Fine Gael leader Enda Kenny questioned the staffing levels in the office of Minister for Health Mary Harney, as he renewed his criticism of Government salary increases. Mr Kenny said that since 2002, the cost of special advisers to Ms Harney had risen from €206,000 to €666,000.
"Will the Taoiseach explain why this is so in the midst of the shambles over which he and the Minister preside? How can he justify the value for money this represents, given what is falling down around us ?"
Mr Kenny said that since the the general election, "we have seen the true value of Fianna Fáil policies, with hospital wards closed, operations cancelled, home help hours cut back, children's dental services cancelled, suicide prevention training cancelled and a ban on recruitment that has directly hit frontline services in the health area."
Taoiseach Bertie Ahern accused Mr Kenny of continuing "in his attempts to attack the health service". It was regrettable, he said, that the enormous amount of good service, work in the community and all the other work the HSE did, were continually attacked in the House.
"We either want the Minister for Health to be given an opportunity to obtain best value for money within the €15 billion budget and with a staff of 120,000, and to reform the health system as we have been talking about, or we do not." Mr Ahern said that when Mr Kenny was a minister in the rainbow government, there were 55 advisers assigned to the various departments, whereas now there were only 34.
Mr Kenny replied: "As with many other issues, the Taoiseach either does not understand or does not want to understand. I will ask the question again: does an increase from €206,000 to €666,000 in the cost of special advisers in the Minister for Health's office represent good value? If the Taoiseach did not understand the question the first time, I hope he does the second time. The Government calls to mind something Ronald Reagan said: 'it is like a baby's alimentary canal in that it has a huge appetite at one end and no responsibility at the other'."
Mr Kenny said Mr Ahern had admitted to him that there was a bureaucratic bulge in the administrative section of the HSE, and the Government now recognised that it went the wrong way in setting up a structure that was overmanned and over-managed.
"When will the Government start practising what it preaches? The Taoiseach preaches pay restraint, but he is by far and away the highest paid world leader. He does not have a White House, he does not have the yachts, he does not have the aeroplanes, but he represents four million people as against 200 million in some cases and 80 million or 50 million in others.
"When will we see value for money in the €4 million that is now allocated to special advisers for Ministers whose salaries are on a range from €250,000 to €270,000 and €318,000 in the Taoiseach's case?"
Insisting that he had answered Mr Kenny's question, Mr Ahern said staff in Ms Harney's office were working to their full capacity and to the best of their ability, and were doing an excellent job in helping the Minister to make the necessary reforms in the department.
Mr Ahern said HSE staff were working to introduce reforms, while hospitals were doing their best. The Government was spending €500 million a year on the capital programme.
"In many cases, including in respect of maternity and children's cardiac surgery, figures are never quoted in this House because people just look through reports, as we saw yesterday, find the negative and attack the service," he said.
