Green Party welcomes Sláinte Care report

The Green Party today welcomed the release of the report of the Committee on the Future of Healthcare, saying that the development of a Universal Health Care system in Ireland is to be supported.

Speaking today, Green Party Spokesperson for Health, Dr Séamus McMenamin highlighted the report’s plan to ring fence funding for mental health as a significant positive: “We have a situation at present where funding for mental health is ‘ringfenced’ but is often not spent or spent on other services. Where service delivery is so critical we believe that the HSE, even in a reformed state will not be able to manage the transformation contained within the report and should be replaced.

“We note the challenges involved in such a fundamental change to Irish Healthcare and are willing to work with all parties to help implement the necessary changes.

“Such a large transition will require careful management to ensure that costs are managed and contained. The Fine Gael 2011 Health Policy also contained detailed plans and timelines for implementation which never occurred. All parties have a responsibility to ensure that this report is implemented, and doesn’t end up gathering dust on a shelf.

“The shortage of GPs is likely to provide a difficulty with expanding the role of primary care within the system. The report highlights this problem but doesn’t offer any solutions to it.”