Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions
Dail Éireann — 2026-06-11
============================================================

Peter Burke (FG), Longford-Westmeath

I thank Deputy Murphy for his question. I am a firm believer in Sláintecare. It is one time when the Oireachtas came together and charted how health policy evolves irrespective of the change of Governments that we have within the country.
First of all, the Deputy is quoting from a leaked report, which I have not seen and have no knowledge of. The Minister for Health, Deputy Carroll MacNeill, commissioned a report - ordered the HSE to do so - into Children's Health Ireland because of significant concerns that she had. I would acknowledge the exceptional work the Minister has carried out over the past two weeks to protect the integrity of the State and to ensure patients get equality of care right across our economy. The great work that has been carried out with the public-only consultant contract should be pointed out. As of the end of May 2026, 3,416 consultants have signed up to the public-only consultant contract. Out of 2,196 consultants, that represents almost 70% of all consultants working in Ireland. As a result of that, we have to ensure that work is public only. The Minister is committed to doing that, in line with the terms as set out by Sláintecare which is very important. One of the critical things we can do with the public-only consultant contract is that, clinically, we can manage consultant availability with public demand. That will be very important as we see the challenges our health service faces in the years ahead.
It should be pointed out also that huge advances have taken place in a lot of hospitals across the country because of these changes. For example, in the Mater hospital, an additional 180 CT scans monthly and 84 MRI scans have taken place because of the public-only consultant contract. We see in other hospitals that many of the theatres are now operating at weekends. We get additional days out of consultants and, critically, the key decision-makers are in the room when patients have to be triaged and clinical decisions have to be made. Those senior consultants who are employed by the State on a public-only contract are available to make those decisions in support of patients, which is critical.
Sláintecare has had its challenges but the Government is very committed to deliver it. It has never been so committed as under the Minister, Deputy Carroll MacNeill. The Minister has demonstrated that with the increase in budget the Health Service Executive has received over the past number of years, which now is at record levels, with the support we have in preventative medicine, which is key, and with the support for our children.
No one wants to stand over any child in this State having to wait for urgent healthcare. That is not acceptable in any society and I say that as a father, understanding the needs and the genuine concerns families have right across our society.

---

Source: Houses of the Oireachtas. Licensed under CC BY 4.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). The Official Report is revised after first publication; the fetch timestamp below identifies the version quoted.

Record URI: https://data.oireachtas.ie/akn/ie/debateRecord/dail/2026-06-11/debate/main
Retrieved: 2026-09-14T01:01:05+00:00
Sitting date: 2026-06-11