Seymour Crawford (Cavan-Monaghan, Fine Gael)

——in Monaghan, Louth and now Cavan. The limited benefits associated with the health board at least allowed democratically elected representatives to voice opinions but that is no longer the case and we face six months in an abyss. Where are we going? The CEOs did not show a responsive attitude to problems and management issues in the health service. The Minister had problems in employing consultants in Cavan and Monaghan and the CEO is the only person who is answerable to him. When it comes to discussing what needs to be done in Monaghan, however, the Minister does not even consult him. That is what the CEO told health board members this week.

There was no consultation about the possibility of an accident and emergency facility remaining open in Monaghan General Hospital. According to correspondence with the hospital, the Minister said people could go there with a medical problem 24 hours a day, seven days a week, and they would be seen by a doctor. However, there is no further commitment beyond this.

I was one of those who encouraged the Minister to bring in an independent consultant to see what could be done in Monaghan. While the Bonner report did not solve all of our problems, it stated clearly that a sum of €4 million needed to be spent on a treatment room and €14 million on the hospital altogether as a matter of urgency. The Minister proposed a figure of €2.75 million for the hospital, provided certain measures were agreed first to the satisfaction of the executive before the money could be spent.

Where is the health service going? Can the Minister of State give a commitment that somebody will be answerable? Will the Minister have any control over what the executives will do in the next six months, or will the existing limited health service disappear completely? I ask this question in the context of the comment made by the Taoiseach earlier today when he accepted the fact that people living in rural areas did not really matter and would not expect the same level of access to services. The present level of access to some of the Dublin specialist hospitals leaves much to be desired, as we discovered to our expense in County Monaghan during the past week or so.

The system is grinding to a halt. If the Minister of State thinks the removal of democratic involvement in the health boards will solve the problem, he has another thing coming. As my colleague, Deputy Mitchell, said, €11billion is being spent on the health service. As a party, we are not shouting that we want to spend oceans of money but we do want accountability and structures in place to ensure what money is available is spent.

Deputy Naughten said seven years had slipped by in seeking orthodontic treatment. I have dealt with several such cases and all I get is excuses; nobody is answerable. I was told here only a couple of weeks ago that in the North Eastern Health Board the position had improved dramatically. While the position has improved in the Meath-Louth division, it has certainly not improved in the case of orthodontic treatment so far as access is concerned.

We have recently heard the great news that the position on waiting lists is improving. I met a woman in my office this morning whose husband had been trying to get on a waiting list for the past three years. As such, he is not a statistic and, therefore, not a problem but for him and his good wife, who are well advanced in years, his need of treatment presents a real problem. This is not an issue of which the Minister of State can wash his hands or do a Pontius Pilate.

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