Privatising health - No ‘magic bullet’ for healthcare

Injecting tax incentives into profit-making health service schemes is not in the interest of public health, because it will not fix the problems now besetting our health service, according to consultant neurologist Orla Hardiman, of Beaumont Hospital.

Dr Hardiman insists that the Government is wasting public money on a “for profit” healthcare system when the public health service is understaffed and handicapped with inadequate equipment, due to the allocation of insufficient funds.

Dr Hardiman argues that the health service is constantly playing catch-up as a result of the inadequate funding. It cannot plan properly, as it has to plan reactively in view of persistent deficiencies, rather than proactively with a view to tackling future problems after having rectified current difficulties.