Louise O'Reilly

When the outsourcing started with the NHS, that's when people started to lose confidence.

And when you look, like I was at a meeting on Monday last week in my constituency in Balbriggan, organised by the Balbriggan Community Council, and they're campaigning, as I have been for a long time,

for a minor injuries unit to go into Balbriggan.

It's a really sensible idea.

It's a population of over 33,000 people serving a catchment area of 63,000.

It would make complete sense to put a minor injuries unit there.

We don't have a hospital with difficulties getting GPs.

We have a health centre, which, you know, is a big enough space to expand.

Unfortunately, the way that it was done, it was the HSE only rent part of what is in the health centre

So we don't, you know, the state doesn't own it, but a lot of money went into the health centre, 10 million quid went into it.

So you've got to look at where the money is being spent.

The budget is big, but if it's not being spent driving care, you know, state funded care, not outsourced, not anything like that.

then we are essentially always going to be coming back to the same place of that constant question of underinvestment.

And the money keeps going up, but the services don't match it.

You actually need to deliver the services.

The HSE needs to deliver the services, not to outsource it.

Like we've been told we're getting an X-ray unit.

which is very welcome.

That's coming to Balbriggan, absolutely fantastic.

But it will be operated by a private entity.