The Taoiseach went into government on the back of what he called "a democratic revolution". Contrary to that, he is now finishing five years of conservative politics with all the hallmarks of Fianna Fáil in office. He has led a Government acting for the elite and completely out of touch with the needs of ordinary citizens. He has arrogant Ministers who refuse to resolve the problems for which they are responsible and there has been a complete failure to fulfil the promises he made to the electorate at the last election.

I refer to the Taoiseach's record on health. In opposition, he promised a new health service and yet in office, he has broken every single one of the pledges he made. His promise of universal health insurance has been broken; his promise to abolish the HSE has been broken; his promise to deliver a more competitive insurance market has been broken; and his promise to reduce hospital waiting lists and accident and emergency department trolley waits has been broken. Just yesterday, the Minister for Health, Deputy Varadkar, announced that yet another promise to provide GP care for all would be reneged on as well. The Taoiseach's refusal to address what was a crisis in the health service has reduced it to chaos and that surely must rank as the defining failure of his term in office, although there have been many failures on housing, delivery for rural Ireland and child care among others.

During the last election campaign, he made promises that he knew he would never honour, all to get into office. I am sure we can expect the same from him over the coming weeks. However, on this, one of his last days in office and on the eve of yet another election, does he not think it would be opportune to apologise for his broken promises, particularly, but not exclusively, his broken promises in respect of the health services?

It seems to me the Deputy was part of an anti-democratic revolution. In any event, I do not accept his version of events at all. He will be aware the unemployment rate is down to 8.6%. The continued strength of our economy allows for investment in services, people and facilities. The Deputy should apologise as he comes in here with no plan for jobs and no plan for anything to do with the development of our economy.

We are talking about health.

Deputy Adams spends his time talking about how money should be spent and invested but he has no clue, no plan or no proposal to make anything happen other than give everybody everything for free.

Or go to America to hospital.

He will have the opportunity shortly to spell out how he will make that stand up around the country.

What about the trolleys?

Deputy Adams has the gall to come into the House and say to Government that nothing that has happened over the past five years has been for the benefit of the nation. We cannot deal with the many problems we still have to deal with unless there is the capacity in the economy to do that. It is very much heading in the right direction with unemployment decreasing and employment rising and, clearly, the potential existing in the economy to continue that for the future. The Deputy does not believe in keeping the recovery going and he has a different version of economics. I reject his proposition and assertion and I look forward to dealing with what he has to say in the period ahead.

The Taoiseach might answer the questions in the period ahead.

The people are the masters here. They will make their choice and I do not think they will follow the fantasy economics of the Sinn Féin party-----

Maybe the Taoiseach will debate them.

Deputy Ellis should not blow a fuse.

-----that espouses giving everybody everything for nothing. The party has voted against every proposition over the past five years that has helped our country to develop.

In respect of health, the first steps have been taken on universal health insurance with the provision of free GP care for those under six and over 70. Obviously, the break-up of the HSE has been under way for some time. Hospital groups have been set up and they will evolve into hospital trusts in due course. Community health care organisations are well under way, as is the provision of primary care centres. This is where we need to be in order that people do not have to go to hospital in the first place by having minor ailments and issues dealt with in primary care centres. That is based on a strong community-based proposition in respect of health.

The health insurance market has been made much more competitive than it was through young adult discounts and lifetime community rating and there has been a 100% increase in the numbers with health insurance over the past two years. These are all positive issues, whether the Deputy likes it or whether he does not.

I look forward to the people having their say on all these matters. Sinn Féin has put forward costed, practical proposals for dealing with housing, health and child care. The Taoiseach should know that because I sent them to him and, unlike Fine Gael's, the Sinn Féin sums add up.

At a cost of €12 billion.

Where is Sinn Féin going to get the money?

Fine Gael's sums do not add up.

The Taoiseach did not deal with the questions I put to him, which is not surprising. Regarding the health service, he said: "The inefficient two-tier health system will be eliminated". He has made it worse and he has no plan for health. He has no strategy to invest in the most basic services, which citizens should be accorded by right in a republic. He wants to scrap another 50,000 medical cards and he wants to sacrifice patient care for US-style tax cuts for himself and his friends.

Is the Deputy talking about US hospitals?

Why will the Taoiseach not admit that it is the ultimate aim of Fine Gael to wind down the health service in order to privatise it and auction it off to the highest bidder? Would it not be better to seek a mandate for that by saying to the people, "We want to privatise the health service because we believe in that and we do not believe in a public health service"? Would that not treat the people as intelligent instead of treating them as fools?

I ask the Taoiseach to go to the people with Fine Gael policy and give them the chance to vote on it as opposed to what he did the last time making promises he had no intention whatsoever of keeping.

I know that is another try on by Deputy Gerry Adams. He does not believe what he is saying.

Yes, I do.

He is aware of the €3 billion capital plan for health in the next six years. He understands well the scale of development in primary care centres and community facilities, the opportunities for people to be looked after in their own homes and in the community before the necessity of having to go to hospital as a last resort, the development of the national children's hospital and the progress made there, the many issues that have been addressed by the Minister in respect of the new ways of treating patients, the National Rehabilitation Hospital in Dún Laoghaire with which the Deputy is well acquainted over the years and the developments taking place there that are of enormous importance and consequence for people and the development of the cystic fibrosis units around the country and the comfort and consolation they give to cystic fibrosis users with isolation rooms and proper facilities for treatment. These are all part and parcel of the development of a comprehensive health system which will do away with the unfair two-tier system and bring in a universal health care system which will be funded, in due course, by a universal health insurance scheme.