Thomas Byrne (Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I wish to raise a number of issues. Will the Minister and the director general of the HSE set out what they see as the short-term and medium to long-term future of the accident and emergency unit in Navan hospital? It seems that there are mixed messages. One day it is proposed that the unit will remain open and the next that it be turned into a minor injuries unit. We know what the overall plan is. A related question is whether a regional hospital for the north east is on the agenda of the Government and the HSE.

The Department of Health and the HSE have responsibility for the provision of SNAs in preschools in County Meath. Funding is an issue in this respect and the usual fight to retain funding was partially successful. What was said to one of the parents involved was that if the HSE continued to fund SNAs in preschools in County Meath, a child who was sick or dying would have to be turned down for a home care package. This immediately brought to mind what the HSE had stated openly that somebody else would have to lose out because of the allocation of resources to a person who needed Soliris.

The parents who heard this were very upset and it has caused consternation. They certainly do not want to see one child being pitted against another. I thought it was a terrible way to deal with matters. There are resource allocation issues but this was not a new funding stream; it was a continuation of a previous funding stream in an era where we were told the cutbacks had ended.

I would also appreciate a comment from the Minister on lifetime community rating and age related penalties and how they interact with the provision of universal health insurance. There seems to be confusion about this and the Department is saying this will not apply in the event of universal health insurance. Does this policy, which is seen as necessary to prop up the current system, indicate that universal health insurance is less likely?