Gerard Craughwell (Independent) | Oireachtas source

The issue is that the hospital was open until Covid. There was no question about safety, at least that we have heard about, prior to the arrival of Covid. It was then closed and, judging by what Mr. Ryan said, the staff from St. Brigid's were redeployed into the community, if I picked him up correctly. That, to me, just suggests bad HR policies in that the HSE was not able to find staff to fill in within community care in order to keep open this vital little hospital, which was meeting the needs of the community. We heard from local residents about how families were able to spend time with their dying relatives, and somebody then coldly closed that down and said enough was enough.

Mr. Ryan makes promises about Clonmel and various other parts of Tipperary, but right now people are having to travel to Waterford, as far as I understand it, from Tipperary. To me, there is a coldness in what the HSE is offering. I am getting old and I dread the idea that I might find myself at the mercy of an organisation that has no heart. These people have been up and down to this committee over these hospitals, and I know Deputy Canney will have a lot to say about Galway, as will his colleague Geraldine Donohue. I cannot understand how a place can be operating perfectly and then, all of a sudden, an excuse is found to close it and it is gone. Promises of buildings in the future just do not wash with me. We get promises in here all the time and they mean absolutely nothing.