We are applying the time specified in yesterday's Standing Order amendments. As such, the clock will be running.
Ceisteanna - Questions
I will abide by the Ceann Comhairle's ruling.
Deputy Micheál Martin is not here so it is okay.
He would not be alone.
Departmental Offices
Brendan Howlin
Ceist:1. Deputy Brendan Howlin asked the Taoiseach the number of staff assigned to the parliamentary liaison unit in his Department; and the functions it has. [40019/16]
The parliamentary liaison group based in my Department facilitates the enhanced relationship between the Government and the Oireachtas. It is staffed by a principal officer, a higher executive officer and a clerical officer. The principal role of the unit is to assist in the management of the legislative programme, which is done in conjunction with the Whip's office. The unit also provides support to Ministers and their Departments on Oireachtas matters with a particular emphasis on assisting Departments with Private Members' business. The parliamentary liaison unit liaises on a regular basis with advisers, including the chief strategist for the Independent Alliance and the political co-ordinator for the Independent Ministers in government and Departments with a view to ensuring that they are aware of Oireachtas issues and to assist them with engaging with the new processes arising from Dáil reform.
I thank the Taoiseach for the reply. According to the Government's website, the parliamentary liaison unit facilitates the enhanced relationship between Government and the Oireachtas. I understand the Government's Chief Whip has also been provided with a second special adviser from October last to deal with parliamentary liaison. Even having listened to the Taoiseach, I am not clear on the exact role and function of these units and individuals. Who do they liaise with exactly? Is it everybody or is it designated people? Is it people who support the Government on the Opposition benches or who potentially support it? Are they providing supports to Deputy Kevin Boxer Moran or Deputy Michael Lowry? Can the Taoiseach tell the House specifically who they liaise with and for what purpose? If the objective is to facilitate a better relationship between the Government and the Oireachtas, is it liaising with everybody in the Oireachtas or just with designated people who might be supportive of the Government?
The principal role is to assist in the management of the legislative programme, which is done in conjunction with the Whip's office. It provides support to Ministers and their Departments on Oireachtas matters, with a particular emphasis on assisting Departments with Private Members' business, which now sometimes consists of four items per week.
With all parties?
From all parties, yes. Sometimes there are three, if not four, Private Members' Bills coming through.
Yes, but we all produce them.
That is what it does. The parliamentary liaison unit is involved with the chief strategist for the Independent Alliance group, in respect of which Deputy Howlin mentioned Deputy Moran, as well as the political co-ordinator for the Independent Ministers who serve in government. It is not that easy.
The Taoiseach indicated that one of its functions is to facilitate the passage and shaping of Private Members' Bills, of which there are up to four per week.
We have had no contact and have produced several such Bills. I do not know whether other parties in opposition have had the facility of a co-ordinator from the parliamentary liaison unit or whether only designated individuals can avail of the service. How does one get on the list to be assisted by the parliamentary liaison unit?
The unit provides support to Ministers and their Departments on Oireachtas matters.
I could not hear the Taoiseach.
I think I have an opportunity to make an interjection.
The Taoiseach was answering my question.
I know, but maybe he will wait until I have asked my question. I am seeking clarification on behalf of my party leader on what arrangement is in place. As my colleague said, who is facilitated by this office? Is it facilitating all Members of the House? When we draft Private Members' Bills, we do so with the help of our research office and not any office within the Department of the Taoiseach.
Was the office put in place to deal with Deputies such as Deputy Lowry? The Taoiseach said Deputy Lowry has no role in supporting the Government, yet when in his constituency he said there is a clear understanding that he can get preference in terms of accessing Ministers and Ministers of State. The man is entitled to so do; he was duly elected by the people of Tipperary. Who is telling the truth? Is the Taoiseach telling the truth when he says there is no deal with Deputy Lowry? Is Deputy Lowry telling the truth when he says he has a deal with the Government?
Is the Taoiseach satisfied that all deals with Independent Deputies have been published? For example, have the details of the deal on the cath lab in University Hospital Waterford with the Minister of State, Deputy Halligan, been published? Our understanding on this side of the House, when we facilitated the supply and confidence arrangement, was that any deal done with an Independent Deputy to ensure his or her support for the Government would be published.
It does not deal with the Members the Deputy mentioned. As I said, its principal role is to assist in the management of the legislative programme which was published yesterday and which is quite complex. That is done in conjunction with the Whip's office. There are two different sections. The unit provides support to Ministers and their Departments on Oireachtas matters, in particular in regard to some of the matters that arise in Private Members' business. There is a Bills office for drafting Private Members' Bills for backbench Deputies and others.
The parliamentary liaison unit also liaises on a regular basis with advisers, including the chief strategist for the Independent Alliance and the political co-ordinator for Independent Ministers who serve in government. It does not deal with Deputies outside of that.
It sounds like a wonderful facility. I ask the Taoiseach, on behalf of Opposition parties, to circulate a list of the names of those in the unit, their titles, their phone numbers and e-mail addresses. We can all think of occasions when we could use the kind of services that have been described. I presume those in the unit have names, offices, e-mail addresses and contact details. Very few Deputies have such facilities available to them, from what I know. Would the Taoiseach give an undertaking to publish the names and contact details of those in the unit so that if the services are available Deputies can avail of them?
It would be terrible to think that people in the Department of the Taoiseach are sitting on their hands with nothing to do other than have an odd chat with an adviser. That is hardly the efficient and productive work of the kind we know Taoiseach is dedicated to.
Is this an internal Government facility?
Deputies can ask a question, and then get the answer.
I want to cut to the chase. Is this a facility afforded to Government Deputies for the smooth passage and organisation of Government business?
It is very important for the writing of-----
On a point of clarification, I received an e-mail offering me the facility. I think it was offered to all Deputies.
I do not recall receiving any such invitation. The parliamentary liaison unit is available to all of us. That information is very helpful. Maybe the Taoiseach can confirm that the parliamentary liaison unit, whose function is, according to the Government's website, to enhance the relationship between the Government and the Oireachtas, is available on an equal basis to each Members of the Oireachtas regardless of whether he or she is in government, opposition or some halfway house.
No, that is not what applies.
The Taoiseach has three minutes to respond.
I said the parliamentary liaison unit works closely with Government Departments on their input into Private Members' business in the Dáil and Seanad. The unit also liaises on a regular basis with advisers and Departments on Oireachtas matters to ensure they are aware of, and to assist them in engaging with, the new and improved ways in which we are doing business in the Dáil.
The Deputy asked whether the unit was available to everybody in the Oireachtas. As I said in my reply, the unit was established with the view that it would assist in facilitating a more effective central co-ordination in dealing with Oireachtas business. Officials are happy to engage with anyone in that regard. I will furnish Deputies with the detail.
I asked a question and I am somewhat at a disadvantage as I have never served in government. What were advisers doing in previous Governments? Were they not engaging with one another? We have had coalition Governments for a long time and there are different policy perspectives when different parties join together. What were advisers doing in the previous Government that meant they needed a new dedicated office to deal with partnership Government? Is the relationship so fractured that another layer of people is needed to facilitate interaction and engagement and ensure information is disseminated from one Department to another?
I note certain Deputies had no problem getting information out very speedily before any such unit was established. I wonder about the need for the unit. Ministers and Ministers of State have always had auxiliary staff to deal with various Departments and the Oireachtas.
I am still not crystal clear on exactly what function the unit has, but perhaps the Taoiseach could circulate a note including the names and contact details of those involved with unit, something Deputy Burton has requested.
The Taoiseach will recall that in a past Administration, the late Jackie Healy-Rae, who supported the Government, had parliamentary support. I passed him on the corridor every Thursday while he waited for a portion of the list to be delivered and to have dialogue. Does that facility still exist? Is a support person from the Government, be it a civil servant or non-civil servant, dealing with those Independent Deputies who support the Government on the same basis as the individual to whom I referred was supported and helped in a previous Administration?
We have now established that it is not purely a facility for Government. Rather, it is a liaison facility for the Oireachtas as a whole. I ask the Taoiseach to assist me with this assertion. Can the Taoiseach tell us the extent of the liaison with the Oireachtas? It is, notwithstanding the recollection of Deputy Breathnach of receiving an e-mail, news to lots of us that such a facility exists. I assume that although it is not intended to be purely a Government support that is, in effect, what it is. Am I wrong? Has there been liaison beyond the Government benches?
The way the Taoiseach is describing it, it sounds awfully like these are like relationship counsellors who are there to soothe fevered brows in the heat of parliamentary discussions.
Given that we have all these people wandering around talking to advisers and chatting to lots of people, but not to any of us, although we would seem to be the object of their mission, I suppose I could ask the Ceann Comhairle, as the embodiment of the representation of the Oireachtas-----
And relationship counsellor.
-----whether they have shared some of this relationship stuff with him, and perhaps he could make arrangements to pass it on to the rest of us.
Perhaps Deputy Burton should have had them in the last Government.
We lasted five years.
I have no relations that I need to tell Deputy Burton about.
Deputy Burton had a few herself when she was Tánaiste and an important Minister in the previous Government.
A few relationships - I had many.
In response to Deputy Howlin, I recall the late Deputy Jackie Healy-Rae used to say that only a portion of the paper would stick out from the folder but that it was worth millions. The difference now is that the agreements we have are all public knowledge and published, both in terms of the programme for Government in respect of the issues with the Independent Alliance and the supply and confidence agreement with the Fianna Fáil Party.
How come they know nothing about them?
As I stated, the parliamentary liaison group works to improve the relationship between the Government - Deputy Howlin was an esteemed member of Government himself - and the Oireachtas. In this regard, its work is complementary to that of the office of the Chief Whip in terms of the legislative programme and the issues that arise in both the Dáil and the Seanad. I will circulate a note to Deputy Howlin.
I thank the Taoiseach. We need to move on.
Very briefly, in the 25 seconds remaining-----
The Deputy will not get an answer.
If everything is publicised, will the Taoiseach tell us on the floor of the Dáil today if he has an arrangement with Deputy Lowry? Will he answer "Yes" or "No"?
No.
So he is telling a lie.
I do not call people by that.
Has the parliamentary relations officer a relationship with him?
Brexit Issues
Micheál Martin
Ceist:2. Deputy Micheál Martin asked the Taoiseach if he has had any meetings to discuss issues concerning Brexit with officials in his Department recently. [40120/16]
Gerry Adams
Ceist:3. Deputy Gerry Adams asked the Taoiseach if he has held any meetings with officials in the international, European Union and Northern division of his Department relating to Brexit since 1 December 2016. [1714/17]
I propose to take Questions Nos. 2 and 3 together.
I meet regularly with officials in my Department to discuss all areas of policy, including Brexit, which fall under the remit of my Department.
The amalgamated international, EU and Northern Ireland division of my Department was set up to ensure that Brexit is treated as a crucial cross-cutting issue. The work of the division includes supporting the Cabinet Committee on Brexit and the Cabinet Committee on European Affairs.
There is ongoing interaction daily between the Department of the Taoiseach and the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade. The relevant teams in both Departments are in constant contact to ensure that a comprehensive whole-of-Government approach to a wide range of issues, including Brexit, is provided.
In addition to the regular engagement between the Department of the Taoiseach and the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade, there is ongoing interaction across all Departments on the range of EU issues, including through regular meetings of the senior officials group on the EU and the interdepartmental group on Brexit.
This is the first question that my party leader tabled before Christmas. As a party, we had and continue to have genuine concerns that not enough is being done to meet the challenges this country faces following Brexit and yesterday's speech has given rise to extreme concern for Irish business. The evidence is that the UK Government has decided that there will be a customs border on this island and that Single Market rights will not apply to North-South or east-west trade. It is saying that it is not seeking a special status for Northern Ireland. If it is not sought, it will not be granted.
The Taoiseach does not need me to tell him how reliant so many of our companies are on trade with the UK. Since the vote, they have faced challenges in terms of currency fluctuations in the value of the English pound and the euro. This has had a detrimental effect on many industries, including the mushroom industry and other food industries where the margins are very low. What will this Government do to support such industries? If tariffs are placed on trade between the UK and Ireland, there is a real risk that good quality jobs, particularly jobs outside of large urban areas, could be lost.
The question tabled by my party leader, an Teachta Adams, was specifically about meetings relating to Brexit since 1 December. The Taoiseach might clarify the position in terms of that timeline.
I raised these issues with the Taoiseach earlier and the lack of coherence in the Government's approach to the issue is alarming. I know the Taoiseach could stand up again and list all the different issues that are a worry, but that is not good enough at this stage. Deputy Troy rightly cited deep concerns about vulnerable jobs throughout the country. He mentioned the mushroom industry. I remember as far back as August when I was in Tipperary town working on a different issue. As it happened, 60 or 70 jobs were lost in Tipperary - deep in the south - and those losses were attributed to sterling fluctuations, Brexit, uncertainty and so forth. For the people of Tipperary, all of a sudden the reality of Brexit was no longer a matter of concern for those up in the North. It was very much on their own doorsteps. I use that as a single illustration.
We all have a responsibility to ensure that we come to a coherent position on these matters. It is in all of our interests. There is no sense that the Taoiseach's Administration is anywhere close to that. It sounds to me as though the Taoiseach is taking the position that it is everyone's responsibility, and therefore no one's responsibility, to have a plan - not a list of aspirations - for all of Ireland. The Taoiseach is well off the pace in that regard.
These two questions relate to meetings the Taoiseach has had. I will keep my other question relating to the outcome of the European Council meeting until later.
Yesterday I was trying to get a handle on the structure within the Department of the Taoiseach and the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade in terms of the preparation for these meetings, including the Taoiseach's preparation for the meetings. Who is the lead official dealing with Brexit? Is it the second Secretary General in the Taoiseach's Department or the second Secretary General in the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade? What structure is in place for the European affairs and Northern Ireland divisions within the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade to input into the unit that the Taoiseach has expanded within his Department, as European affairs moved over to the Department of the Taoiseach in the last Administration?
There are now three units. There is a European affairs unit in the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade and there is another one in the Department of the Taoiseach and there is a Northern Ireland element in both the Department of the Taoiseach and in the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade. What is the line of management? How is this co-ordinated? All of us are profoundly worried after the very hard line position enunciated by Prime Minister May yesterday.
I raised this issue with the Taoiseach on numerous occasions, both as Tánaiste working with him in government and subsequent to the general election. I see no compelling evidence that this Government is ready to face the difficulties and rigours that the Brexit negotiations will bring. I advised the Taoiseach months ago to give consideration to the giving of responsibility to a senior Cabinet Minister who would be the line leader because, as Taoiseach of the country, inevitably he is not able to do everything himself.
Perhaps the Taoiseach will enlighten us because there are interdepartmental rivalries. His Department has grown bigger, yet we have expert diplomats in the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade who will have to do an awful lot of the groundwork. However, where are the skilled negotiators of trade deals and the skilled lawyers? We have outstanding people who have served at a very high level at different times and in different functions in the European Union, yet we get the sense that the Taoiseach is top-down on his own expanding Department and that there is a rather more minor role given to the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade.
As a country, we are not putting our best foot forward in protecting our interests as well as those of the North and the whole island. The Taoiseach owes us a convincing explanation.
It is one thing to be able to whisper in Angela Merkel's ear but trade negotiations are tough stuff in which experts need to be involved.
The reason I set up a specific Cabinet committee, which I chair, is that the European Council decided that the political oversight of the negotiations conducted on behalf of the European Union by Michel Barnier will rest with the European Council, that is, the leaders - prime ministers and so on - of the governments of the 27 other member states. Every Minister feeds into the Cabinet committee and, as needs be, Ministers are asked to respond in respect of the challenges Brexit presents to their Department, line Department or whatever. We have people in the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade who have skill in diplomacy and other areas and, as I mentioned yesterday, we have a range of skills available to the Government to deal with the issues that arise.
Deputy Burton spoke about the difficulties and rigours. Negotiations have not even started yet. Since last October, people have been calling on the British Government to give clarity. What we needed was an understanding of what the proposition will be for the future relationship of the United Kingdom with the European Union. We have a declaration from the British Prime Minister as to what that means. We now have to consider that once Article 50 is triggered.
Article 50 is a simple article which states that once a letter is received by the European Commission indicating an intent to leave the European Union, there are two years to carry out negotiations. If, at the end of the two years, negotiations have not been completed, the country in question will no longer be a member of the EU.
That will be tested in court.
Extending this period would require unanimous approval by the European Council. In theory, given that this has never happened previously, the formal negotiations as to the kind of framework that would apply should only begin then because the article states that the future framework must be taken into account before the country leaves the EU. How can it be taken into account if one has not defined what it actually means? These will be highly complex considerations and there will be rigours and complications.
In respect of Deputy Mary Lou McDonald's point, we have had the first meeting of the all-island forum and 12 sectoral groups are now meeting. The second meeting of the all-island forum will take place on 17 February. The issues we have raised and which have been agreed at the North-South Ministerial Council and other locations were referred to specifically by the British Prime Minister yesterday. Clearly, there are matters of serious import but I assure the House that we have been preparing for this for some time without knowing the details of what decisions would be made.
Will the Taoiseach outline the structure involved in that?
Ireland is better prepared for this than most other countries. It may not be of interest to some other countries that there is an election under way in Northern Ireland. I heard the Prime Minister state yesterday that all the devolved administrations would be represented on the British negotiation team. I have outlined our priorities on many occasions.
While I am not responsible for the issue of sterling, it has clearly caused a problem for Bord Bia - we heard figures of between €300 million and €500 million - and the mushroom industry. The Government has responded to that immediate problem by making available low interest, long-term credit. We need to look at new markets for Ireland in the eurozone and beyond. I met last week with officials from the Department of Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation who outlined a whole programme of events and opportunities for Ministers, agencies and businesses to promote their business in new markets. These will, I hope, consolidate these companies and employment.
I have offered to give regular briefings to the parties about Brexit issues as they arise.
If we had a Department with responsibility for Brexit, we would know who was responsible for what.
The second Secretary General of the Department of the Taoiseach is the person in charge of the Brexit negotiations. Senior officials are called together on a regular basis and there is liaison with Belfast, London and Brussels. They are all subject to his call.
Will the Taoiseach have an organigram done and circulated to us?
Given the time, we will proceed to Question No. 4.
Cabinet Committee Meetings
Gerry Adams
Ceist:4. Deputy Gerry Adams asked the Taoiseach if a meeting of the Cabinet committee on health took place on 12 December 2016. [40126/16]
The Cabinet committee on health did not meet on 12 December 2016. However, it did meet on 13 December 2016 and 11 January 2017.
I thank the Taoiseach for clarifying that the committee met on 13 February rather than 12 February. Having established that meetings took place, I will ask the Taoiseach about the content of those meetings. As we all know, despite the Government's trumpeting about increased funding to reduce waiting lists, including the resurrection of the National Treatment Purchase Fund, the numbers of people waiting in emergency departments and on waiting lists for treatment in the hospitals have increased. According to the Irish Nurses and Midwives Organisation, the trolley numbers last November were the worst since records began. Over Christmas and the new year, the position got even worse, with the numbers of people on trolleys exceeding 600 at times. Every day was a crisis in this regard.
The Minister for Health, Deputy Simon Harris, announced the winter initiative last September. When we raised concerns at that time the Minister claimed the Health Service Executive was sufficiently resourced to deliver on its service plan. All the evidence flatly contradicts that assertion. Does the Taoiseach accept that, in the absence of meaningful engagement with trade unions and, crucially, front-line staff and medical professionals before ministerial announcements and governmental fanfare, the Government is destined to deal with crisis after crisis on an ongoing basis?
In addressing the general issues, I also ask the Taoiseach to comment specifically on mental health. The absence of 24-7 crisis intervention services is causing an ongoing crisis and costing lives across the country.
As we are discussing a Cabinet committee, I do not expect the Taoiseach to give explicit detail of what was discussed at its meetings. He will recall that I attended many Cabinet committee meetings on health in the past five years.
I was struck by the intervention of Deputy Seán Barrett this morning. All of us, particularly those in opposition, can focus on the failings of the health service. What we need, however, is some form of accountability. If we are expending the bones of €20 billion on health services, why do we not have a better health service?
What happened in recent weeks was highly predictable because it happens every year and preparations had been made. A winter initiative was announced in September and a waiting list initiative was funded and prepared. In addition, the expansion of the fair deal scheme was supposed to meet the full demand for fair deal places and ensure nobody spent time in hospital if he or she should not be in hospital. Additional home care packages were also announced in advance of the Christmas recess. Despite this, the pressure on accident and emergency departments has been unprecedented this year. How has this occurred? Is anybody responsible or accountable? That was the fundamental question asked by Deputy Barrett this morning.
Having also attended the meeting of the Committee on Budgetary Oversight yesterday, I was disappointed at the amount of information made available to the committee, contrary to what was promised.
In regard to health, the amount provided in respect of the overspend on health is €782 million, which, as pointed out earlier by Deputy Seán Barrett, is an astonishing amount. Less than a couple of weeks after we received that information, the chief executive of the HSE told us that if we were going to have a functioning health service a further €9 billion would be required over a number of years.
Like the Taoiseach I have attended many Cabinet sub-committees. There are five Ministers attached to the Department of Health and numerous public servants in that Department and in the HSE. I have attended meetings of the Cabinet sub-committee on health at which there were so many people trying to gain access one could have sold tickets for them. As I said, the chief executive of the HSE has stated that on top of the current €782 million spend on health services an additional €9 billion is needed. In the context of the Budgetary Oversight Committee, is it possible for Members to be given more details on the health spend such that we can find out what is happening to people's hard earn taxes, USC contributions and so on? They are paying to fund provision of a proper health service that does not allow elderly, sick people to remain on hospital trolleys indefinitely, which is something we all want.
In regard to Deputy Burton's statement that the demand to attend the health sub-committee a number of years ago was so high they could have sold tickets for it, the Labour Party was in a position to do something about that but it did nothing.
Like what? Fianna Fáil destroyed the country and left it broke.
The Labour Party did nothing.
In recent years, the Cabinet sub-committee on health has played a damaging role in the health service. It has been confirmed many times that it is a forum through which members of Government have interfered with the HSE's annual plans in order to cover up pressures. What they have done is over-promise and under-deliver, evidence of which we saw in December last. On many occasions my colleague, Deputy Kelleher, Fianna Fáil Party spokesperson on health, raised the issue of overcrowding and the trolley crisis in our hospitals and the Government's plan to deal with those issues during the winter. On each occasion Deputy Kelleher raised that issue the response of the Minister for Health was that there was no cause for worry as the Government had extra money available to it and the winter initiative would solve all problems. What happened last December? We had the highest ever number of people trolleys on record.
I agree with the comments made earlier by Deputy Seán Barrett, who is a member of Government side of the House, that putting more money into a service with no accountability is not the answer. The reason there is no accountability is that at the top of the equation there is political interference in the HSE plan to keep people on board.
The Deputies were demanding political interference every second day.
Deputy McDonald is wrong when she says that the waiting lists are worse than ever. This morning, according to the HSE TrolleyGAR system there were 388 on trolleys which, although it represents a reduction of 10% on the figure for the same day last year, is still too high. Trolley numbers remain a significant concern. There are hospital pressures today in Kilkenny, Drogheda, Portlaoise, Mullingar and the special delivery unit of the HSE is monitoring these sites and providing the support to the system that is needed.
Everybody is aware that more money than ever is being pumped into the health system. We should not decry the good and progressive work that is being carried on in so many hospitals by many medical personnel. People who have been through the system are very complimentary of the treatment they received. I accept there are pressures, some of which are the result of referrals to hospitals when the system is blocked up. I made the point earlier to Deputy Seán Barrett that we are building many primary care units around the country, the objective of which is to ensure that people do not have to go to hospital in the first instance. The Minister, Deputy Harris, has spoken of the urgent need to agree a new contact with general practitioners. I understand that the current contract has been in place for many years.
Deputy McDonald is incorrect in her statement today in respect of the number of patients on trolleys. I admit the numbers in this regard are too high but they have improved. Deputy Howlin asked the important question of whether anybody is being held responsible for this. The Minister has written to all of the line managers in the hospitals in regard to their responsibility, following acceptance of the HSE proposition and more money than ever being pumped into the system, to stay on budget. As the Deputy will be aware, there can be no further supplementary budgets in the course of a year. The winter initiative is an important element and €40 million has been put into it to help reduce delayed discharges, which have reduced from a high of 659 in early 2016 to less than 500. The HSE has exceeded the target in terms of the number of delayed discharges nationally, which stood at 464 on 10 January last and stands at 388 today. The Minister meets on a regular basis with HSE senior personnel on these issues.
As all Members are aware, difficulties arise in the health service at particular times, be it in regard to medical cards, orthopaedic services and so on. Many of our older hospitals need serious injections of capital to bring them up to standard. I hope that this can happen following the evolution of the hospital groups into hospital trusts such that people can make decisions about what we want in a country in which there will be 1 million more people in the next 20 years. Every year, 20,000 people in this country pass the age of 65, which means that in the time ahead more people will require care and attention in the community, home care packages and hospital, respite and palliative care and so on. There is a very heavy programme of work ahead for the next 15 to 20 years. It is for this reason the Minister, Deputy Harris, is adamant that we should have agreement at least among politicians here on a ten-year programme in terms of the big decisions that will have to be made in the future. Despite that billions of pounds pumped into the UK National Health Service, NHS, the headlines in Britain in terms of its health services, are the same as they are here, with very trenchant views being expressed.
The Minister, Deputy Harris, is monitoring the situation and is working closely with the HSE and medical personnel to improve the lot of patients who have to avail of our health services. We should be very proud of our service such that in cases where it is first class it is deemed so. I accept that there are problems in terms of the layout of some of our emergency departments. I also understand that in terms of the new emergency department at Wexford layout is not an issue.
It is a wonderful facility.
The Deputy certainly looked after Wexford.
A number of weeks ago there were no people waiting on trolleys in Beaumont Hospital despite that previously it had one of the highest number of people on trolleys.
We need a new emergency department in Mullingar.
Of course, We have had all of the rows about need in Mullingar, Tullamore, Portlaoise and so on over the last 40 years and they continue. When one has to make major decisions in respect of hospitals one understands the consequences of these things. We need a ten-year programme to identify what we want in various locations around the country, including what type of services should be provided and so on so that people can get the very best attention and treatment in terms of their needs. For now, more money than ever is being pumped into our health service. The Minister has notified line managers of their responsibilities to stay within budget. Hopefully, things will improve as the year goes on.
In regard to the Taoiseach's statement that in terms of the trolley count the situation has improved on what it was before, one would think that he means they have improved on what they were in the dim and distant past.
He means it is better than last week and better than over Christmas. That is the recent past. What I am trying to understand is the extra value the sub-committee brings to bear. It seems we are going around in circles, with the Taoiseach in a state of denial over just how serious circumstances are. Does he make decisions? What influence has he on the Minister for Health and his decisions?
The Government decides on the basis of the moneys available to it to allocate to Departments. This year, 2017, more than ever before has been allocated to the Department of Health and the HSE to provide a range of services across a very broad spectrum for people all over the country. Parallel to that, we are working with some of the Ministers who were mentioned in respect of the mental health area, where money has been provided, and in respect of the prevention of illness, a healthier Ireland and a more conscious Ireland. These are all elements for all our people. More than ever before is being pumped into the health area now.
Did the Taoiseach not hear my question?
Some very beneficial and good systems are being put in place.
That is fantastic but it does not answer my question.
We still have quite a distance to travel.
Does the Taoiseach influence the Minister's decisions?
The Minister, Deputy Harris, is working extraordinarily hard at his job and will continue to do so.
That is not what I asked either.