Rabbitte in tax windfall for health service call

The Labour leader, Mr Pat Rabbitte, urged the Government to spend extra Exchequer revenue on the health services.

He said the Taoiseach, Mr Ahern, should ask the Minister for Finance, Mr McCreevy, "to dip into the crock of gold the Revenue Commissioners found yesterday to fund the aide-memoire the Minister for Health and Children brought to the Cabinet in which he pointed out that €460 million worth of facilities were lying idle".

Mr Rabbitte said the Revenue Commissioners had discovered €500 million from the latest offshore investigation, bringing the total from investigations to €1.52 billion. "Major facilities are lying idle, including complete new wings in Mullingar Hospital and James Connolly Memorial Hospital, a maternity facility in Letterkenny, new wings in Clonmel and Naas hospitals and radiotherapy units in Galway and Waterford."

Mr Ahern said that the aide-memoire, presented by the Minister for Health, Mr Martin, had pointed out that he had spent €1.7 billion on health infrastructure in the past few years.

"Given that he has spent €1.7 billion, there is a number of units throughout the country which he now wishes to open."

Mr Finian McGrath (Ind, Dublin North Central) remarked: "There are people with disabilities on waiting lists."

Mr Ahern said that having built those new units, the most modern facilities the State ever had, the Minister now had €2.7 billion to spend on health infrastructure in the next round from this year to 2007. "The Minister will have spent a total of 4.4 billion euros in his period in office. I note Deputy Rabbitte mentioned some of the units the Minister and his Government have built. I am sure he will be equally supportive when all these units are opened and commissioned."

Mr Rabbitte insisted that the Taoiseach had learnt nothing. "There is no point talking in statistics and in billions of euro when the Taoiseach can get first-hand experience.

"All he needs to do is talk to all his retired councillors who phoned Joe Duffy to make public confession yesterday. He should ask them about the billions of euro spent."

Mr Rabbitte said the reality was that people could not get access to a hospital bed when they needed one.

"Accident and emergency departments are grossly overcrowded.

"For example, there is a splendid new accident and emergency facility in the new wings of the James Connolly Memorial Hospital which has been lying idle for more than a year and cannot be commissioned.

"Staff there are expected to work in impossible circumstances, yet the Taoiseach cites the figures spent by this Government during the boom years. The fact is that the health services are not working." Mr Ahern said the Minister had a large capital programme. "Those units built will be opened and commissioned."