I commend RTÉ on its "RTÉ Investigates" programme last night. One wonders if it is RTÉ or the HSE that is running our health service. We owe a debt of gratitude to Una Smith. I agree that there are fantastic consultants in our hospital system. Many of them are doing a really good job but at the end of the day, 44,864 public patients were not seen because of what is happening in the system and that is a serious problem.

There is a serious question for an Taoiseach to answer too. Between 2014 and 2016, he was the Minister for Health. That was where the buck stopped. Why did he stop collection of data about the non-compliance of contracts and what was the reasoning behind it? Did he have that information or did he delegate the responsibility? It is fine if he delegated the responsibility but why did he suddenly stop it at that point? If this is to be fought legally with regard to breach of contracts with individual consultants or such, then having that data is absolutely necessary. He needs to explain that. What is happening within the system, and the way the funding system is set up with hospitals being reliant on private practice cannot continue. The National Treatment Purchase Fund that was advocated and championed by Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael is not working. It incentivises more of this carry-on where public patients lose out all the time when private patients can be seen. We need an absolute separation of public and private services rather than having public resources be used for private patients.

I was here many years ago, when former Deputy Mary Harney was Minister for Health. We talked about the 2008 hospital consultant issues. At the time I asked who had the power to take on the consultants. Somebody always asked me what the difference between a consultant and God was and the answer was that God does not think he is a consultant. Consultants are powerful and make the difference between life and death. They have a powerful vested interest.

I was disappointed to see last night that we had not moved on. There was an agreement that consultants would take pay increases and would limit their private practice. I was shocked and horrified to see what was happening. I want the Minister for Health to come here and answer this. It is not just the Minister for Health but vested interests across the health sector. I saw it first-hand when dealing with it seven or eight years ago, with people who put their own careers ahead of patient safety and health. It is not right that people have to wait for an appointment and consultants are abusing their position.

I agree that not all consultants do so but some of them give a very bad name to something that should be their vested interest and a vocation. I will never be a consultant but there are vested interests in the public health service, not just among consultants. Unless any Government or Minister for Health can take them on, we will have the same problems in ten or 15 years. I was extremely disappointed and angry to see that, in 12 years, while we have moved on with many aspects, we have not moved on with this aspect. I congratulate "RTÉ Investigates" for the sterling work it has done.

I agree with the previous speakers after seeing, last night, what has happened in our hospitals. This is the start of what is going to happen. I have read in the newspaper that, as part of the measures to reduce emergency room numbers, my own hospital in Carlow-Kilkenny, St. Luke's, and the hospitals in Wexford, south Tipperary and Portlaoise may be among a number of regional hospitals that will stop taking trauma patients. It is proposed that three Dublin hospitals will do the same. It has apparently been recommended that a new trauma unit be set up in two hospitals, one in Dublin and one in Cork. This is unacceptable.

We saw the issue in Waterford hospital with the cardiac unit, where one could have a heart attack from Monday to Friday but there was no cover for it at the weekends. There was a massive meeting in Portlaoise during the week relating to its hospital, to try to save its emergency department. This is unacceptable. There are many such instances. People are fighting to get appointments. People come into my clinics to mention waiting times and they are in pain. Now we have this proposal. It is unacceptable for this to happen. The HSE is looking at having two massive trauma units in Cork and Dublin, regardless of St. Luke's hospital in Kilkenny or the hospitals in Wexford, south Tipperary and Portlaoise. The people in rural areas are disregarded. As usual, we are totally forgotten. It is unacceptable and I call on the Minister to come to the House today or tomorrow to clarify if this is true.