Jerry Cowley (Mayo, Independent)

I wish the Tánaiste well in her new position as Minister for Health and Children. She uttered fine words but, as we all know, addressing the problems in the health service requires more than words. It requires action. The performance of this Government and its predecessors highlights the problem that the failures identified in this motion have not been addressed.

The Minister spoke well but then stated she would implement the Hanly report recommendations. I have said from day one that the report is a dead duck. It should carry a health warning because it will really only satisfy the centralising bureaucrats. People will not be able to get to accident and emergency units because of the greater distances they will have to travel to central services.

There is apartheid in the cancer care system and the Cancer Care Alliance was set up to address it. BreastCheck was organised by the alliance. A march was held and within 48 hours it was announced that BreastCheck would be extended, yet we are still awaiting this extension. Sixty-five people die in the south and west every year because BreastCheck was introduced for only half the population. Therefore, the health apartheid continues and some 260 people have died needlessly, including sisters, mothers and nieces.

The Tánaiste referred to the treatment purchase fund. What good is this to the 100,000 people on the unofficial waiting list who are waiting to get on to the official one? Such people include men with prostate cancer who have been waiting for months for an appointment and who still have not got one and those who must wait six years for an appointment with a urology specialist. We have fewer rheumatologists per 100,000 of the population than Croatia and Russia and we have the lowest number of consultant rheumatologists in Europe.

It is not acceptable that a man with cancer must be made wait. Children are whistling when they talk because they do not qualify for orthodontic treatment. Some have to purchase such treatment using money they do not have. It is either this or whistle for life.

The problems in Ballinrobe date from 1971. The number one priority, a community nursing unit for the elderly, has still not been provided. A sum of €400,000, a small amount, is required to enable the project to proceed to tender stage.

Despite the fact that there is a dialysis unit in Mayo General Hospital, seven people, including older people and wheelchair users, have to travel to Galway three times per week to use dialysis services. This involves a round trip of 1,000 miles per week to survive. Their whole lives rotate around travelling to Galway.

A report on a helicopter emergency medical service was commissioned in 2002 and was not published until 2004, giving one an idea of what the Government feels about this issue. Some days ago an ambulance had to travel from Dublin to Galway at 30 mph to avoid potholes as the person it was carrying had a very serious back injury. It is disgraceful that this person should have had his life risked by travelling in this onerous way. Helicopter emergency medical services are available in every other country. Some €16 million was spent entertaining EU Ministers during the six months of Ireland's EU Presidency and €52 million was spent on electronic voting, yet €16 million was not made available for helicopter emergency medical services.

The Western Health Board area is unique in that it has ambulance bases that are not within the recommended 20 miles of the population, thereby putting lives in jeopardy. It is disgraceful that people on the minimum wage still do not qualify for a medical card. Some 200,000 medical cards were promised yet 100,000 have been removed from the system. What about the sad, silent migration of old people into institutions? A defined Revenue funding scheme would certainly sort this out, as well as being good value for money.

There will be no end to the accident and emergency crisis until such time as the Government provides an adequate number of beds. The system is inadequate and as a result the crisis is continuing. It is not acceptable for the Government to sit on its hands and allow this situation to continue. Every one of us is anxious to do what we can to support any Minister, but no matter what a Minister may say or do, it is a question of delivering, and the Government has not delivered on this matter.

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