Paul Murphy: Questions IFAC finding on climate and Sláintecare funding
Paul Murphy asked the Taoiseach to respond to the IFAC report, saying the Government has not budgeted for action on climate change or for implementing Sláintecare. He criticised the Government's reliance on private funding and urged state-driven public investment, including nationalising private hospitals.
IFAC report finding
The IFAC report published that day makes the central point that the Government has not budgeted for action in terms of climate change or in terms of the implementation of Sláintecare, a concern Murphy pressed the Taoiseach to address.
Climate funding and Green New Deal
Murphy criticised the Climate Action Bill as outlining a €125 billion plan whose vast majority would be offloaded onto private individuals. He argued for necessary state-driven public investment - describing an eco-socialist Green New Deal approach to transform the economy, secure a just transition and move rapidly to a zero-carbon economy.
Sláintecare and hospital nationalisation
On health, Murphy said moving to a fully public health care system will require public investment and called for nationalising private hospitals - taking them out of for-profit ownership and into the public system. He insisted the Government at the very least needs to budget for public health care implementation.
Government response and fiscal framing
The Taoiseach replied that the Government has provided an extensive programme in legislation that sets the agenda for the next ten years and noted significant investment in health since it took office. The Taoiseach acknowledged IFAC's concern about expenditure levels but said the Government has so far managed to come in within the announced fiscal framework.
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I would like to ask the Taoiseach to respond to the IFAC report published today, which makes the central point that the Government has not budgeted for action in terms of climate change or in terms of the implementation of Sláinte care. Of course, that is in line with a criticism that we would have made of the Government's approach to the Climate Action Bill, for example, outlining the €125 billion worth. That is the scale of the plan, but the vast majority of that is to be offloaded onto private individuals, as opposed to the necessary state-driven public investment along the lines of an eco-socialist Green New Deal to transform the nature of the economy, to have a just transition to transform people's lives for the better, while rapidly moving to a zero-carbon economy. Similarly, to actually move to a fully public health care system is clearly going to require public investment. We would also make the case that it should involve nationalising and taking the private hospitals out of for-profit ownership and taking them into the public system, but at the very least the Government certainly needs to budget for public health care. The comment about the counterpart, Prime Minister Paterson, for Supreme Court of Health winter,... Thank you. Deputy Deputy Deputy上 плuss Treaty on Murphy in terms of the slowing to care. The IFAC are worried about the expenditure levels and they might have a different perspective then the one that you presented. In terms of the case that they have not recommended nationalisation, to my knowledge, but I do accept that, first Mr President, in terms of climate change,... We have provided a very extensive programme, obviously in legislation and so on, which sets the agenda for the next 10 years and also in terms of slider care. I mean the investment in health since this government came in has been quite very significant. That may be causing obviously concern for IFEC, but I think so far within the fiscal framework we have announced we have managed to come in within that framework.
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