Martin’s message: I want out of health

HEALTH Minister Micheál Martin has given the strongest indication yet that he would like to be moved in the Cabinet reshuffle this September.

In an interview with The Irish Examiner, Mr Martin says most of the major reforms he initiated are now “well under way”. He also says he has been four years in a job for which the average stay has been two years.

While, he did not comment any further, Mr Martin says he will discuss the matter with the Taoiseach.

Describing the Ministry as a “hectic portfolio”, he said: “I have always been conscious that it is not the most popular place to be in terms of a political career and there’s a need to stick with it in an effort to change the system around.”

The Health Minister is widely expected to be shifted to another senior department this autumn.

The Minister indicates that the key goals he set out for himself are now well on the way to completion.

“The reform programme is well under way in terms of the new Health Services Executive being set up on an interim basis. We are almost at [the legislative] stage in terms of putting the Health Service Executive on a statutory footing,” he says. “It’s a mammoth task and obviously there will be transition difficulties.”

He also says in the interview: “Basically I am there to serve and obviously I will discuss it with the Taoiseach. I am not going to say publicly what my wishes are at this stage.”

Mr Martin accepts that some of the commitments made in the Programme for Government may have been over-optimistic.

“I think the wording of the waiting list commitment left a lot to be desired.

“On the other hand, if we did not put down our ambition we could have wallowed on in complacency.”

While he acknowledges that the Government has failed to achieve its goal of eliminating waiting lists, he argues that it has “achieved real results in reduction of waiting time” through the National Treatment Purchase Fund.

In relation to the failure to extend the medical card to more low-income households since 2002, he says: “I regret that. It’s a disappointment. One of the reasons the numbers are down is because of employment and job creation.”

The Minister strongly defends his record over the past four years, contending that there have been “seismic shifts” in the service.