Report says government ‘privatising’ health

THE Government has misled the public on how much it has spent on the health service, it has failed to meet healthcare promises made in the 2002 election and wants to waste taxpayers’ money on a private system, which will mean greater inequality.

These are just some of the findings of Addressing the Health Care Crisis, a joint report by the Irish Congress of Trade Unions and Siptu into Ireland’s health service problems.

The report said the Government has established a Health Service Executive (HSE) that has taken the last remnant of democracy out of the health service. And that HSE is now controlling 95% of capital and current expenditure, yet it would not appear to be accountable to anyone.