Louise O'Reilly (Dublin Fingal, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

The Minister referenced the ballot for industrial action by the Irish Nurses and Midwives Organisation that is currently under way. I suspect its members will be joined by other colleagues in the health service. You would not need a crystal ball to figure that one out. I understand also that the Irish Medical Organisation is balloting its members. It is safe to say that the health service is not a place of industrial harmony, rather it is a place of industrial unrest.

The Minister referenced pay and the Government's commitment to the Lansdowne Road agreement, but that agreement is at an end when it was breached. I and all of us here will know the terms of it, the manner in which it is applied and the strictures it places on people. It has been breached. The issues that the INMO has raised are not only about pay, they also relate to services. The Minister addressed pay in his contribution but he might address the services.

Another issue is that of recruitment. We would all be interested to know what it is that the Minister will do that has not been done to date. What has been done to date is not working. It is having a very limited impact. The Minister had targeted recruitment but he did not come anywhere near reaching his targets. I also know that some of the people who came to work in the health service have now gone back to where they came from. Whatever it is that the Minister has been doing to date is not working. We would like to hear what will be done that has not already been done.

Regarding Connolly Hospital and the location of the new national children's hospital. We have all been in receipt of representations and have met representatives from the Connolly for Kids Hospital group. Has the suggestion that the sties be flipped been given a detailed look - I am not talking about there being a report on it - whereby the satellite centre would be located in St. James's and the main hospital would be located in Connolly Hospital? The campaigners will know it is my party's view that this needs to be done and done quickly. We did not get hung up on one site over another but we do not want this to be delayed unnecessarily. Given the level and depth of concern that has been expressed, to what extent have the other alternative options been examined?

What is the timeframe for the colocation of the maternity hospital with the national children's hospital? I understand an application for planning permission for the maternity hospital has not yet been submitted. The trilocation element is key. We all know that. There will be an adult hospital and a children's hospital, but I struggle to know where it going to fit in on the campus. I am very familiar with the St. James's Hospital campus and I have seen an aerial view of the site that is marked out for it. However, the proposed site also raises concerns because, first, there does not seem to be any urgency about this project and, second, when all the people arrive at the hospital where will they park their cars and how will they get in and out of the hospital? If one has occasion to use the maternity hospital that is planned for the campus at 3 a.m., one will not be travelling to it on the Luas but by car. We need to have some idea of when we will see the colocated maternity hospital, as we do not know that. The concerns that have been raised, justified by the by the campaigners, should be addressed. It may be that we will never reach agreement on this but at least those concerns, which are heartfelt, should be addressed.