of those who can afford health care, insurance companies and pharmaceutical companies more than it does to the needs of the general public.

The Government, continuing the work of its predecessor, has implemented a savage programme of resource cuts. Between 2009 and 2015, health spending was cut by 27%. Since 2007, staff numbers have decreased by 10%. At the same time, the population has increased by approximately 8%, the number of people aged over 65 years has increased by 14% and more people than ever have medical cards due to unemployment and lower incomes.

The Government's decisions have worked in direct opposition to the needs of many. Through its implementation of the neoliberal austerity programme, it is pushing inequality to levels not seen in Ireland in our lifetimes. The Think-tank for Action on Social Change, TASC, conducted groundbreaking research last year that showed that Ireland had the highest level of pre-tax income inequality in the OECD, a situation that has led directly to poverty and social inclusion among those whom neoliberalism does not serve.

While the Government's economic policy drove people into becoming more likely to be dependent on the health service, the Government systematically dismantled its capacity to care for them. To cite Dr. Julien Mercille, it is not recessions per sethat "pose the greatest risk to public health, but slashing social safety nets," which can make economic shocks like losing a job or a home turn into a health crisis. The measure of a government is how it treats its poor and those who most need its help, namely, the elderly and minorities. Sadly, one can argue that the Government has taken better care of those who least need its help. This is not the mark of a good government, but it will be this Government's legacy. Inarguably, inequality has increased in the Minister's time in government, which is a damning indictment of the Government's time in office.

I am not stupid. The Minister's job of trying to run the Department of Health is the most difficult in government. Regardless of whether he remains in position over the next five years or someone else becomes Minister, addressing every problem in the health service will be difficult. The HSE is like a monster that is out of control. I wish the Minister well with it, but people want a better health service, and that must happen.

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